Tosh Livingston, superstar student-athlete from small-town USA, thinks
he's made it big as a rising freshman at Harvard University. Not so
fast! Once on campus, he's ensnared in a frenzied competition to win a
spot on Harvard's legendary humor magazine, the Harpoon. Tosh soon
finds that joining the Harpoon is a weird and surprisingly dangerous
pursuit. He faces off against a secret society of super-rich kids, gets
schooled by a philosophy professor who loves flunking everyone, and
teams up with a genius student-cartoonist with an agenda of her own.
Along the way, Tosh and his band of misfit freshman friends unearth
long-buried mysteries about the Ivy League that will rock the Ivory
Tower and change their lives forever...if they can survive the semester.
With its whip-smart humor and fast-paced narrative, Around Harvard
Square will appeal to listeners of all ages interested in exploring the
complicated roles that race and class play in higher education.
"In his new novel, Around Harvard Square, Farley writes about a
scandal strikingly similar to how Singer helped parents and coaches
allegedly exploit athletic programs of schools like Yale, Georgetown,
and USC." (Fox 5 (New York))
"In this throwback coming-of-age novel, an ensemble of freshmen on the
margins struggle for self-definition amid the race and class
complexities of Harvard.... Through the whirlwind of their journey, they
begin to question the purpose of jokes and the consequences of
laughter - when it's not just about the joke, but also about who's
making it and why (a significant, timely exploration as comedy culture
today struggles to demarcate ethical boundaries).... The diverse
ensemble of core characters defy and refuse reductive stereotypes....
For those who would like to take a trip through the hallowed Harvard
halls of the past, this goes out to you...." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Wry, sly, and ferociously funny, Around Harvard Square is not just
the satire Ivy League college life deserves, but the one it's been
waiting for." (Marlon James, Man Booker Prize-winning author of A Brief
History of Seven Killings)
