One of the Guys Book

This fast-paced novel grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go until its remarkable conclusion. Miles Derry is a down-on-his-luck recovering alcoholic who, in his sole pursuit to make his monthly child support payment, has taken on a string of dead-end and often seedy jobs. One night, while working at the Little Pink Bookstore, he comes across a stiff--in every sense of the word--who turns out to be a chaplain in the U.S. Navy. Choosing to take the chaplain's identity as a way out of his own miserable life, Miles burns the body--and his bridges--and reports for duty on the USS Warren Harding as it embarks for Southeast Asia. Under way on the high seas, Miles finds adventure and intrigue. In addition to the challenges of presenting himself as a convincing military man of the cloth, he discovers that his alter ego is married and a closet homosexual to boot. As the ship travels from Okinawa to the Philippines to Burma, Miles finds himself in murky waters, but it's certainly our pleasure as the author draws out all the irony and humor in the situation. As a chaplain, Miles deals with men at their most vulnerable. His inherent gentleness and empathy win him respect, altering his self-image, and the satire and pathos cohere into a thrilling voyage of self-discovery. Thanks to Robert Clark Young's own varied experiences, including several deployments on naval vessels, the tone and feel of life on a military ship is captured perfectly. With all the tension of a Patricia Highsmith thriller and the humor and compassion of early John Irving, One of the Guys is a remarkable novel, at once beguiling and entertaining.Read More