Willy Vlautin: The Hardest Working Man

Willy Vlautin

February 4th sees the publication of Lean on Pete, the third novel by Richmond Fontaine frontman Willy Vlautin.

Set in his adopted hometown of Portland, Oregon and already acclaimed by writers as diverse as Mark Billingham, Sarah Hall, George Pelecanos and John Connolly, it’s the hugely affecting story of a kid named Charley Thompson and the horse, Lean on Pete, who offers him some kind of hope – definitely one for fans of Cormac McCarthy, Annie Proulx, and John Steinbeck.

To celebrate publication Willy will be here in the UK for a short tour. If you’ve read either of his previous novels, The Motel Life or Northline, or seen Willy live before, you’ll want to be there, and if you haven’t then you’ve got a rare treat to discover …

Tour Dates:

Feb 9:  Willy solo music and reading at the Roundhouse, London

Feb 10: Willy solo music and reading at the Cardiff Arts Institute

Feb 11: Willy solo music and reading at The Victoria, Birmingham

Feb 12: Willy solo music and reading at the Captain’s Rest, Glasgow

Watch the preview …

Here’s a preview of this stunning book, read by the author:

And if that’s not enough, all of this prefigures the return of Richmond Fontaine, for a full UK and European tour, which will include some special book promotional duties in Ireland. Full details at the Richmond Fontaine website.

The Critics on Lean on Pete:

‘Vlautin’s characters … become a sketchbook of America … There’s music in the stark writing, the urban clamour of Portland giving way to the keening twang of the open spaces. The band has to be a hobby now. Vlautin is a writer.’ Sunday Herald

‘Lean On Pete is an archetypal American novel, Huck Finn for the crystal-meth generation. If there’s the occasional touch of sentimentality, it’s hard-earned and welcome. This is a sad, often brutal, but oddly beautiful portrait of an America that’s forgotten only because we choose not to remember its continuing existence.’ Independent

‘The story of Charley’s long journey to Wyoming and the America he meets on the way, which is often unforgiving and hostile, although home also to a surprising kindness. The language in which it’s told is spare and unadorned, but nevertheless poetic in its way, and full of boundless compassion for the dispossessed and rootless.’ ***** Uncut ~ Book of the Month