What do you think?
Rate this book
Strange Angels
Strange Angels tells the story of three siblings thrown together by the death of their father, Heywood Bennett. Forced to manage his sprawling prairie empire together, the Bennett children must find a way to get along despite their longstanding rivalries.
"Connect to and enlarge upon the myth of the Wild West . . . and vividly portray cowboy life in all of its degradation, violence, and romance."-- Chicago Tribune
A New York Times Notable Book, Strange Angels is a mesmerizing evocation of the contemporary American West.
"Connect to and enlarge upon the myth of the Wild West . . . and vividly portray cowboy life in all of its degradation, violence, and romance."-- Chicago Tribune
A New York Times Notable Book, Strange Angels is a mesmerizing evocation of the contemporary American West.
- GenresFiction
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
2 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Jonis Agee
21 books97 followersJonis owns twenty pairs of cowboy boots, some of them works of art, loves the open road, and believes that ecstasy and hard work are the basic ingredients of life and writing.
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she grew up in Nebraska and Missouri, places where many of her stories and novels are set. She was educated at The University of Iowa (BA) and The State University of New York at Binghamton (MA, PhD). She is Adele Hall Professor of English at The University of Nebraska — Lincoln, where she teaches creative writing and twentieth-century fiction.
Awards include three books chosen as New York Times Notable Books, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Nebraska Book Award, Nebraska Arts Council Merit Award, Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship in Fiction, Loft McKnight Award of Distinction, and Editor's Choice Award from Foreword Magazine.
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she grew up in Nebraska and Missouri, places where many of her stories and novels are set. She was educated at The University of Iowa (BA) and The State University of New York at Binghamton (MA, PhD). She is Adele Hall Professor of English at The University of Nebraska — Lincoln, where she teaches creative writing and twentieth-century fiction.
Awards include three books chosen as New York Times Notable Books, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Nebraska Book Award, Nebraska Arts Council Merit Award, Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship in Fiction, Loft McKnight Award of Distinction, and Editor's Choice Award from Foreword Magazine.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 20, 2012
Although I'm from Omaha, believe it or not, that city on the eastern edge of the state has more in common with, say, Chicago, than it does the wild and vast ranches of the panhandle. I've only visited the Sandhills once, but I'd like to think that Jonis Agee really captures the landscape and the people of that region in this novel. She makes Nebraska, my home state, seem lusty and wild, full of smart, complicated, sensual characters. A real corrective to the Grant Wood "American Gothic" image of midwesterners as laconic prudes.
Plus, check out this sharp observation of nature and amazing description:
"Cody pointed to the place high above them where big white birds were riding a chimney draft up into the sky, spinning and whirling so their wings turned black and thin as table knives, then flattened white again. Sometimes the birds disappeared altogehter into the sun, reappeared as single lines silvery and quick, then broadened and became wingspans and birds again. The pattern was repeated over and over, the birds trading places, front to back side to side, precise and elegant until they disappeared, as if they they had flow out of the world."
First published in 1993, this was just Agee's second novel, but showed already the mastery and maturity mixed with empathy and earthiness that have become her trademarks in her many books since.
Plus, check out this sharp observation of nature and amazing description:
"Cody pointed to the place high above them where big white birds were riding a chimney draft up into the sky, spinning and whirling so their wings turned black and thin as table knives, then flattened white again. Sometimes the birds disappeared altogehter into the sun, reappeared as single lines silvery and quick, then broadened and became wingspans and birds again. The pattern was repeated over and over, the birds trading places, front to back side to side, precise and elegant until they disappeared, as if they they had flow out of the world."
First published in 1993, this was just Agee's second novel, but showed already the mastery and maturity mixed with empathy and earthiness that have become her trademarks in her many books since.
September 3, 2022
Heywood Bennett is the owner of a large cattle ranch in Nebraska. On the ranch with him are his three children. Arthur is the oldest and the acknowledged son. Heywood married his mother and lived with her. But he had other children. He brought Cody home when Cody was around fourteen. Cody's mother was his first love and was his mistress for many years. Then there was Kyra, Heywood's daughter. She was Lakota and no one knew much about her mother except that she had left Kyra and had disappeared to follow parties and drinking.
When Heywood dies, the children are left the estate equally. Arthur is outraged as he had always thought he would inherit it all and had already made plans to sell the ranch as part of a country club. He tries to find another will or anything to prove that he was the only real child and should inherit everything. Cody and Kyra basically want things to remain the same.
But things never do. Cody falls in love with the neighbor, Latta Jaboy. Latta is older than Cody and suspicious of love since her former husband cheated on her all the time, including with Kyra. Kyra and Latta detest each other and when Latta brings over a horse from Ireland, a fifty thousand dollar investment in the future, Kyra and a cowboy steal him, setting many events in motion.
I loved this novel. Cody will win the reader's heart while the twists and turns of events will intrigue them. It is clear the author knows the environment she is writing about. Ranch work and much of the Lakota heritage is discussed and explained. Jonis Agee was born in Nebraska and is a professor of writing at a university there. This book is recommended to women's fiction readers and those interested in the ranching life.
When Heywood dies, the children are left the estate equally. Arthur is outraged as he had always thought he would inherit it all and had already made plans to sell the ranch as part of a country club. He tries to find another will or anything to prove that he was the only real child and should inherit everything. Cody and Kyra basically want things to remain the same.
But things never do. Cody falls in love with the neighbor, Latta Jaboy. Latta is older than Cody and suspicious of love since her former husband cheated on her all the time, including with Kyra. Kyra and Latta detest each other and when Latta brings over a horse from Ireland, a fifty thousand dollar investment in the future, Kyra and a cowboy steal him, setting many events in motion.
I loved this novel. Cody will win the reader's heart while the twists and turns of events will intrigue them. It is clear the author knows the environment she is writing about. Ranch work and much of the Lakota heritage is discussed and explained. Jonis Agee was born in Nebraska and is a professor of writing at a university there. This book is recommended to women's fiction readers and those interested in the ranching life.
March 7, 2018
Jonis Agee is an undiscovered Jodi Picoult.....love all her books!
January 16, 2019
I'm amazed it has taken me this long to discover this fine novelist who writes so vividly and lovingly about the Nebraska Sandhills country and the characters who live there.
November 4, 2019
Great setting -the Nebraska sandhills. Complicated story line about disfunctional people. I loved it.
January 2, 2024
I could live without some of the elements but I didn't hate this
August 1, 2011
Set in modern day, farm country, near Wyoming. Cody is the main character. His half-brother, Arthur, and half-sister, Kya, all had different mothers. Their father just died and left the farm in all three names, in order for them to get along.
Cody works hard, drinks a lot, and is quiet and moody. Arthur is a businessman, almost snobbish. They hate each other. Kya is wild, has sex with many men, most married. She is almost a mediator between them. Cody falls in love with an older woman, Latta. Of course it wasn't simple, they part, Latta thinking Cody stole her prized horse and walked out, which wasn’t true.
Native Americans play a prominent role in this story, Kya and Latta are half natives, as well as Cody's friend being full, and so racism towards natives is addressed.
The viewpoint shifted quite often, sometimes even in the same paragraph. Occasionally it was a smooth shift, other times jarring. The prose is sometimes quite beautiful, although in the beginning it was difficult to get involved in reading. The writing felt forced too often.
There are many layers in the book; Family, love, roles of men and women, religion. Overall it is a good book. Definitely worth reading about these strange people in the sand hills.
Wrote: April 1998
Cody works hard, drinks a lot, and is quiet and moody. Arthur is a businessman, almost snobbish. They hate each other. Kya is wild, has sex with many men, most married. She is almost a mediator between them. Cody falls in love with an older woman, Latta. Of course it wasn't simple, they part, Latta thinking Cody stole her prized horse and walked out, which wasn’t true.
Native Americans play a prominent role in this story, Kya and Latta are half natives, as well as Cody's friend being full, and so racism towards natives is addressed.
The viewpoint shifted quite often, sometimes even in the same paragraph. Occasionally it was a smooth shift, other times jarring. The prose is sometimes quite beautiful, although in the beginning it was difficult to get involved in reading. The writing felt forced too often.
There are many layers in the book; Family, love, roles of men and women, religion. Overall it is a good book. Definitely worth reading about these strange people in the sand hills.
Wrote: April 1998
September 18, 2011
Love the cowboys & Indians! Great animal and bird imagery. Compelling story of a family finding themselves after losing their father. The characters and situations are well drawn out. Reading this was very informative and entertaining
December 3, 2022
I totally enjoy J. Agee's writing and this novel fills the bill for me. Taking place in Nebraska, it puts you at the scene, tweeks my western love anf identifies you with the characteries. Another success for the author!
August 22, 2009
This used to be my all-time favorite book. I was even fortunate enough to take a writing class in college with the author. Fantastic!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews