Harold Hardscrabble, by G. D. Dess, is a sympathetic novel filled with philosophical musings on the state of society and our place within it. The story captures the feelings of frustration and helplessness that many of us experience in our daily lives. These sentiments are embodied in the contemplative, quietly charming protagonist, Harold, who, like Walter Mitty, lives largely in his own world of thoughts and dreams. We follow Harold's transformation from a dreamer to a man of action as he struggles to discover how to live a meaningful life in a materialistic world.
Harold copes admirably with the many disasters and injustices that assail him on his life's journey; but when he is finally overcome by circumstances beyond his control, he is forced to take matters into his own hands to attain justice for the all the misfortunes he has been made to suffer. This is a story of a quest for self-realization that unfolds slowly as it builds to its ineluctable, explosive climax.
"Crisply literary and reminiscent of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty in tone and circumstance, the happenstance and sweet resilience of [Harold] are what anchors Dess's winning fable and make it every bit as entrancing, quirky, sad, and darkly humorous from start to finish."
--BookLife Prize in Fiction
"Harold Hardscrabble is a thoughtful and well-written observation of the human condition. Dess pushes members of the modern world to question many things and consider that maybe even something unlikely could come to be true."
--Red City Review
"Harold Hardscrabble is a sympathetic novel filled with philosophical musings on the state of society and our place within it, on balancing intellectualism with everyday success, and on overcoming the sense of simply being a cog in the machine."
--Foreward Clarion Reviews
"Harold Hardscrabble is smartly written, informed by the philosophies and ideas of various documents and writers, including Karl Marx, David Foster Wallace and Noam Chomsky."
--Blue Ink Review
"Harold Hardscrabble is an excellent, philosophical tale that explores the life of a brilliant, troubled man and his ups and downs. The existential crises that haunt the titular character make him sympathetic and worth rooting for. The story bobs and weaves but never fails to hold the attention of the reader. A fine read."
--Manhattan Book Review
