600 Hours of Edward
Craig's debut novel was originally published in 2009 by Riverbend Publishing of Helena, Montana. In 2012, a new edition was released by Lake Union Publishing of Seattle, and the book has gone on to be an international bestseller, with translations in German and French.
Synopsis: A thirty-nine-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder, Edward Stanton lives alone on a rigid schedule in the Montana town where he grew up. His carefully constructed routine includes tracking his most common waking time (7:38 a.m.), refusing to start his therapy sessions even a minute before the appointed hour (10:00 a.m.), and watching one episode of the 1960s cop show Dragnet each night (10:00 p.m.).
But when a single mother and her nine-year-old son move in across the street, Edward’s timetable comes undone. Over the course of a momentous 600 hours, he opens up to his new neighbors and confronts old grievances with his estranged parents. Exposed to both the joys and heartaches of friendship, Edward must ultimately decide whether to embrace the world outside his door or retreat to his solitary ways.
Heartfelt and hilarious, this moving novel will appeal to fans of Daniel Keyes’s classic Flowers for Algernon and to any reader who loves an underdog.
Formats: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook
Awards and honors: 2010 High Plains Book Award for Best First Book; 2009 Montana Book Awards Honor Book
Synopsis: A thirty-nine-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder, Edward Stanton lives alone on a rigid schedule in the Montana town where he grew up. His carefully constructed routine includes tracking his most common waking time (7:38 a.m.), refusing to start his therapy sessions even a minute before the appointed hour (10:00 a.m.), and watching one episode of the 1960s cop show Dragnet each night (10:00 p.m.).
But when a single mother and her nine-year-old son move in across the street, Edward’s timetable comes undone. Over the course of a momentous 600 hours, he opens up to his new neighbors and confronts old grievances with his estranged parents. Exposed to both the joys and heartaches of friendship, Edward must ultimately decide whether to embrace the world outside his door or retreat to his solitary ways.
Heartfelt and hilarious, this moving novel will appeal to fans of Daniel Keyes’s classic Flowers for Algernon and to any reader who loves an underdog.
Formats: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook
Awards and honors: 2010 High Plains Book Award for Best First Book; 2009 Montana Book Awards Honor Book
Praise for the book
MISSOULA INDEPENDENT
“It’s a spare, elegantly crafted whizz-bang of a book that, on its surface, is as quiet and orderly as Edward Stanton, but underneath, also like Edward, a cauldron of barely repressed rage and desire seeking escape.”
LIVELY TIMES
“This endearing hero deserves the fine ending the author has bestowed on him. The final pages leave the reader wanting to know what happens next for Edward, in his newly acquired red Cadillac.”
MONTANA QUARTERLY
“This is a wonderful book. Mr. Lancaster’s journey ... into the imaginative pages of fiction was one well taken, for himself, for readers and certainly for the lovingly created Edward Stanton.”
CHICAGO CENTER FOR LITERATURE AND PHOTOGRAPHY
“... a nearly perfect combination of traditional literary elements, mixing crowdpleasing sappiness with indie-friendly subversion, a masterful blend of character and action ...”
“It’s a spare, elegantly crafted whizz-bang of a book that, on its surface, is as quiet and orderly as Edward Stanton, but underneath, also like Edward, a cauldron of barely repressed rage and desire seeking escape.”
LIVELY TIMES
“This endearing hero deserves the fine ending the author has bestowed on him. The final pages leave the reader wanting to know what happens next for Edward, in his newly acquired red Cadillac.”
MONTANA QUARTERLY
“This is a wonderful book. Mr. Lancaster’s journey ... into the imaginative pages of fiction was one well taken, for himself, for readers and certainly for the lovingly created Edward Stanton.”
CHICAGO CENTER FOR LITERATURE AND PHOTOGRAPHY
“... a nearly perfect combination of traditional literary elements, mixing crowdpleasing sappiness with indie-friendly subversion, a masterful blend of character and action ...”