Badlands: A collection of stories

by Thomas Biel

"Lifetimes have passed since I left, yet no other place has left the same kind of imprint," says Matthew Davis, narrator of Tom Biel's interlinked collection of short stories set in the badlands of eastern Montana. While the Vietnam War unfurled on the edges of everyday life, even in the small badlands town of Riverside, Matthew's stories recall how he and his friends navigated the tricky, switch-backed roads of life, sometimes barely hanging on. Sometimes not at all. At the heart of Matthew's stories is his best friend, Idaho Wells, whose life is the one most etched in the violence that shapes the beauty of the badlands. Tom Biel's stories look back at a time still so much with us, but as years fade, the stories become a way to remember.

Genres: Fiction

300 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 2013

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every once in a while something magical happens with a book in which your physical surroundings fade away and you mentally inhabit the setting of the story. This is such a book. "A Collection of Stories" is almost misleading, because while the book is a collection, the chapters play out more like snapshots in the lives of the two main protagonists - Idaho Wells and Matthew Davis. We follow these two boys through pivotal moments in their lives. The writing is fluid and thick with description, yet is highly readable and not overbearing. I am almost loathe to start a new book because I want these characters to stay with me forever exactly as they are in my mind right now. Seriously. Get.This.Book.

[Doreen Hulett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, I was slightly dubious thinking it was going to be a book of un-related short stories. Great idea, but will I be able to sink my teeth into it. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. The short stories were narrated by the same person, and they told of a young boy growing up in an isolated town in the Badlands. The characters, the scenery were all so real and touchable. The author takes the reader on enjoyable yet nail-biting journey with a young boy's coming of age. The book had me so entrenched you could hear me muttering, "Six or eight cylinders, six or eight cylinders!"

[Christa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Tom Biel's connected short stories. It was a good summer read-easy to read a story, put it down, ruminate over it, then go onto the next. I also appreciated the depth of his characters-much more so than in 'usual' short stories. His writing evokes a rich sense of place and honest emotion which make the stories vivid and compelling.

[Natalee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Such an amazing way if telling a story.

[Stephanie Harling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of short stories is a great read. The stories pull you in and with each story you watch the layers of the main characters develop in separate but connected stories .

[Angela Janacaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story telling! Characters so well developed I feel that I grew up alongside Matthew Davis.