Red Baker by Robert Ward is a noir-ish literary fiction suspense drama about an unemployed steelworker who kind of stumbles into petty crime which naturally spirals out of control, free courtesy of publisher Adams Media's Tyrus Books imprint (or sibling imprint, whatever).
This was originally published in 1985 by Doubleday and the Library Journal and B&N editorial reviews both mention that it won the "prestigious PEN West prize for Best Novel".
Free @
B&N and
Amazon (available to Canadians and in the
UK).
Description
When Red Baker, a Larmel steel worker in Baltimore, Maryland, gets laid off from his job he goes crazy: boozing, attempted philandering, running away from his future. Filled with unforgettable characters from Red’s angry but loyal wife, Wanda; his basketball-star son, Ace; his lifelong friend Dog, a casualty of the layoff; and Crystal, the go-go dancer at Lily’s bar who embodies Red’s fantasies of escape. Red Baker is a classic American novel about a man with no identity who tries to replace the one he’s lost.
Set in the world of the hard-working men of the steel mills, this acclaimed work tells the story of an unemployed steelworker who drinks, nearly loses his wife, and decides to come back fighting.