Description

Robert Beaujolais forfeited the last years of his youth to the Marines, watching his friends die. Beaujolais survived, but civilian life made him regret it. Compared to the truth of war, peace fit him like a casket. At least he was in love, even if he was the only one who could admit it. They were together – until they weren’t.

Then, out of nothing, something: the architects of the world offer Beaujolais a job in the blood business. They prefer to call it arbitration, but Beauj knows murder – killing is his calling – and as an arbiter, Beauj is the ultimate judge.

But when Beaujolais botches a simple hit in San Francisco, his shadowy employers manifest to remind him that he is, in fact, capable of dying. Beauj is given a choice: kill or be erased. The destination is Paris; the target is Europe’s last remaining godfather, the Archangel of Florence.

A blistering tale of love and violence, Brut is the story of a man measuring the circumference of his soul in bulletholes. Is his or any other life worth saving? Only the arbiter can decide.

Publisher Review

Tallent blends striking prose and rich characterisation in this exceptional thriller centred on an ex-Marine turned hit man . . . riveting, and the intense final scenes provide an immensely satisfying payoff to Beauj’s character arc, but it’s Tallent’s ornate sentences that stand out most. This is a winner * Publishers Weekly (starred review) * A brutal story about a master killer becomes in Sam Tallent’s hands a piercing and spiritual novel that somehow touches the hem of so many human mysteries it takes on the heft of revelation. Realised by Tallent’s lush, transcendent prose and a truly indelible protagonist, Brut is a work of profound existentialist beauty that depicts love, loss, and the riddle of identity with such depth and power it belongs in the company of Robert Stone, Denis Johnson, and Cormac McCarthy. I was blown away — Nic Pizzolatto, creator of True Detective With his American contract killer in Paris, Sam Tallent has created a protagonist you’ll never forget as the bodies pile up like cordwood. Brut comes on like a freight train and never stops. Violent, chilling, wonderfully well-written, as modern as tomorrow – this is a novel for our times — Terry Hayes, author of I Am Pilgrim A violent banger of a novel . . . A must-read for anyone who considers themselves a man — Anthony Jeselnik