A non traditional western about a man’s life, starting in his home country and continuing in the US after he’s separated from his family. I would say this is not my usual genre (historical fiction), but I serious loved it and everyone in my book club enjoyed it as well. It’s paced nicely, so I never got bored, and the writing was so enjoyable.
Feb 24, 2024
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A beautiful portrait of the land I love in the American west, pitted against all ill and evil man can do. Really engaging set pieces, some of the best descriptions I’ve read, sprawling prose. The worst parts of being a man amidst beautiful and unforgiving country.
Side note if you meet someone who says this book is “awesome”, run quickly.
Jun 12, 2025
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I think this one stuck with me so much because it was so short and I had just read a succession of long-ass books (Plus Johnson is an Iowa Writers workshop alum).
Johnson tells a panoramic story with a wide enough lens to capture both the valleys and mountains of the North Western corner of the US, as well as the better portion of the book’s protagonist’s life.
Simultaneously, this books captures the tiny moments effortlessly and there’s plenty to be pulled out of the details.
all that comes together to paint what i can only imagine to be an accurate depiction of the life of a man in the 20th century. Could any other time in history be so big and yet so small at the same time?
Jan 24, 2024
just finished this morning while sitting outside my apartment with a cup of coffee and an american spirit and holy shit the last chapter may have been one of the most devastating vibes i've felt... just like all of history, everything that's mattered, swept into oblivion by the closures of story, prophesy, and family lines... so so so good u should read it but be warned that every paragraph in this book is full to the brim with activity, everything feels as if its happening all at once for the entire four hundred something pages
Jun 20, 2024
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I’m a project manager for a prepared food company, and the majority of the projects I work on are soup. We’re mostly private label, so we make the store brand soups in the deli section for most of the big grocery stores.
One time at a big meeting our boss got a cameo from the “no soup for you!” Guy from Seinfeld to pump us up (?)
Feb 7, 2024
These puzzles are wild! All the pieces are different shapes, and even at the end it was so hard! Totally twisted my brain, please let me know if other puzzle companies do this I’m hooked!
Mar 1, 2024
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for a while, I thought that to be anyone of substance, value, recognition, etc. you had to have a distinct personal brand. What a load of hooey. It definitely had a lot to do with Instagram, and like admiring people for having that persona that people know who you are without actually having to know you. it’s really depressing and sincerely unattainable for me. I now am very happy being off Instagram and doing whatever, without wondering how it looks.
Mar 7, 2024