Union Dues

John Sayles
November 2005     ISBN: 156025730X

Boston, 1969. Radical groups plot revolution, runaway kids prowl the streets, cops are at their wits' end, and work is hard to get, even for hookers. Hobie McNutt, a 17-year-old runaway from West Virginia, drifts into a commune of young revolutionaries, a warm, dry place where the girls are very available. His father, Hunter, searching for his son, has to scrounge for day-labor jobs in order to survive.

As father and son move on separate paths they encounter a multitude of diverse characters--miners, cops, boozy old-timers, factory workers, pimps, whores, union organizers, corrupt contractors, embittered kids, disillusioned parents, Black Panthers, hippies and revolutionaries.

John Sayles is the writer and director of acclaimed independent films, including Return of the Secaucus Seven; Baby, It's You; The Brother from Another Planet; Matewan; and Passion Fish. His most recent film, Silver City, is a timely satire for the election year. Twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Sayles has also written novels.