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Title details for Broiler by Eli Cranor - Available

Broiler

by Eli Cranor
Victoria Villarreal
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Gabriela Menchaca and Edwin Saucedo are hardworking, undocumented employees at the Detmer Foods chicken plant in Springdale, Arkansas, just a stone's throw from the trailer park where they've lived together for seven years.
While dealing with personal tragedies of their own, the young couple endures the brutal, dehumanizing conditions at the plant in exchange for barebones pay.
When the plant manager, Luke Jackson, fires Edwin to set an example for the rest of the workers—and to show the higherups that he's ready for a major promotion—Edwin is determined to get revenge on Luke and his wife, Mimi, a new mother who stays at home with her six-month-old son. Edwin's impulsive action sets in motion a devastating chain of events that illuminates the deeply entrenched power dynamics between those who revel at the top and those who toil at the bottom.
From the nationally bestselling and Edgar Award–winning author of Don't Know Tough and Ozark Dogs comes another edge-of-your-seat noir thriller that exposes the dark, bloody heart of life on the margins in the American South and the bleak underside of a bygone American Dream.
"Taut, harrowing, and charged with profound insight, Broiler pushes four unforgettable characters to the brim. What happens when hard work isn't enough? Exploring class, ambition, mobility, and desire, Eli Cranor uses bolts of linguistic electricity to show how the things we want can sometimes blind us."—Danya Kukafka, author of Notes on an Execution

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 2, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9798892744058
      • File size: 221072 KB
      • Duration: 07:40:33

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 22, 2024
      Edgar winner Cranor (Ozark Dogs) delivers another top-notch Southern noir, this time centered on two families who cross paths at an Arkansas chicken processing plant. Luke Jackson hopes his successful efforts to increase productivity at Demter Foods’ largest poultry facility will land him a promotion. His ambition comes at the expense of his overworked employees, who aren’t allowed overtime pay or bathroom breaks. After Gabriela Menchaca becomes so dehydrated it causes her to miscarry, her partner, Edwin Saucedo, organizes a strike and files complaints with the company against Luke. When Luke fires Edwin in retaliation, putting his and Gabriela’s already fragile finances in further jeopardy, Edwin devises a desperate plan to win his job back and pay his rent. Before long, that scheme—which targets Luke’s wife and young son—leads to devastating violence. Cranor depicts the inhumane conditions of America’s industrial food system with a vividness worthy of Upton Sinclair, and he matches the novel’s gritty realism with an anguishing and suspenseful revenge plot. Cranor continues to impress. Agent: David Hale Smith, InkWell Management.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      This noir audiobook cries out for a female narrator. Mexican American Victoria Villarreal is the optimal choice. The story features two undocumented Mexican factory workers who collide with a couple of wealthy gringos. Villarreal's accents for both the Latinos and the upper-class Southern whites bring these characters to life. She gives the arrogant men appropriate tones of condescension while showing the stronger yet unfortunate women in a sympathetic light. Villarreal's urgent narration ratchets up tension that leads to a shocking conclusion. Her capable efforts shine a light on a seamy underside of American capitalism. D.E.M. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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