The Breaks is the fourth novel by American author and screenwriter Richard Price. The story was published on 1983. Price wrote several novels and has been writing scripts for tv shows until now.
The novel narrates the story of a graduate student, Peter, who applies for law school but was not accepted. He finds several low-salary jobs, lives in his father's place and plans to reapply next year for law school. Unfortunately, his plan does not work and his life goes to a downfall as he starts messing up his plan by drinking, going to clubs, making bomb threats that caused him to get arrested, and destroying his health and life. Then, a friend of his finds him a decent job in New York. However, the place had its problems too. Peter starts hanging out with a woman who left her husband. The woman's ex-husband turns out to be Peter's former teacher, and this causes him more trouble.
The Breaks shows the dilemma Peter lives in in a vivid, realistic way. He shows his feelings and emotions clearly through every problem he faces. The story received many reviews from different sites and authentic people. One of his readers on Goodreads wrote: "One of the greatest lost youth books I have ever read, this story moved like an epic saga through the life of the protagonist and seemed Dickensian in its length and its minutiae, but at the same time, was more thoroughly enjoyable than anything Dickens has ever written." It received a 3.2 out of a 5-star rating on Goodreads. Many critics say that The Breaks is not Price's best work, and Price himself admits that.
Overall, the novel can relate to many people who face the same dilemmas other graduate student face. Price also reflects many of his emotions and experiences indirectly in the story.
