Critic Reviews
Good
Based on 3 reviews on
"This pile driver of a novel is original, deeply funny, and moving."--New York Times bestselling author Sam Lipsyte
After seven years on the semi-pro wrestling circuit, Ricky Twohatchet, aka Richard Powell, needs one last match before he gets called up to the big leagues. Unlike some wrestlers who only play the stereotype, Ricky believes he comes by his persona honestly--he's half white and half Native American--even if he's never met his father. But the night of the match in Omaha, Nebraska, something askew in their intricate choreography sets him on a course for disaster. He finishes with a neck injury that leaves him in a restrictive brace and a video already going viral: him spewing profanities at his ex-partner, Johnny America. Injury aside, he's out of the league.
Without a routine or identity, Ricky spirals downward, finally setting off to learn about his father, and what he finds will explode everything he knows about who he is--as a man, a friend, a son, a partner, and a wrestler. Go Home, Ricky! is a sometimes-witty, sometimes-heart-wrenching, but always gripping look into the complexities of identity.
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Step into the ring in this excerpt from “Go Home, Ricky!” by Gene Kwak (@genekwak3), recommended by Jean Kyoung Frazier (@gojeanfraziergo). https://t.co/sPcgvUqyOX
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“To be honest, I’m just going to enjoy the ride.” In the latest Experiences in Publishing, @genekwak3, author of GO HOME, RICKY! (@overlookpress) talks about the experience of publishing his debut novel. https://www.authorsguild.org/industry-advocacy/gene-kwak-on-the-hopeful-momentum-of-a-debut-novel/ https://t.co/rm7ZJmavSA
"[An] acerbic and hilarious hyper-masculine debut picaresque... As a prose stylist, Kwak is impeccable. Every sentence is explosive, energetic, confident and hyperpolished, as if meant to be shouted proudly in a stadium of thousands."
--Publishers Weekly, *starred* review