Michael lives in a world where English always seems to be strained
through a foreign accent. His Mexican-born wife, Sofi, calls him
Miguelito; his Hungarian boss, Rudy, calls him Mischa; and he
dodges thugs and seductresses in the Greek and Hispanic and Eastern
European neighborhoods of Chicago's North Side where he works as a
janitor. He once was a high-school Spanish teacher turned freelance
travel writer, full of himself and living large, but his world and
his mental health unraveled after he was kidnapped, shot, and
almost killed while on a press junket to the Amazon. He is nursed
back to health by rock-solid Sofi and taken under the wing of Rudy,
the quick-witted, not-so-honest super of their apartment building.
Michael's brother-in-law, Pauly, a font of funny, if impractical
old-neighborhood advice, and Myron Clyne, a stand-up comedian with
a smart and biting sense of humor, accompany him on his urban and
international picaresque journeys. When Michael finally recovers
physically and emotionally from his gunshot wounds, he lands a job
teaching English to immigrants at a community college. Then his
jungle assailant turns up as a student in class, and to keep from
sinking back into madness, he plots revenge. "Michael Kiefer's
prose sounds as immediate and true as a gunshot in a jungle.
Speaking English is a tight, vivid slide into obsession, an
unforgettable tale of love, violence and the complexities of
revenge. It is a compelling page-turner that is also laugh-out-loud
funny." --Barry Graham, author of The Book of Man and The Wrong
Thing
General
Imprint: |
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
February 2012 |
First published: |
February 2012 |
Authors: |
Michael Kiefer
|
Dimensions: |
216 x 140 x 17mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
290 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-4681-9616-0 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
General & literary fiction >
Modern fiction
|
LSN: |
1-4681-9616-2 |
Barcode: |
9781468196160 |
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