Vance Bourjaily's Books

The End of My Life

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Vance Bourjaily’s classic novel of World War II dramatizes an entire generation’s loss of innocence When Thomas “Skinner” Galt leaves Greenwich Village to volunteer as an ambulance driver with the British Army, he anticipates the adventure of a lifetime. What he fails to understand is that no matter where he comes from or how many books he has read, once he dons a military uniform, his life will cease to be his own. Stationed first in the Middle East and then in Italy, Skinner and his fellow American volunteers, Rod, Freak, and Benny, endure boredom, fear, and the exquisite frustration of following orders. They seek solace in their friendship with one another and in the debauched diversions available to men during wartime. But as the days and nights drag on, Skinner begins to drift away from his comrades—and from himself. Too late, he discovers that the path he has chosen leads only to tragedy. Inspired by Vance Bourjaily’s experiences as an ambulance driver in the American Field Service and commissioned by legendary editor Maxwell Perkins, The End of My Life marked the arrival of a writer heralded by the New York Times as “a Dostoevsky of the generation that came of age in World War II.” Elegant, spare, and fiercely honest, this is a timeless portrait of the devastating effects of war on the human spirit.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

190

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1504009711

ISBN 13

9781504009713

The Violated

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Violated

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

“One of the very few good, ambitious and important novels to have been done by the writers of my generation.” —Norman Mailer The lives of four Americans born between the world wars are intertwined to devastating effect in this gripping novel from one of the twentieth century’s most acclaimed authors. Beautiful, sad Ellen Beniger; her younger brother, Tom, a scholar unhappily moonlighting as a TV writer; the athletic amorist Guy Cinturon; and tough little Eddie Bissle, ex-infantryman and Ellen’s secret lover, struggle to come to grips with the limits of their futures and the scars of their pasts as they enter middle age. Will the physical, emotional, and spiritual violations they have endured remain with them forever, or can they be healed? As The Violated builds to its stunning climax, the story of four lost souls reveals heartbreaking truths about the dark side of post–World War II America.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

511

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1504009738

ISBN 13

9781504009737

Confessions of a Spent Youth

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Confessions of a Spent Youth

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

In this masterwork of confessional literature, a man approaching middle age recalls his impetuous youth with fondness, remorse, and astonishment Spanning the years 1939 to 1946, this is the story of a defining era in one man’s life and an exhilarating tribute to the entire generation that came of age during World War II. Quince’s youthful adventures begin with his first sexual encounter, a night with a girl named Moomie in a one-room cabin in Virginia, and end with the twenty-four-year-old veteran settling down to his postwar future. In between, he falls in and out of love with dozens of women, drinks and drugs his way through two years of college and four years of military service, travels the world, and meets a dazzling array of colorful characters. In a voice both beguiling and sincere, an older, wiser Quince narrates his escapades in search of the truth about who he was and who he has become. One of the finest novels of mid-twentieth-century America, Confessions of a Spent Youth is poignant, witty, and profound.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

398

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

150400972X

ISBN 13

9781504009720

Brill Among the Ruins

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Brill Among the Ruins

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

An American man goes searching for himself in the ruins of Mexico in a novel that “deserves comparison with the best novels of the post-war generation” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). At the start of this vibrant and invigorating novel, Robert Brill has a farm, a law practice, a daughter in high school, a son fighting in Vietnam, and a wife who deep dives into the sherry bottle every night. What more can a typical midwesterner ask for in the late 1960s? A lot, thinks Brill. Tired of distracting himself with drinking, hunting, and sleeping around, Brill leaves Illinois and his family to join an archaeological dig in Puebla, Mexico. As he sifts through pre-Columbian artifacts, Brill considers the ruins of his life and imagines what might have been. One exhilarating fantasy involves a beautiful and free-spirited woman named Gabby. If there is a lesson to be learned from cataloging ancient pottery sherds, however, it is that the past never disappears, no matter how far you try to run from it. Hilarious, candid, and deeply felt, Brill Among the Ruins is considered by many critics to be Vance Bourjaily’s finest novel.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

367

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1504009746

ISBN 13

9781504009744

The End of My Life

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The End of My Life

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

190

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1504009711

ISBN 13

9781504009713

The Violated

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Violated

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

511

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1504009738

ISBN 13

9781504009737

Confessions of a Spent Youth

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Confessions of a Spent Youth

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

398

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

150400972X

ISBN 13

9781504009720

Brill Among the Ruins

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Brill Among the Ruins

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

367

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1504009746

ISBN 13

9781504009744

A Game Men Play

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

A Game Men Play

A Novel

By: Vance Bourjaily

A double murder leads to an IRA plot against the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

322

Published Date

ISBN 10

080370092X

ISBN 13

9780803700925

Now Playing at Canterbury

By: Vance Bourjaily

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Now Playing at Canterbury

By: Vance Bourjaily

The plot is launched by English Professor Rigby Short, whose opera libretto, $4000, is about to be performed at a large Midwestern university. The novel's cast is composed of a gaggle of graduate students, some local singers and several professionals from the outside. An esteemed Japanese conductor appears on the scene, along with a wisecracking director from Philadelphia. What happens, Short is asked, when such a diverse group comes together? They tell lies. So they do, splendidly. There is the yarn about the innocent temptress from Biloxi and the odd revenge she takes on the man who steals her away. That one is topped by the tale of the fastest Jeep in the world and a deadly race in the Mexican foothills. A graduate student contributes a chiller about a pack of man-eating cats in his home town. When they are not swapping whoppers and case histories, the members of the troupe couple and uncouple in scenes that manage to be both erotic and clinically detached. Jealousies arise and a small epidemic of paranoia breaks out as opening night approaches.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

628

Publisher

Ballantine Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0345258576

ISBN 13

9780345258571

Upland Bird Hunting

By: Joel M. Vance

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Upland Bird Hunting

By: Joel M. Vance

A guide to upland bird hunting covering guns, dogs, birds, and hunting techniques.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

324

Published Date

ISBN 10

052593233X

ISBN 13

9780525932338

Fishing by Mail

The Outdoor Life of a Father and Son

By: Vance Nye Bourjaily,Philip Bourjaily

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Fishing by Mail

The Outdoor Life of a Father and Son

By: Vance Nye Bourjaily,Philip Bourjaily

A love of the outdoor life, shared through letters, renews the bond between a father and son. Infused with humor and candor, this book is an entertaining, universally appealing work that will be enjoyed by any father and son who have ever shared the beauty of the outdoors. Excerpted in Field & Stream.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

200

Publisher

Grove Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0802112633

ISBN 13

9780802112637

Book's by Vance Bourjaily

The End of My Life

The End of My Life

The Violated

The Violated

Confessions of a Spent Youth

Confessions of a Spent Youth

Brill Among the Ruins

Brill Among the Ruins

The End of My Life

The End of My Life

The Violated

The Violated

Confessions of a Spent Youth

Confessions of a Spent Youth

Brill Among the Ruins

Brill Among the Ruins

A Game Men Play

A Game Men Play

Now Playing at Canterbury

Now Playing at Canterbury

Upland Bird Hunting

Upland Bird Hunting

Fishing by Mail

Fishing by Mail

Username

Password

Username

Password

Password again

Birthday

Email