The first novel by the great American novelist now the subject of a major new film Genius starring Jude Law Colin Firth Dominic West and Nicole Kidman Eugene Gant born in 1900 to harddrinking stonecutter Oliver and entrepreneurial Eliza grows up in smalltown America Both lonely outsider and passionate chronicler of American life Eugene experiences upheaval and family tragedy before coming to realise that he must leave his home behind if he is to forge his own path in the world This is the dazzlingly rich first novel from one of the most brilliant and mercurial voices of early twentiethcentury who was a major influence on writers including Hunter S Thompson Ray Bradbury Philip Roth and the Beats This new edition includes an introduction by Elizabeth Kostova author of The Historian Wolfes second novel Of Time and the River continuing the story of Eugene Gant is also now available in Penguin Classics