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Late one night in August 1934, following a yearlong spree of bank robberies across the Midwest, the Firefly Brothers are forced into a police shootout and die... for the first time. In award-winning author Thomas Mullen's evocative new novel, the highly anticipated follow-up to his acclaimed debut, The Last Town on Earth, we follow the Depression-era adventures of Jason and Whit Fireson--bank robbers known as the Firefly Brothers by the press, the authorities, and an adoring public that worships their acts as heroic counterpunches thrown at a broken system.Now it appears they have at last met their end in a hail of bullets. Jason and Whit's lovers--Darcy, a wealthy socialite, and Veronica, a hardened survivor--struggle between grief and an unyielding belief that the Firesons have survived. While they and the Firesons' stunned mother and straight-arrow third son wade through conflicting police reports and press accounts, wild rumors spread that the bandits are still at large. Through it all, the Firefly Brothers remain as charismatic, unflappable, and as mythical as the American Dream itself, racing to find the women they love and make sense of a world in which all has come unmoored.Complete with kidnappings and gangsters, heiresses and speakeasies, The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers is an imaginative and spirited saga about what happens when you are hopelessly outgunned--and a masterly tale of hardship, redemption, and love that transcends death.From the Hardcover edition.
After a fatal shootout in 1934, two notorious bank-robbing brothers return from the dead to navigate a landscape of public myth-making and personal desperation. Jason and Whit Fireson, known to the public as the Firefly Brothers, find their criminal legacy challenged by their own apparent demise and the subsequent confusion of their loved ones. As the brothers attempt to reunite with their partners, Darcy and Veronica, they must contend with the shifting perceptions of a nation struggling through the Great Depression. The narrative weaves between the brothers' perspective and the reactions of those left behind, examining the intersection of celebrity, criminality, and the American mythos.
This work is characterized by its blend of historical realism and surreal, mythic storytelling that elevates the standard crime narrative into a broader commentary on American culture. The prose maintains a steady, evocative pace that captures the grit of the Depression era while simultaneously exploring the ephemeral nature of fame. Readers likely find the shifting perspectives between the brothers and their partners to be a central strength, providing a multifaceted view of the impact of their legend. The narrative structure suggests a deliberate attempt to deconstruct the romanticization of outlaws, leaving the reader to question the boundary between historical fact and the stories a society chooses to believe.
Page Count:
416
Publication Date:
2010-04-15
Publisher:
Fourth Estate
ISBN-10:
0007340826
ISBN-13:
9780007340828
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