West

In the newspaper, Cy Bellman reads of bones pulled from the Kentucky mud--enormous, ancient bones, belonging to some mythic creature taller than the tallest trees. Grieving his lost wife, he is now transported: he all but stops eating and sleeping, too disturbed to give his full attention to his work as a breeder of mules or to his 10-year-old daughter, Bess. He can't help but go in search of the beasts that have so captured his imagination, and leaves Bess and their small farm in rural Pennsylvania in the care of his hard-edged sister, Julie, with the occasional help of an odd neighbor, Elmer. With some weapons, trinkets for trade and a new stovepipe hat, Bellman travels west, toward the wild frontier.

West is Carys Davies's first novel (after two short story collections, The Redemption of Galen Pike and Some New Ambush), and it is an epic tale of early 19th-century adventure in a small package. With fewer than 200 pages, its scale is nonetheless mighty, conjuring both history and fable. Davies's simple, conversational prose stays out of the way of her gripping plot.

This quick, compelling read is a novel about family commitments, small-town agitations and the irresistible, fanatic pull of the unknown. Bellman is either enchanted or suffering a good old-fashioned midlife crisis. Davies writes of small fates: hopeful young Bess, bitter Julie, the enigma of slovenly Elmer. It may prove as hard for Bellman to find happiness at home as to find the monstrous "animal incognitum" he seeks. Readers, however, are the richer for his efforts. --Julia Kastner, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulie

Powered by: Xtenit