The Brave: A Novel

Nicholas Evans

Oct 2010 · Sold by Little, Brown

About this ebook

There's little love in eight-year-old Tom Bedford's life. His parents are old and remote and the boarding school they've sent him to bristles with bullies and sadistic staff. The only comfort he gets is from his fantasy world of Cowboys and Indians. But when his sister Diane, a rising star of stage and screen, falls in love with one of his idols, the suave TV cowboy Ray Montane, Tom's life is transformed. They move to Hollywood and all his dreams seem to have come true. Soon, however, the sinister side of Tinseltown casts its shadow and a shocking act of violence changes their lives forever.

What happened all those years ago remains a secret that corrodes Tom's life and wrecks his marriage. Only when his estranged son, a US Marine, is charged with murder do the events resurface, forcing him to confront his demons. As he struggles to save his son's life, he will learn the true meaning of bravery.

Powerfully written and intensely moving, The Brave traces the legacy of violence behind the myth of the American West and explores our quest for love and identity, the fallibility of heroes and the devastating effects of family secrets.

Ratings and reviews

Our first view of Tom Bedford is when he visits his mother at prison, before his mother is executed for murder. The story begins in 1959 when Tom is eight-years-old. He lives in England in a fantasty world made up of cowboys and Indians that were popular on the TV western shows. Tom is a meek boy who is attempting to cope with a bed wetting problem. His parents are sympathetic but are much older than the parents of most of his friends. He's sent to a boarding school where he experiences bullying from other students and sadistic behavior by one of the staff members. The bullying gets so extreme that he writes to his sister, Diane, to please get him out of the school. It's not for another year that Diane is in position to help. She has become a successful actress. She's moved to Hollywood and met actor, Ray Montane, who is famous for his cowboy character, Red McGraw. One day in Tom's second year at the boarding school, Diane and Ray come to the school. Diane finally admits that she really is Tom's mother and that she and Ray are now able to provide a home for Tom in Hollywood. The story is interlaced between events of the past and what is happening currently. We see how Diane became pregnant when she was sixteen years old. We also observe Tom, who is now in his fifties, is a divorced filmmaker and writer. The emotional abuse he had growing up has led to his escape into alcohol which ruined his marriage and changed the rest of his life. This is a powerful character driven novel by the author of "The Horse Whisperer." The story has a liesurly pacing that works well and the description of Tom's life makes him a sympathetic character who the reader will enjoy reading about.

Evans crafted a revealing tale of how broken promises and dreams deeply scarred Tom Bedford's life and how he overcame their influence. Readers may recognize the pain and admire the courage these characters exemplified. J.P. Miller. Cambridge, MA

It was pretty good but bounced around so much that it was hard to read. It wasn't nearly as good as The Horse Whisperer or The Divide.

About the author

Nicholas Evans studied at Oxford University and worked as a newspaper reporter, TV producer and screenwriter before writing four bestselling novels. His first book, the #1 New York Times bestseller The Horse Whisperer was made into a movie directed by Robert Redford. He lives in Devon with his wife, singer/songwriter Charlotte Gordon Cumming.