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Bone Fire

by Mark Spragg

Bone Fire Cover

ISBN13: 9780307272751
ISBN10: 0307272753
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
All Product Details

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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Ishawooa, Wyoming, is far from bucolic nowadays. The sheriff, Crane Carlson, needs no reminder of this but gets one anyway when he finds a kid not yet twenty murdered in a meth lab. His other troubles include a wife who's going off the rails with bourbon and pot, and his own symptoms of the disease that killed his grandfather.

Einar Gilkyson, taking stock at eighty, counts among his dead a lifelong friend, a wife and — far too young — their only child; and his long-absent sister has lately returned home from Chicago after watching her soul mate die. His granddaughter, Griff, has dropped out of college to look after him, though Einar would rather she continue with her studies and her boyfriend, Paul. Completing this extended family are Barnum McEban and his ward, Kenneth, a ten-year-old whose mother — Paul's sister — is off marketing spiritual enlightenment.

What these characters have to contend with on a daily basis is bracing enough, involving car accidents, runaway children, strokes and Lou Gehrig's disease, not to mention the motorcycle rallies and rodeos that flood the tiny local jail. But as their lives become even more strained, hardship foments exceptional compassion and generosity, and those caught in their own sorrow alleviate the same in others, changing themselves as they do so. In this gripping story, along with harsh truths and difficult consolation come moments of hilarity and surprise and beauty. No one writes more compellingly about the modern West than Mark Spragg, and in Bone Fire he is at the very height of his powers.

Synopsis:

In this gripping story about life in the modern West, harsh truths and difficult consolation exist alongside moments of hilarity, surprise, and beauty.

About the Author

Mark Spragg is the author of Where Rivers Change Direction, a memoir that won the Mountains & Plains Booksellers Award, and the novels The Fruit of Stone and An Unfinished Life, which was chosen by the Rocky Mountain News as the Best Book of 2004. All three were top-ten Book Sense selections and have been translated into fifteen languages. He lives with his wife, Virginia, in Wyoming.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:

Aaron Kier, April 2, 2010 (view all comments by Aaron Kier)
Though perhaps not as immediate or as loud in making its points as the previous novel, "Bone Fire" is no less resonant in its search for truth and its exploration of all that it means to be human. Casting new light on age old themes of life and death, love and loss, transgression and forgiveness, and subtly working its way beneath the skin, Spragg's sense of compassion -- as well as his deft artistry -- fills every landscape, every turn of the narrative, and every character with a beauty so finely nuanced we are compelled to slow down, breathe deeper and pay attention to the world (and the lives) around us. Maybe that isn't enough 'purpose' for Publishers Weekly, but it's precisely what makes Spragg one of our greatest (and most sorely underrated) living writers.
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Denise Morland, March 16, 2010 (view all comments by Denise Morland)
Mark Spragg’s latest book, Bone Fire, continues the story of Grigg started in An Unfinished Life. I suggest you start with An Unfinished Life first or the sequel will be confusing. Bone Fire picks up with Griff dropping out of college to take care of her grandfather Einar who has become ill. Griff has become an artist, using pottery as her medium. This was one of my favorite parts of the book. Her art sounds amazing, very unique, and is so thoroughly described I could almost see it.

Many characters from An Unfinished Life make appearances and they are as human, gritty, and loving as before. I have a real weakness for Mark Spragg’s western characters. The plot is fast-paced and interesting, but sometimes jumbled up a bit. The frantic pace can detract from Spragg’s real talent of drawing out his characters and the landscape.

I enjoyed Bone Fire. I didn’t think it was as good as An Unfinished Life, but it was nice to see where the characters had gone with their lives. If you liked Peace Like a River or Evensong you will appreciate Mark Spragg’s books.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780307272751
Subtitle:
A novel
Author:
Spragg, Mark
Publisher:
Knopf
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Domestic fiction
Subject:
Wyoming
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
Publication Date:
20100309
Binding:
Hardback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
256
Dimensions:
9.34x6.58x1.04 in. 1.08 lbs.

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Product details 256 pages Knopf Publishing Group - English 9780307272751 Reviews:
"Synopsis" by , In this gripping story about life in the modern West, harsh truths and difficult consolation exist alongside moments of hilarity, surprise, and beauty.
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