How I Learned to Hate in Ohio A Novel
How I Learned to Hate in Ohio A Novel by David Stuart MacLean is a debut novel published by Abrams, Incorporated in 2022. This 256-page work, written in English, explores the complexities of racial discord in America through the eyes of Barry Nadler, a social outcast navigating his freshman year of high school in rural Ohio during the late 1980s. As Barry attempts to remain unnoticed, his life takes a turn with the arrival of Gurbaksh Singh, a Sikh teenager whose charisma draws Barry into unexpected experiences that challenge his perceptions and relationships.
Readers will find a narrative that delves into themes of coming of age and the impact of xenophobia and racism within a small-town setting. As Barry’s newfound popularity begins to unravel his world, he becomes increasingly aware of the tensions surrounding his community’s reaction to the Singh family. With a blend of humor and poignant observations, MacLean’s writing captures the nuances of adolescence and societal discord, offering a thought-provoking reflection on the roots of discontent in middle America.
Official synopsis Publisher
A brilliant, hilarious, and ultimately devastating debut novel about how racial discord grows in America, “moving and heartbreaking . . . wickedly funny and sad and sobering all at once” (#1 New York Times bestselling author Gillian Flynn).
In the rural Ohio of the late 1980s, social outcast Barry Nadler begins his freshman year of high school with low expectations. He resolves to go unnoticed as much as possible, until his world is upended by the arrival of Gurbaksh Singh–Gary for short–a Sikh teenager. Charismatic and wildly conspicuous, Gurbaksh befriends Barry and pulls him into a series of startling and uncharacteristic exploits.
But as Barry becomes popular-adjacent at school, the rest of his world starts to unravel. His mom’s trips for her job with Marriott seem to keep her away longer. His philosophy professor dad is dealing with something. And soon his classmates and neighbors begin to react to the presence of the Singhs, a family so different from theirs. Through bitingly comic asides and wry observations, Barry becomes increasingly tuned into the seeds of xenophobia and racism finding fertile soil in this insular community, until tragedy unfolds.
In bracing prose that captures the authentic voice of a heartrending awakening, award-winning writer David Stuart MacLean’s How I Learned to Hate in Ohio shines an uncomfortable light on the roots of white middle-American discontent. At once darkly funny and surprisingly moving, this is a humane, provocative, and undeniably resonant debut novel for our divided world.
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