What does it mean to be a father? What does it mean to be a son? What does it mean to be a man? In Men From Boys seventeen masters of crime fiction answer these questions in a multitude of ways. Here are worlds that are instantly recognisable and believable, yet set widely apart. From a deprived London housing estate to the trenches of the First World War, from the claustrophobic confines of a late-night back room poker game to a rundown jazz joint in Manhattan, the writers address just what it means to be a man. The characters who inhabit these stories strive to determine what is right, what will give them dignity, what will earn them self-respect. Some succeed, some fail:...

'I was on the drift from California to someplace that didn't have any bench warrants out on me ...' Doyle Redmond is on the drift from a failed marriage and a floundering life, moving in an easterly direction in the Volvo he stole from his soon-to-be-ex-wife, heading for home: the red and rocky soil of the Ozarks where Redmonds have been farming and fighting since just after the Civil War.

Starring Skeet Ulrich, Tobey Maguire and recording artist Jewel, this major motion picture will be arriving in theaters April 16th. Set in the 1860s, in the last days of the Civil War, this is the coming-of-age story about the lawless universe of war as seen through the eyes of a young secessionist.

Set in the Missouri hill country, Death of Sweet Mister presents one eventful summer in the life of Shug, a friendless, overweight 13-year-old living with his mother, Glenda in the caretaker's cottage at the local cemetery. Glenda flirts incessantly, even with her son, who is becoming increasingly aware of her charms. Glenda's husband, Red (who may or may not be Shug's father), comes and goes, bringing money occasionally and strife a lot more often. This summer Red is training Shug in the family business, using the juvenile without a record to perform the burglaries that are getting too risky for Red himself. Shug's efforts to protect his mother from Red, from other admirers, and from her...

When one of their number, a young gay man, is killed, three friends from the American South set out to expose the so-called upstanding citizens who have no qualms about killing another human being because of his sexuality.

In this classic country noir, featuring a new introduction by Daniel Woodrell, a small town farmer takes a job at a roadhouse, where unbridled greed leads to a brutal murder Jack McDonald is barely a farmer. Boll weevils have devoured his cotton crop, his chickens have stopped laying eggs, and everything he owns is mortgaged—even his cow. He has no money, no prospects, and nothing to do but hang around filling stations, wondering where his next drink will come from. As far as hooch goes, there’s no place like Smut Milligan’s, where Breath of Spring moonshine sells for a dollar a pint. A bootlegger with an entrepreneurial spirit, Milligan has plans to open a roadhouse, and he asks...

Ree Dolly’s father has skipped bail on charges that he ran a crystal meth lab, and the Dollys will lose their house if he doesn’t show up for his next court date. With two young brothers depending on her, 16-year-old Ree knows she has to bring her father back, dead or alive. Living in the harsh poverty of the Ozarks, Ree learns quickly that asking questions of the rough Dolly clan can be a fatal mistake. But, as an unsettling revelation lurks, Ree discovers unforeseen depths in herself and in a family network that protects its own at any cost.

Twelve timeless Ozarkian tales of those on the fringes of society, by a “stunningly original” (Associated Press) American master. Daniel Woodrell is able to lend uncanny logic to harsh, even criminal behavior in this wrenching collection of stories. Desperation—both material and psychological—motivates his characters. A husband cruelly avenges the killing of his wife’s pet; an injured rapist is cared for by a young girl, until she reaches her breaking point; a disturbed veteran of Iraq is murdered for his erratic behavior; an outsider’s house is set on fire by an angry neighbor. There is also the tenderness and loyalty of the vulnerable in these stories—between spouses, parents and...

Дэниэл Вудрелл родился и живет в штате Миссури, где и происходит действие большинства его книг (их жанровую принадлежность он определяет как «кантри-нуар»). Недоучившись в школе, пошел служить в морскую пехоту, затем окончил университет. Выпустил восемь книг, из которых две были экранизированы: в 1999 году Энг Ли, автор таких хитов, как «Крадущийся тигр, затаившийся дракон» и «Горбатая гора», поставил по роману Вудрелла ревизионистский вестерн «Погоня с дьяволом», а в 2010 году настал черед «Зимней кости». Независимый, низкобюджетный фильм Дебры Граник стал хитом проката и собрал внушительный букет призов и номинаций: Берлинский кинофестиваль, «Сандэнс», «Золотой глобус» и многие другие....