The Last Pilot by Benjamin Johncock
Jim Harrison is a test pilot in the United States Air Force, one of the exalted few. He spends his days cheating death in the skies above the Mojave Desert and his nights at his friend Pancho's bar, often with his wife, Grace. She and Harrison are secretly desperate for a child--and when, against all odds, Grace learns that she is pregnant, the two are overcome with joy.While America becomes swept up in the fervor of the space race, Harrison turns his attention home, passing up the chance to become an astronaut to welcome his daughter, Florence, into the world. Together, he and Grace confront the thrills and challenges of raising a child head-on. Fatherhood is different than flying planes--less controlled, more anxious--however the pleasures of watching Florence grow are incomparable. But when his family is faced with a sudden and inexplicable tragedy, Harrison's instincts as a father and a pilot are put to the test. As a pilot, he feels compelled to lead them through it--and as a father, he fears that he has fallen short.The aftermath will haunt the Harrisons and strain their marriage as Jim struggles under the weight of his decisions. Beginning when the dust of the Second World War has only just begun to settle and rushing onward into the 1960s, Benjamin Johncock traces the path of this young couple as they are uprooted by events much larger than themselves. The turns the Harrisons take together are at once astonishing and recognizable, their journey both frightening and full of hope. Set against the backdrop of one of the most emotionally charged periods in American history, The Last Pilot is a mesmerizing story of loss and finding courage in the face of it from an extraordinary new talent.
Johncock, Benjamin: - Benjamin Johncock is an award-winning novelist, short story writer and journalist. He was born in Canterbury in 1978 and studied ancient history and archaeology at the University of Birmingham. His debut novel, The Last Pilot, was published in the U.S. (Picador) and U.K. (Myriad) in 2015 to widespread critical acclaim. It won the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award, was shortlisted for the East Anglian Book of the Year, selected for Brave New Reads, and was one of The Observer's Hidden Gems of 2016. His award-winning short stories have been published by The Fiction Desk, The Junket, Comma Press and Storgy. His journalism has appeared in the Guardian, The Spectator, and many others, and he has worked as an editor and copywriter. He's on the editorial board of The Letters Page, a literary journal edited by Jon McGregor at the University of Nottingham, and for two years was a mentor for the National Centre for Writing's Escalator writing programme. He is also a recipient of two Arts Council England grants. He lives in Norwich with his wife, his daughter, and his son.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781908434845 |
| ISBN 10 | 1908434848 |
| Title | The Last Pilot |
| Author | Benjamin Johncock |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Myriad Editions |
| Year published | 2015-07-09 |
| Number of pages | 320 |
| Prizes | Winner of Authors' Club Best First Novel Award 2016 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |