Firework - Paperback

About Firework

Firework is a darkly humorous road novel by Eugene Marten that follows the story of Jelonnek, a complex character who exists in contradictions—a prisoner and a security guard, a good Samaritan and a creep. Ill-equipped to help himself, he attempts to help someone else, resulting in a beautifully rendered catastrophe that explores the human impulse to become more than what we seem to be.

Critical Acclaim

"To borrow Rakim's words, this book is 'a sack of dynamite, powerful and bright.' It's a grimly exciting report of the street-level world, a lyric highway story that pops with real American voices and roars with an underground river of criminal menace, a strange captivating work of the imagination, original and great." —Atticus Lish

"Firework is about the gorgeous plasticity of the American language. It's about motiveless malevolence and the human want to flee. It's about Jelonnek, and there isn't any figuring Jelonnek. He's a prisoner and a security guard, a good Samaritan and a creep. Jelonnek will never leave you. Lucky you, lucky us, to have his wild tale in our hands." —Noy Holland

"There is nothing quite like the controlled burn of Eugene Marten's prose." —Sam Lipsyte

"An explosive road novel." —Vanity Fair

What Makes This Novel Unique

Firework delivers an unequaled intensity through Marten's distinctive prose style. The narrative captures street-level authenticity with real American voices while maintaining a lyric quality that distinguishes it from conventional crime fiction. The novel's black humor balances its darker themes, creating a reading experience that is both grimly exciting and exhilarating.

Product Details

This paperback edition is published by Tyrant Books, an independent publisher known for championing bold literary voices. Eugene Marten is the author of In the Blind, Waste, and Layman's Report, and currently lives in New York City.