Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Hepner's stunning debut novel is an homage to the barren landscape of the American West. Ever since he was a small boy sitting on his grandfather's lap in the tractor, Jack Selvedge has toiled on the land in Juniper Scrag. Now, at the age of 20, his life revolves around the same struggling dairy farm in his Utah hometown, which is now a shell of its former self. It is unforgiving work, the cows need constant attention, and there is never enough money to replace the worn-out equipment. Though "his blood cried for the fieldwork he did," Jack feels the need for something more. When Rebekah Rainsford returns to town after a long absence, she restores Jack's lease on life. He is drawn to her beauty; she inspires him to consider the future as something he can control. From the beginning, however, their relationship is complicated by a turbulent past about which she is unwilling to speak. As Jack's feelings intensify, a series of tragedies occur in the vortex of their desire, requiring the couple to consider a future vastly different from what they had imagined. Hepner's gorgeous prose evokes the austerity and lonely beauty of the landscape. The novel is a meditation on the nature of hope and self-determination, a sweeping elegy to a dying town and to the bond between blood and earth. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Starred Review. After his parents were killed in a car accident, Jack Selvedge went to live with his grandparents on their dairy farm; at 20, he's still there, doing back-breaking labor. An autumnal sense pervades his story, as he witnesses his grandmother's death and meditatively debates options with friend Heber; Jack's for staying put, but their little Utah town is clearly dying, like towns everywhere in the American West. Still, there's the generously depicted dignity of hard work and the promise of hope in the return of lovely Rebekah Rainsford. VERDICT A quietly dazzling debut that any reader could enjoy. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Hepner debuts with a deeply moving and intellectually profound novel built on the iconic myth of the American West.Think McMurtry's The Last Picture Show or Horseman, Pass By. Hepner's tale is set in the sparsely populated land north of the Great Salt Lake, where the descendants of Mormon pioneers now cultivate the land along a river, in their blood a consciousness of "the wildness of the desert." The nearest town, "a passing-over place," is derelict but for a liquor store and co-op. Jack Selvedge, 21, parents dead a decade, works his grandfather's acreage milking a hard living from 100 dairy cows. Jack's uncle, fragile, often ill, helps only a bit. Jack expects to inherit half the land, but his grandfather betrays that implicit promise. Jack's life grows more complicated when "beautifuluntouchable" Rebekah Rainsford and her mother return, fleeing an abusive father. Comprehending "how tenuous a thing was farming in the desert" and dealing with off-farm opportunities to set out on his own, Jack strides the pages, his unquenchable passion for damaged, fragile Rebekah burning, but he remains rooted in the land, understanding that farming is "the only true salvation he'd ever known." Bitter over his grandfather's duplicity, Jack's love for Rebekah fractures his hardened heart and touches his soul. Other charactersBlair, the widowed, flint-hard grandfather; Seth, a teen seeking the danger of rodeo bull-riding to escape; and especially Jack's best friend, Heber, "a failed promise, a talented squanderer"range through the narrative with impeccable authenticity. After a second, shattering betrayal, Jack leaves the farm to wander the high desert in a spiritual odyssey. Hepner draws a narrative exploring the existential angst smoldering in the rural West as family farmers who hold stewardship of the land confront social and economic conditions beyond their control. A bravura debut. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
