Synopses & Reviews
Marshall is learning to love the land. Hes in the process of transforming his fathers ranch into prime spring creek fishing, literally molding the land as he attempts to fashion himself.
Hes a guide, along with his two closest friends, Molly and Alton. All three are trying to step out of a youthful fascination with the freewheeling, fish-guiding life, and into a sustainable life on the land and water of Montana. Pale Morning Done is a coming-of place novel, in which Marshall must decide between the woman who wants him and the woman who loves him; between the future desired by his father and the future created by himself; between the truth that will bind and the omission that will free. It is about the tides that toss friends, sometimes against each other, and ultimately unites them against enemies. It is about the delicate balance of our lives that violence can abruptly topple.
Beautifully written, this first novel scours the landscape of emotion as it revels in the physical landscape of Montana. Pale Morning Done is sure to place Jeff Hull in the company of other great chroniclers of the new West, including Norman McLean, William Kittredge, and Tom McGuane.
Review
"A promising debut: rich in local color and uncontrived dialogue, with a plot that moves like a mountain stream."--Kirkus "An impressive first novel, which balances vivid, meticulous outdoor writing with fine characterization . . . the novel stands out for its graceful, lovely evocation of the outdoors and as a chronicle of the struggle for control of a rare plot of Western wilderness."--PW "The ending of Marshall Tate's tale is beautifully crafted and bittersweet . . . His second novel is hoped for. It ought to be a dandy."--The Toledo Blade (circ. 176,823) "A vivide package of emotions in strong color . . . The moods, inspired by the waters, move magically like a stream, taking the reader through the author's love for Montana's landscape and rivers."--Montana Quarterly Various passages of this novel remind one of John Steinbecks style
a fine new writer
”--
Big Sky JournalReview
"Jeff Hull has taken a pack of noncommitting males and females, slackers, trustifarians, hustlers and bullies, armed them with boats and flyrods, unleashed them on my favorite waters, committed the cardinal sin of naming the waters, and turned this betrayal into one of the great fly fishing novels of our time. Hull's ear for Western speech intricacies, interior and exterior, and for boy-girl give-and-take, is stunning. His comedy is cutting, his crossfiring romances sickeningly convincing, his tragedies barbaric. Most importantly, his fly fishing is so painstakingly well-depicted that this novel obviates the need for all future Montana fishing guides! Here are a hundred reasons to adore the rivers, a hundred reasons to fear for them, and a lived and earned, beautifully-realized American Novel."--David James Duncan author of THE RIVER WHY and THE BROTHERS K
"Jeff Hull has elbowed his way into the august company of great Western writers who evoke a sense of place with a sense of humor and a sense of purpose. Pale Morning Done is very well done, indeed." --Daniel Glick, author of "Monkey Dancing: A Father, Two Kids, and a Journey to the Ends of the Earth," and "Powder Burn: Arson, Money and Mystery on Vail Mountain"
"Young men in love with trout. Young women in love with trout. Young men and women in love with each other--and with the great riverine landscape of southwest Montana. Jeff Hull's humorous, stream-smart novel, "Pale Morning Dun," will appeal to anyone to loves fly fishing and the west. Anyone, for that matter, who enjoys fine writing, never mind those rainbows and browns." --W.D. Wetherell
Synopsis
A wonderful first novel about Montana, fly fishing, and finding home.
Synopsis
Marshall is learning to love the land. He's in the process of transforming his father's ranch into prime spring creek fishing, literally molding the land as he attempts to fashion himself. Pale Morning Done is a coming-of-place novel, in which Marshall must decide between the woman who wants him and the woman who loves him; between the future desired by his father and the future created by himself; between the truth that will bind and the omission that will free. It is about friendship and the delicate balance of our lives that violence can abruptly topple. Pale Morning Done scours the landscape of emotion as it revels in the physical landscape of Montana.
About the Author
Jeff Hull's writing has appeared in, Ploughshares, Southern Review, Atlantic Monthly, Audubon, National Geographic Traveler, Outside, Travel & Leisure, National Geographic Adventure, Town and Country, Outdoor Life, Fortune, Men's Journal, Fly Rod & Reel, Fly Fisherman, American Angler, Yachting, Sailing. He won a Fiction Fellowship at the University of Montana, where he received his MFA. He was nominated for a 1994 National Magazine Award by Atlantic Monthly. He has guided in Montana and remote bonefish flats in the Tuamotus archipelago in the South Pacific, and teaches magazine writing at University of Montana School of Journalism.