Crazy Heart
“A measure of Thomas Cobb’s talent is that he can make Bad Blake’s story amusing even as we watch him fall. Bad is entirely sympathetic, and his crazy heart is vivid; the milieu is as resonant as a steel guitar, and the plot moves along without skipping a beat.”
New York Times Book Review
“Crazy Heart just might be the finest country-western novel ever written, bar none.” —Houston Post
“Thomas Cobb’s marvelous first novel doesn’t just play on your heartstrings, it breaks them.” — San Francisco Examiner
Thomas Cobb’s riveting novel tells the unforgettable story of a former country music star hoping to take one last shot at a better life.
At the age of fifty-seven—living a life riddled with ex-wives, one night stands, and daily diet of Jack Daniels—Bad Blake is on his last legs. His ticker, his liver, even his pick-up truck are all giving him trouble. A renowned songwriter and “picker” who hasn’t recorded in five years, Bad now travels the countryside on gigs that take him mostly to motels and bowling alleys. Enter Jean Craddock, a young journalist sent to interview him after a beautiful concert, and a tentative romance blooms. Can Bad stop living the life of a country-western song and tie a rope around his crazy heart?
Praise