Synopsis :
This is a dark and powerful debut novel set in the hardscrabble American heartlands. 'If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life...' After trying to help Benjamin Pearl, an undernourished, nearly feral eleven-year-old boy living in the Montana wilderness, social worker Pete Snow comes face-to-face with the boy's profoundly disturbed father, Jeremiah. With courage and caution, Pete slowly earns a measure of trust from this paranoid survivalist itching for a final conflict that will signal the coming End Times. But as Pete's own family spins out of control, Jeremiah's activities spark the full-blown interest of the FBI, putting Pete at the centre of a massive manhunt from which no one will emerge unscathed. In this shattering and iconic novel, Smith Henderson explores the complexities of freedom, community, grace, suspicion and anarchy, brilliantly depicting America's disquieting and violent contradictions. Fourth Of July Creek is an unforgettable, unflinching debut that marks the arrival of a major literary talent.
Revue de presse:
“First novels don’t come much more confidently written or fully imagined than this.” (New York Times)
“This is a hell of a great book.”- (Esquire)
“Breathtaking...heartbreaking...Henderson’s immersive, colorful style makes this scenic journey worthwhile. He’s a curious kind of hard-boiled poet - part Raymond Chandler, part Denis Johnson.” (Entertainment Weekly (Grade A))
“The best book I’ve read so far this year...Henderson choreographs these parts so masterfully that the novel is never less than wholly engaging... All week I was looking for opportunities to slip back into these pages and follow the trials of this rural social worker.” (Washington Post)
“...a masterful debut...we find ourselves rooting for these deeply human characters in the end.” (The Oregonian (Portland))
“Fourth of July Creek is an extremely dark book, but Henderson’s lyrical sentences lend an elegance-an importance-to the lives of his fictional children. By tenderly portraying horrible family secrets, Henderson is able to illuminate the richness and possibility in even the most painful lives.” (Kirkus Reviews)
“On a political level, Henderson skillfully presages the contemporary political environment in his portrayal of the America of three decades ago. On a deeper level, this dark, compassionate novel finds in Jeremiah’s-and Pete’s-pain a mirror of everyone’s. This is a significant debut.” (Library Journal)
“Born and raised in Montana, author Smith Henderson knows the terrain and its people, crafting a profoundly American tale that explores our love for freedom, our individualism and the price people sometimes pay.” (AARP)
“[A] remarkable first novel...” (Shelf Awareness)
“This book left me awestruck; a stunning debut which reads like the work of a writer at the height of his power...Fourth of July Creek is a masterful achievement and Smith Henderson is certain to end up a household name.” (Philipp Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of The Son)
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