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Almost Ingenious
Francis Dean lives with his mother in a rundown trailer park in New Jersey. He figures he will probably live there until he dies. That is, until the day when he finds out the truth about how he was brought into the world. Apparently his existence is the result of an absurd experiment that his mother took part in. And it seems that his father is not some loser who left his family in the lurch after all, but a scientific genius from Harvard. Meeting him could change Francis' life. Together with his best friend Grover, an eccentric brain-box, and the girl of his dreams, the delicate, unpredictable Anne-May, he sets off on a cross-country journey to the West coast to find his father. Francis wants to find out who he really is, and he has nothing to lose – or does he? A dramatic journey of discovery with unrelenting twists and turns and a truly breathtaking showdown.
»Wells knows how to breathe life into big topics in a very personal way, tailored to both the unique characteristics of the protagonist and the reader. This novel, about three family members, moves the reader deeply.«
»Benedict Wells writes about doubting, struggling characters; and he hits a nerve.«
»In addition to being a classic road novel and a psychologically sophisticated coming-of-age story, Almost Ingenious is also the tale of a doomed, imbalanced love. Benedict Wells leads the reader masterfully into this high-pressure boiler.«
»Wells is an outstanding storyteller; this absorbing novel can be read in one sitting. He deftly addresses issues such as poverty, inequality and the influence of the past.«
»A remarkably good novel. In the first half of his book, Wells constructs a page-turning secret, which he then resolves in the second half in a consistently enthralling manner.«
»Gripping and moving.«