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    The Free: A Novel
    The Free: A Novel
    The Free: A Novel
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Free: A Novel

    Written by Willy Vlautin

    Narrated by Willy Vlautin

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    About this audiobook

    In his heartbreaking yet hopeful fourth novel, award-winning author Willy Vlautin demonstrates his extraordinary talent for illuminating the disquiet of modern American life, captured in the experiences of three memorable characters looking for meaning in distressing times.

    Severely wounded in the Iraq war, Leroy Kervin has lived in a group home for eight years. Frustrated by the simplest daily routines, he finds his existence has become unbearable. An act of desperation helps him disappear deep into his mind, into a world of romance and science fiction, danger and adventure where he is whole once again.

    Freddie McCall, the night man at Leroy's group home, works two jobs yet still can't make ends meet. He's lost his wife and kids, and the house is next. Medical bills have buried him in debt, a situation that propels him to consider a lucrative—and dangerous—proposition.

    Pauline Hawkins, a nurse, cares for the sick and wounded, including Leroy. She also looks after her mentally ill elderly father. Yet she remains emotionally removed, until she meets a young runaway who touches something deep and unexpected inside her.

    In crystalline prose, both beautiful and devastating, this "major realist talent" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) considers the issues transforming ordinary people's lives—the cost of health care, the lack of economic opportunity, the devastating scars of war—creating an extraordinary contemporary portrait that is also a testament to the resiliency of the human heart.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateFeb 4, 2014
    ISBN9780062319388
    Author

    Willy Vlautin

    Willy Vlautin is the author of the novels The Motel Life, Northline, Lean on Pete, The Free, Don’t Skip Out on Me, and The Night Always Comes. He is the founding member of the bands Richmond Fontaine and The Delines.

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    Reviews for The Free

    4/5

    88 ratings16 reviews

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    • 4/5
      One of the most beautiful, if depressing, books I've ever read. However, the author's constant use of "alright" (rather than the more correct "all right") made me a bit crazed and took away from my enjoyment of the book. I realize that "alright" is gaining acceptance, but I'm just not okay with it. That's just me. But, other than that one pet peeve, the book was a well-written and absorbing read that I can easily recommend.
    • 4/5
      Willy Vlautin writes with a passion about the down and out, the poverty stricken, the people hanging on by their fingernails, trying to get by. And in doing so, he is really quite good at tearing your heart out.He relates the stories of three such characters in this book, Leroy, delusional Iraq War veteran, battling demons that no one else can see; Pauline, a hospital nurse who cares for her patients with the utmost attention and compassion, and after work tries to also care for her ornery father, trying to overcome her own desperate thoughts; and Freddy, whose lack of health insurance bankrupted him as he had to spend everything he had on his young daughter's serious medical condition. Now he works two jobs trying to get out of the hole. Vlautin brings the stories of these and other related characters to life in this novel. This is my fourth novel by this author and he hasn't disappointed yet.
    • 4/5
      The Free is a novel that follows three people as they deal with various issues in their life, including PTSD, a failing economy, drug abuse, runaways, medical care, and the toll these issues take. Beautifully written. First is Leroy, an Iraqi war vet who tries to commit suicide. While in the hospital, he has vivid dreams about his former girlfriend, Jeanette. His mother, Darla, keeps vigil.Next is Freddie, who works at the group home where Leroy lives. Freddie finds Leroy after the suicide attempt. Freddie also works at a paint store, keeping it afloat. Freddie’s finances took a hit when his daughter was born with a medical condition, and his wife left him.Finally, Pauline is a hospital nurse, and Leroy is her patient. Another patient, Jo, a teenage runaway, captures Pauline’s heart, and she begins to follow Jo after Jo leaves the hospital, attempting to help her. Pauline also must care for her ailing father. All of this is wearing Pauline down. You will not forget these characters for quite some time.
    • 3/5
      Have to say i really liked the characters better than the book itself. the sci-fi themed journey of the soldier in a coma didnt work for me. However, I read this in a day and enjoyed spending time in the company of the characters.
    • 5/5
      The three main characters in this excellent novel demand our sympathy. Freddy McCall works two jobs and has little time to sleep, yet he can't make ends meet, primarily due to the medical bills for his special needs younger daughter. One of his jobs is at the group home where Iraq vet LeRoy Kervin lives LeRoy suffered a traumatic brain injury in Iraq, and mostly spends his days in a fog. One night during one of Freddy's shifts, LeRoy awakes to a period of clarity and, deciding he no longer wants to live that way, attempts suicide. For the rest of the novel, LeRoy is in a coma, and we spend a great deal of time in his mind, immersed in his memories and hallucinations. His nurse at the hospital, Pauline, is the third major character. During the period of LeRoy's hospitalization Pauline is also dealing with a young runaway with abscesses on her legs threatening amputation, and her own mentally ill father. This is an exquisite book. These are the beaten-down people, and their resilience and ability to forge ahead day by day reminded me in a slight way of Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance. I didn't want the book to end.4 1/2 stars
    • 3/5
      Dreary and weird in spots, with the whole story-within-a-story thing which I'm pretty picky about. It sort of works here, once you make sense of it. Good writing and unique characters, all in all an unremarkable page turner.
    • 4/5

      Following an attack by a roadside bomb, Iraq War veteran Leroy Kervin is seriously injured and living in a group home for disabled men. In a moment of realization and fear, Leroy attempts suicide, leaving him in intensive care at a nearby hospital. Freddie McCall is on duty at the group home when Leroy is injured and adds daily hospital visits to his rotating schedule of two jobs, which he works in hopes of paying off medical bills for his young daughter. Pauline Hawkins is the well-liked ICU nurse who cares for Leroy and the other patients on her floor, including a heroin addict who she works desperately to help.

      The Free's main characters are connected through their relationship with Leroy, but the hurdles in their lives branch out to touch on topics much broader than the Iraq War.
      Vlautin's stark writing is his strength, as the novel has a distinct drag in Leroy's more abstract dream sequences. With his added ability to write realistic dialogue, marked with clipped sentences and full pauses, Vlautin fills The Free with moments of true insight into the lives of everyday Americans.

      While it can be a difficult read at times, as it will certainly touch too close to home for some, The Free shines with bits of hope over despair. Though he paints a clear picture of American crisis, Vlautin also gives readers reason to carry on.

      See more at: rivercityreading.com
    • 4/5
      I liked this novel a lot. while the story centers on an iraq solider, he was suffered an brain injury, the characters surrounding him are real and most interesting. they are everyday people that cope with a life that comes close to taking all joy and hope from them. there is no happy tv ending to this novel at the end you get up and go to work and try to find hope
    • 4/5
      This book was a winner of the Oregon Book Awards, and is a book that I think many LT'ers would like. It's gritty and sweet at the same time. The characters in the book are all struggling; Leroy suffered a brain injury in the Iraq war, and has spent the past eight years in a group home; Freddie works two jobs to pay for child support and for medical bills for his disabled daughter; Pauline works as a nurse, and also cares for her mentally ill father. Somehow, all manage to reach out and touch others lives for the better.I do have some reservations. The book is well written, but I did feel that the dialogue could have been improved. Several of the characters speak with the same voice. Also, the sci-fi story within a story did not work for me; although I understood why it was there.
    • 5/5
      Vlautin won an Oregon Book award and it is well deserved. He writes of average people, well-intentioned and compassionate, struggling with obstacles thrown in their way. Leroy is a war veteran sent home with severe brain injury. He is in a group home where Freddie works. Freddie is working two jobs to pay medical bills for his daughter born with birth defects. When Leroy ends up in a hospital, he is cared for by nurse Pauline who works long hours and takes care of her older father. Freddie and Pauline are each carrying a heavy burden but without any self-pity or resentment. There is much darkness in this book but Vlautin manages to create a novel filled with hope.
    • 5/5
      A compelling story of the seemingly disconnected lives of three ordinary people linked together by the fact that they are simply trying to get by in spite of all odds seeming to be against them. They want to pay their bills, do their jobs, and help those who are less fortunate than themselves. As a reader, I was drawn into this story before I knew it, and could not put it down. Vlautin draws exquisite characters, puts them in very realistic (and often depressing) situations, and makes us face, along with them, the slow crumbling of hope. As prospects for a better life disintegrate, these good people are still able to find some courage in going forward believing that goodness still can overcome all the tribulations.Although it is dark, depressing and overwhelmingly sad at times, I finished the book with a feeling of optimism that all was not lost.
    • 5/5
      Another heartbreaker but couldn't put it down. Vlautin writes about real life, how painfully hard it can be and also the compassion found along the way.
    • 4/5
      In smalltown USA some people are doing the best they can to get by, get along, and be nice to their family and friends. With factors like the War in Iraq, expensive health care, mental health problems, and greed, it isn't always easy, but people like Freddie and Pauline are day by day trying hard to practice goodness. The lives of these characters intersect only tangentially, but offer a cohesive view of a real world of folks who are too often invisible. One of the characters, Leroy, is in a coma from war injuries, but an entire science fiction story is running though his mind, with his real self and fiancee as main characters. This separate story, distinguished by italics, is much darker, and serves as counterpoint to the foreground plot.
    • 4/5
      This book did a wonderful job of depicting the desperate everyday heroism of decent people who are only just getting by, but still manage to care for and about others. The focal point of the story, the plight of the quasi-vegetative soldier, was to me less interesting than the stories of those who surrounded him and looked after him in the care home and the hospital, the nurse Pauline and the care home worker Freddie. Their stories, as they struggle to make ends meet and fulfill their responsibilities, echo the plight of so many people in today's America.I was a little disappointed in the ending, which left their stories unresolved. That might have been the point - that these situations don't resolve themselves - but I still felt a bit flat when I finished the book.
    • 5/5
      Brilliant, compelling and harrowing tale of the forgotten This is the kind of novel that sears itself into your brain. It is a tale of the wounded and forgotten of modern day life, of America. The people who have fallen down the cracks and are trying to hang on and, maybe it’s because I am from place with welfare state, but I found this so utterly terrifying, tragic even amongst its slivers of hope. It’s a story, more of snap shot of a series of interconnected lives. Which sounds aimless and a bit worthy but is so skilfully written that the multiple strands are woven into a satisfying whole.It’s all centred on Leroy, destroyed by the Iraq war and living in a foggy, blurred never ending existence until one day it lifts and he finds clarity. Such is the pain of this sudden gift and so terrified of how it might go he tries to commit suicide. Lying in hospital, injured and lost in a fog of morphine he flees to a nightmare world of his own making, where everyone must be a patriotic solider or die as a traitorous coward. His flight through this land tethers the world to the peripheral stories: his mum (who sits and reads his favourite sci-fi novels), Freddie the night watchman who finds him and is holding down two jobs just to try and pay the crippling medical bills for his young daughter that he never sees. Then there is his nurse Pauline, a wall of indomitable strength with her crazy father and the need to protect another patient, a young, abused homeless girl (trigger warning btw).This is not a light reading. It’s a bald matter of fact statement. It is not all bad, but it is pretty grim and I had to read it in stages, it was just so raw and alien. It doesn’t scream politics but it will make you think about some and even when some warmth seeps through, about the goodness of humanity, the stench will stay with for days after. I may not be saying this very well but I am very glad I read it, it’s a damn fine, accomplished book and I hugely recommend it.
    • 4/5
      I received this book from TLC Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review. The Free by Willy Vlautin is an authentic novel following three individuals in difficult circumstances, who are all connected in various ways.Leroy Kervin is a war veteran, young, but with a traumatic brain injury. He’s living in a group home, not able to do most simple things on his own. He’s unable to live with his situation, and puts himself in jeopardy with a suicide attempt.Freddie McCall is divorced with two kids, has two menial jobs, and works very hard at both to pay his bills, which include huge medical bills covering his daughter’s needs. . .For the full review, visit Love at First Book