A Harper Perennial Paperback Original

Lean on Pete

A novel by Willy Vlautin

On sale: 4/13/2010

On April 13, 2010 HarperPerennial is proud to publish the emotionally wrenching third novel from acclaimed author and indie musician Willy Vlautin, that again proves beyond doubt the extraordinary depth of his talent.  Heartbreaking, original, and totally unforgettable, LEAN ON PETE is the story of an unlikely friendship between an orphaned boy and a failing race horse, both of whom are looking for a home.

 Fifteen-year-old Charley Thompson wants stability.  Two parents, ground rules, food on the table, and a high school he can attend for more than part of a year. But as the son of a single father working in warehouses across the Pacific Northwest, Charley’s been pretty much on his own. When tragic events leave Charley homeless weeks after his latest move to Portland, Oregon, he seeks refuge in the tack room of a run down horse track. Charley’s only comforts are his friendship with a race horse named Lean on Pete and a photo of his only known relative. In increasingly desperate circumstance, Charley will make a fateful decision to take Lean on Pete and head east, hoping to find an aunt who had once lived a thousand miles away, in Wyoming. In this significant and revealing novel about the plight of America’s forgotten children, Willy Vlautin proves wonderfully unafraid to navigate the heartbreak, wonder, and confusion of a boy for whom life holds no promise. Lean on Pete serves as solemn reminder that children brought into the world deserve to be loved and tended to, with hope for the futures that they will create.

 Born and raised in Reno, Nevada, Willy Vlautin started playing guitar and writing songs as a teenager and quickly became immersed in music. It was a Paul Kelly song, based on Raymond Carver’s “Too Much Water So Close to Home” that inspired him to start writing stories, and he has to date published two previous novels, The Motel Life and Northline.  Vlautin founded his cult favorite band Richmond Fontaine in 1994. The band has produced seven studio albums to date, plus a handful of live recordings and EP’s. Driven by Vlautin’s dark, story-like songwriting, the band has achieved critical acclaim at home and across Europe. Vlautin currently resides in Scappoose, Oregon, and has just released Richmond Fontaine’s eighth album, “We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River.” An avid fan of horseracing, Vlautin can often be found writing behind a closed circuit monitor at Portland Meadows racetrack.