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Bunyan and Henry; Or, the Beautiful Destiny
A large-hearted reimagining of beloved all-American legends, this epic debut novel brings men of myth Paul Bunyan and John Henry alive like never before, teaming up for an adventure quest with deeper interrogations of race, class, and industrialization.
Paul Bunyan—legendary larger-than-life American lumberjack—is a man down on his luck. With a load of family debts on his broad back, he ekes out a miserable miner’s life in Lump Town, a bleak hamlet controlled by famed industrialist El Boffo. When Bunyan’s wife Lucette falls ill with a disease caused by the toxic mineral Lump, he embarks on a quest to save her. His only guide: the Chilali—a mysterious creature who speaks only in questions.
Bunyan’s path leads to The Windy City—and to John Henry. Henry is not yet the “steel-drivin’” man known to folklore, but a fugitive on the run from a rigged, racist prison system. As Bunyan and Henry strive to reunite with the families they love, they must work together to solve riddles, forge weapons, brawl with a behemoth, and confront at every turn the relentless, duplicitous El Boffo.
A richly imaginative reinvention of myth, Bunyan and Henry is at once a timeless quest, a fresh origin story, and an urgent modern fable that wrestles with the two sides of the American dream—its wild idealism and cruel underbelly—to inspire the awakening of the folk hero in us all.
Paul Bunyan—legendary larger-than-life American lumberjack—is a man down on his luck. With a load of family debts on his broad back, he ekes out a miserable miner’s life in Lump Town, a bleak hamlet controlled by famed industrialist El Boffo. When Bunyan’s wife Lucette falls ill with a disease caused by the toxic mineral Lump, he embarks on a quest to save her. His only guide: the Chilali—a mysterious creature who speaks only in questions.
Bunyan’s path leads to The Windy City—and to John Henry. Henry is not yet the “steel-drivin’” man known to folklore, but a fugitive on the run from a rigged, racist prison system. As Bunyan and Henry strive to reunite with the families they love, they must work together to solve riddles, forge weapons, brawl with a behemoth, and confront at every turn the relentless, duplicitous El Boffo.
A richly imaginative reinvention of myth, Bunyan and Henry is at once a timeless quest, a fresh origin story, and an urgent modern fable that wrestles with the two sides of the American dream—its wild idealism and cruel underbelly—to inspire the awakening of the folk hero in us all.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published March 26, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
March 7, 2024
Huge thanks to any and all who took the time to read this story. My sincerest hopes that you all go forth and find your own beautiful destinies.
March 18, 2024
One part classic American Tall Tale, one part darkly humorous satire, one part epic adventure story, one part inspirational self help, one part serious critique of American capitalism gone wrong...Bunyan and Henry is a funny, imaginative, and heartfelt retelling or perhaps a mashup of the Paul Bunyan and John Henry myths rife with life lessons and tongue in cheek (and sometimes very direct) rebukes of the environmental and social evils wrought by rampant capitalism.
Set in the post-Civil War America of the Robber Barons and Reconstruction -- a time when this country had a chance to reinvent itself and figure out what it wanted to be -- Paul Bunyan labors in a factory in Lump Town, mining a coal/oil- like miracle mineral called Lump. Which is all fine except that the mining and refining of Lump is ruining the environment and making people (namely Bunyan's wife) sick. In order to save his wife, Bunyan must confront the wealthy, hilariously egotistical, and ultimately evil industrialist "El Boffo" by traveling to the Windy City. There ensues a series of adventures (including meeting and teaming up with the steel driving man John Henry) and quests that allow Bunyan to prove who he really is to himself and (maybe?!) save the country from El Boffo and his wife from an untimely death.
Among the many delights of this debut novel is it's structure. No doubt, Cecil has studied timeless epics like the Odyssey and Gilgamesh, and read and properly imbibed tomes like Campbell's "Hero With a Thousand Faces," because the book is like a clinic on the hero's journey. As Bunyan navigates one obstacle after another, the challenges and quests get more and more elaborate, causing him to have to dig deeper and deeper into himself (aided by a mythical creature and a special prophesying light called "The Gleam"as his guide) in order to bring the quest to completion.
In the process, the book contains nuggets of wisdom and inspiration useful and encouraging for anyone, whether your quest is to find a cure for Silverdark (like Bunyan's) or to win the big promotion to Managing Director next quarter. It's refreshing to read a book (and hear from an author) that looks at personal and societal challenges in simple, straightforward, and forthright terms. In that sense the late 1800s seems a perfect setting for this kind of story. I wonder how these characters would handle the post-post-modern, social media-riddled world of today in which we have the internet and answers spewing forth from every technological orifice, 24 hours a day, and in which everything (especially earnestness) is subject to skepticism from every angle.
What saves this story from being simply a funny, romping mishmash of a couple tall tales with a modern day author's humor and plot twists thrown in, is it's frank takes on capitalism, classism, and racism. The book does not get bogged down dealing with these -- to the level of being polemical (which it very easily could have). Instead it uses the fantastical world of the book to hold up a mirror to our own. In the process we see a lot of things we'd rather not see, but need to keep seeing. And in the context of fantasy they are made that much more stark...and sad.
A fantastic debut novel. Looking forward to the author's next effort. Thank you to Penguin Random House for the advance copy.
Set in the post-Civil War America of the Robber Barons and Reconstruction -- a time when this country had a chance to reinvent itself and figure out what it wanted to be -- Paul Bunyan labors in a factory in Lump Town, mining a coal/oil- like miracle mineral called Lump. Which is all fine except that the mining and refining of Lump is ruining the environment and making people (namely Bunyan's wife) sick. In order to save his wife, Bunyan must confront the wealthy, hilariously egotistical, and ultimately evil industrialist "El Boffo" by traveling to the Windy City. There ensues a series of adventures (including meeting and teaming up with the steel driving man John Henry) and quests that allow Bunyan to prove who he really is to himself and (maybe?!) save the country from El Boffo and his wife from an untimely death.
Among the many delights of this debut novel is it's structure. No doubt, Cecil has studied timeless epics like the Odyssey and Gilgamesh, and read and properly imbibed tomes like Campbell's "Hero With a Thousand Faces," because the book is like a clinic on the hero's journey. As Bunyan navigates one obstacle after another, the challenges and quests get more and more elaborate, causing him to have to dig deeper and deeper into himself (aided by a mythical creature and a special prophesying light called "The Gleam"as his guide) in order to bring the quest to completion.
In the process, the book contains nuggets of wisdom and inspiration useful and encouraging for anyone, whether your quest is to find a cure for Silverdark (like Bunyan's) or to win the big promotion to Managing Director next quarter. It's refreshing to read a book (and hear from an author) that looks at personal and societal challenges in simple, straightforward, and forthright terms. In that sense the late 1800s seems a perfect setting for this kind of story. I wonder how these characters would handle the post-post-modern, social media-riddled world of today in which we have the internet and answers spewing forth from every technological orifice, 24 hours a day, and in which everything (especially earnestness) is subject to skepticism from every angle.
What saves this story from being simply a funny, romping mishmash of a couple tall tales with a modern day author's humor and plot twists thrown in, is it's frank takes on capitalism, classism, and racism. The book does not get bogged down dealing with these -- to the level of being polemical (which it very easily could have). Instead it uses the fantastical world of the book to hold up a mirror to our own. In the process we see a lot of things we'd rather not see, but need to keep seeing. And in the context of fantasy they are made that much more stark...and sad.
A fantastic debut novel. Looking forward to the author's next effort. Thank you to Penguin Random House for the advance copy.
April 22, 2024
Bunyan and Henry is a debut fantasy by Mark Cecil. A fascinating "back story" of the legend of Paul Bunyan. The story takes the reader on an action packed journey designed to reveal the environmental dangers of mans greed to own and misuse our land. The story covers race, capitalism and the classes of society.
Towards the end I sometimes felt like I was reading Raiders of the Lost Arc as Paul and Henry were seeking a cure for the evils of "lump" that was killing all living things on earth.
Well written and worth reading.
Towards the end I sometimes felt like I was reading Raiders of the Lost Arc as Paul and Henry were seeking a cure for the evils of "lump" that was killing all living things on earth.
Well written and worth reading.
May 19, 2024
Absolutely loved this book. I devoured it in a few sittings. The book struck this incredible balance between depth and the fun of adventure. The way good folklore does. I also found the characters so wonderfully rendered I could hear (and see) them in my mind so easily. Equally the setting and action- just all so vivid without being overly longe. I imagine this would be a really fun screen or limited series adaptation. Or stage!
June 4, 2024
Unique plot and characters with some underlying wisdom. Give it a try. I’ll be looking for his next book.
November 10, 2024
Libby audio loan 10 hours Narrated by Taris Parenteau, Ari Fliakos, JDJackson (A+)
Released in March of 2024, this debut novel reimagines the lives of folklore heroes Paul Bunyan and John Henry. The clever storyline hooked me from the beginning. Let's just say I skipped the Alabama vs.LSU college football game to listen to this book. This work is a satire on the industrial age after the Civil War, the great robber barons, and the treatment of the people of the First Nations, As one reviewer wrote, "it holds up a mirror to things we would rather not see." Paul Bunyan and John Henry and their families are underdogs facing stiff challenges. Will they find their "The Beautiful Destiny "?" If so, how much will it cost them.?
Released in March of 2024, this debut novel reimagines the lives of folklore heroes Paul Bunyan and John Henry. The clever storyline hooked me from the beginning. Let's just say I skipped the Alabama vs.LSU college football game to listen to this book. This work is a satire on the industrial age after the Civil War, the great robber barons, and the treatment of the people of the First Nations, As one reviewer wrote, "it holds up a mirror to things we would rather not see." Paul Bunyan and John Henry and their families are underdogs facing stiff challenges. Will they find their "The Beautiful Destiny "?" If so, how much will it cost them.?
November 30, 2024
“Bunyan and Henry” is a beautifully written folktale or tall tale reimagining of the legends of Paul Bunyan and John Henry. They embark on a “The Beautiful Destiny” and explore themes of race, class and industrialization.
Mark Cecil’s debut novel appears to be set during the industrial age in a land that is both familiar yet fantastical. In true folk tale fashion, it uses a tall tale to explore the human condition and in this case, debate a county’s idealism with its corrupt underpinnings that were prevalent in the industrial and gilded ages.
A couple of Google facts to save you from googling:
⚒️ Paul Bunyan is not a real person, but appears to be based off of a few real lumberjacks
⚒️ John Henry was a real person that was imprisoned for 10 years and worked on a chain gang
⚒️The original statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe is in Bemidji, MN. And since I’ve never been to that part of Minnesota, I must have seen a replica some place else.
Overall this is a wonderfully imaginative retelling of two American folklores that serve to serve to describe the American condition, both then and now. I would have loved an Authors note of why he made the decisions he did in the book, and look forward to seeing more books from this author.
Mark Cecil’s debut novel appears to be set during the industrial age in a land that is both familiar yet fantastical. In true folk tale fashion, it uses a tall tale to explore the human condition and in this case, debate a county’s idealism with its corrupt underpinnings that were prevalent in the industrial and gilded ages.
A couple of Google facts to save you from googling:
⚒️ Paul Bunyan is not a real person, but appears to be based off of a few real lumberjacks
⚒️ John Henry was a real person that was imprisoned for 10 years and worked on a chain gang
⚒️The original statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe is in Bemidji, MN. And since I’ve never been to that part of Minnesota, I must have seen a replica some place else.
Overall this is a wonderfully imaginative retelling of two American folklores that serve to serve to describe the American condition, both then and now. I would have loved an Authors note of why he made the decisions he did in the book, and look forward to seeing more books from this author.
March 21, 2024
"Bunyan and Henry: Or, the Beautiful Destiny" could have a further subtitle: "The Battle for the Heart of Humanity Against Capitalist Greed". Even more than a retelling of the origins of Paul Bunyan and the later days of John Henry Mark Cecil's book takes these two characters, along with a panoply of others, as representative stand-ins for their economic and racial kin in the struggle against the oligarchy that rules the land. Though not subtle in its initial depiction (this is myth, after all), the character development for each person is significant. Almost all of the secondary characters get a chapter (or more) in which to tell their story - making room for the marginalized to be front-and-center - which adds emotional and philosophical depth to this tale of good vs. evil. Everyone has shades of gray, some of which actually shadows over the altruism of their deeds, but ultimately even the most nebulous of characters finds the light - save for those whose lives are led purely by profit margins and greed. This mythic retelling is a truly American tale; one that depicts the main folly of colonialism as the desire to keep rather than share; to take rather than give; and ultimately to shun rather than love.
October 21, 2024
It's heart is in the right place, but the story felt all over the place. Fighting the evils of capitalism, environmental destruction, racism, ableism, and more, this book tries to cram a whole lot in without getting the chance to really dive deeply into any (except for maybe capitalism since the main villain is basically a mustache twirling oil baron.) I probably could have finished this sooner, but I was just not feeling it.
August 22, 2024
A masterful, wild reimagining of American folklore that breathes new life into the legendary figures of Paul Bunyan and John Henry. With an inventive blend of epic adventure, dark humor, and sharp social commentary, this stunning debut novel explores the complexities of the American dream through a fresh lens. Cecil’s vivid prose and rich world-building create a captivating narrative where larger-than-life heroes confront the harsh realities of industrialization, racism, and capitalism. The heart of the story lies in the profound friendship between Bunyan and Henry as they navigate a treacherous journey to save their loved ones. By joining Bunyan and Henry on their epic adventure, we aren't just entertained, but inspired to confront the cruelties of the past and present in order to manifest our own "beautiful destiny." An absolute must-read modern fable.
March 18, 2024
Do you remember the tall tales that you heard and read as a child that drew you in and wrapped themselves in your dreams? The mythic hero, the noble quest, the vivid side characters? This is that for all ages. I disappeared into this book, and read late into the night to find out what came next for Paul Bunyan. This will be a fun one for me to recommend and chat with patrons about.
My thanks for finding this gift of a book are due to Matthew Quick’s inviting Substack interview with its author, Mark Cecil. I highly recommend finding that post as a wonderful addendum to this creative book. Thanks also to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for allowing access to a digital ARC.
My thanks for finding this gift of a book are due to Matthew Quick’s inviting Substack interview with its author, Mark Cecil. I highly recommend finding that post as a wonderful addendum to this creative book. Thanks also to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for allowing access to a digital ARC.
March 26, 2024
Y’all want to hear how dumb I am? I did not realize that Paul Bunyan was not a real person. Yeah, I though this was going to be nonfiction. It was not. It was technically a fairytale. Boy, was I surprised.
Anyway, that little mishap aside, I really enjoyed this! It had shades of the Wizard of Oz but with a truly interesting world that I really enjoyed exploring. I laughed, I cried, I cringed (this was really gory in places??? I’m not complaining; it was just unexpected.)
I really enjoyed seeing two mythic figures come to life. I also had somehow never even heard of John Henry? But I loved him and loved meeting him and his family in these pages. And I LOVED his friendship with Paul Bunyan. What an excellent pair!
Also the part where Bunyan’s axe and Henry’s hammer were forged was SO COOL. Now I need to go read a book about blacksmithing (or go find a blacksmith and watch them work) because I am intrigued!
Anyway. What a fun little piece of folklore this was. It honestly isn’t something I normally would’ve picked up (if I hadn’t thought it was nonfiction) but I’m so glad I did. This was a quick, entertaining number and I’m so glad I read it!
And thank you to Vintage Anchor Books for sending this one my way in exchange for an honest review!
Anyway, that little mishap aside, I really enjoyed this! It had shades of the Wizard of Oz but with a truly interesting world that I really enjoyed exploring. I laughed, I cried, I cringed (this was really gory in places??? I’m not complaining; it was just unexpected.)
I really enjoyed seeing two mythic figures come to life. I also had somehow never even heard of John Henry? But I loved him and loved meeting him and his family in these pages. And I LOVED his friendship with Paul Bunyan. What an excellent pair!
Also the part where Bunyan’s axe and Henry’s hammer were forged was SO COOL. Now I need to go read a book about blacksmithing (or go find a blacksmith and watch them work) because I am intrigued!
Anyway. What a fun little piece of folklore this was. It honestly isn’t something I normally would’ve picked up (if I hadn’t thought it was nonfiction) but I’m so glad I did. This was a quick, entertaining number and I’m so glad I read it!
And thank you to Vintage Anchor Books for sending this one my way in exchange for an honest review!
May 8, 2025
I quit this book at 56% of the way through. I'm disappointed because I thought it started strong and interesting, but then it turned into a repetitive, beat-every-social-issue-down-your-throat-while-nothing-happens slog of a plot. Maybe it picks up again towards the end but I couldn't hold on to find out.
June 14, 2024
Pretty damn good. Lil tropey and on the nose at times.
November 24, 2025
My book group read Mark Cecil's book because it supposedly met our theme for the year: retelling an existing story. Mark Cecil's work is not a retelling of the American folktale of Paul Bunyan or John Henry, instead it is a strange and awkward presentation of ideas that are a pale comparison of a compelling story. During our book group's discussion, none of us could agree who the author had in mind as a reader when he wrote this book. One of our group thought Cecil's Bunyan and Henry might be designed for people who don't read books at all because people who appreciate a strong narrative, interesting characters, insight into the human experience, or simply good writing will need to look elsewhere. It was clear to people in our group who read the book that Cecil enjoyed making up the names of characters but any other fun he may have had in the writing was lost on us. This book was difficult to read but not difficult for our group to agree that it will be remembered as a poorly written and inferior book. Several of us also wondered why Cecil adopted the American folk characters of Bunyan and Henry to craft an odd and jumbled reflection on capitalism, the destruction of the environment, racism, and cultural genocide. Stronger editing and a clearer narrative vision could have perhaps helped the author on his own twisty path but our book group all agreed that Cecil's book is not a beautiful destiny.
July 19, 2025
I read this book for a local book club. I borrowed it from my library.
Bunyan and Henry exists in a mythologized, but not idealized, version of America, the voice both fantastical and literary. Really, it establishes an origin story for both Paul Bunyan and John Henry.
I appreciated the representation in the book; not only is the cast diverse, but there are also various depictions of disabilities. In the way of Tall Tales, the story is heavy handed in a self-aware way. The ending is easy to see coming yet satisfies.
Bunyan and Henry exists in a mythologized, but not idealized, version of America, the voice both fantastical and literary. Really, it establishes an origin story for both Paul Bunyan and John Henry.
I appreciated the representation in the book; not only is the cast diverse, but there are also various depictions of disabilities. In the way of Tall Tales, the story is heavy handed in a self-aware way. The ending is easy to see coming yet satisfies.
May 4, 2024
The quintessential American tall tales come together in this novel that’s furthers the mythmaking of these legendary men. Set in the heart of the Industrial Revolution, this book confronts head-on the terrible inequality birthed from capitalism and discrimination. Our heroes, the sensitive and dedicated Bunyan and the brilliant and calming Henry, must fight through gangs of America First-style mobs while navigate the whims of a Rockefeller-style tycoon and a country that oscillate between wanting them dead and pure indifference. A modern and timeless myth.
October 10, 2024
A fun, adventurous journey from start to finish… this novel has an imaginative spin on classic American folklore that seamlessly interweaves important societal themes of class, race, capitalism, etc. Overall, this was a smooth read with intriguing characters that keep you turning the pages and I highly recommend it amongst the 2024 publications list! 🪓
January 19, 2025
I didn’t personally enjoy every moment, but there were a lot of funny critiques of capitalism and American society that the author managed to pull off without being too on the nose (which is hard to come by).
June 3, 2025
3.5/5 stars rounded up
This was a 5 star concept, a 4 star execution but a 3 star content as it eventually became over-the-top with social injustices…. We don’t need a woke fable of Paul Bunyan and John Henry. Shame such an original idea had to get watered down unnecessarily.
This was a 5 star concept, a 4 star execution but a 3 star content as it eventually became over-the-top with social injustices…. We don’t need a woke fable of Paul Bunyan and John Henry. Shame such an original idea had to get watered down unnecessarily.
June 5, 2024
Story about an imagined first meeting between American mythological giants Paul Bunyon and John Henry is, to me, a disappointingly humorless action-adventure centering around Bunyon's attempts to meet up with a corporate titan who holds the key to a remedy to his Bunyon's wife's ailment. The meeting between the two heroes is myth-worthy - a boxing match Bunyon enters to induce a meeting with the corporate titan requiring him to fight his way past John Henry - but the novel spends many of its pages as a not-at-all disguised attack on current corporate sensibilities at the expense of entertainment value. It's possible that the same things were wrong with corporations in the 1880s as is currently the case - emphasis on bottom line, concern over PR appearances vs. realities - and those negative attributes are certainly worthy of enlightenment, but a battle against corporate greed seems unworthy of the two legends at the heart of Mark Cecil's story - it does not make for particularly entertaining or fun reading.
April 27, 2024
This review originally published in Looking for a Good Book. Rated 4.0 of 5
American legends John Henry (the steel driving man) and Paul Bunyan (the giant lumberjack) are reimagined and given new backstories in this modern fable by Mark Cecil.
Paul Bunyan is a miner in the run-down, dirty Lump Town. He's stuck in the job with no way to leave and no way to advance. The town is tightly controlled by the mogul El Boffo. When Paul's wife, Lucette, gets sick from the toxic Lump that's being mined, Paul sets out to meet with El Boffo and bring it to his attention.
But people don't just meet with El Boffo whenever they want and Paul learns that El Boffo runs a fighting ring and the winner might have a chance to meet the man who owns the mine. Paul's a big, young man, but he's a gentle giant - he's never been in a fight in his life. With the help of a good corner man and a supernatural 'gleam' that lights up in front of Paul, directing him with where to go or what to do, Paul quickly climbs the winner circle in the fighting ring, but his final battle is against El Boffo's champion, a former steel-driving man named John Henry.
John is a man on the run, having left is forced steel-driving days and always watchful for the F.O.L. (Fraternal Order of Liberty - a thinly disguised K.K.K. organization). The pair find they are evenly matched and form a bond that gets them out of the ring and through a number of escapades.
I really enjoyed this book, though my enjoyment tempered some the more I went through it.
Despite living in Minnesota (where the statue of Paul Bunyan can often be found on tourism marketing) I can honestly say I haven't thought of Paul Bunyan or his legend in decades but just seeing this book brought about a certain amount of excitement. I do often enjoy reading retellings and mash-ups of classic myths, legends, and stories and this stands out as being quite unique. I suspect that as this gains some traction we'll see more of these kinds of stories.
Right from the start author Mark Cecil sets the tone of high allegory. Names like Lump Town and El Boffo put us in the right frame of mind. Sometimes, though, he goes a little overboard, hitting us over the head as if the reader isn't going to get it. For instance, Bunyan and Henry are sitting in an all-Black tavern, with lookouts watching for signs of the F.O.L. and repeatedly people come up to Henry and ask if he's okay and if the white guy at the table can be trusted. Repeatedly. Great. So we don't need Bunyan to say, very directly:
“Never been in a place like this.”
“A place like what?”
“It’s like the color of my skin makes me a target.”
"I can't imagine."
Maybe it's just a chuckle because we 'get' the irony, but really, we get it without the directness. There's also a line later on which might be the moral of the story, but again, is spoken so directly as if I wasn't going to get the lessons presented ("It's the great project of this country, isn't it? Turning Nature into stuff.").
I really like John Henry's background - a steel driving man, but not by choice. Instead he's a convict, forced to work on the railroad, and when he thinks by doing it well his sentence will be done without complaint he is instead charged with bogus crimes in order to keep him working (“You’re the best hammer I got. Couldn’t afford to let you go.”).
Bunyan's background I'm less excited about. I recognize that making him a miner allows for more pollution and poison to be worked into the allegorical tale, but one would think that keeping with his background as a lumberjack and exposing the problems with clearcutting forests could have been equally as worthy of such a tale.
Babe the Blue Ox (Paul Bunyan's faithful friend, for those of you who shamefully don't know the legend) does make an appearance, and I loved how it came about. Yes, I was waiting for it and was going to be disappointed if it wasn't there. Thank you, Mark!
The adventure gets a little long. Once we get their individual stories and their teaming up, we don't need the additional obstacles to their goal. I was thrilled in the beginning, excited at the ending, but bored through about a quarter of the book in the middle. Trying to reach El Boffo in the circus made Paul look stupid to me. Did he really not yet get that El Boffo was not someone who was going to be reasoned with?
I'm still not sure what to make of 'The Gleam' - Bunyan's supernatural help. It's a bit of deus ex machina that confuses and weakens our central character (it also rather weakens the lessons if it's all overseen and/or controlled by a supernatural (God) entity. Maybe the hint is in the full title, Bunyan and Henry: Or, the Beautiful Destiny, in which case it IS all pre-determined/destiny, which is frankly less exciting.
Looking for a good book? Mostly fun and exciting, Bunyan and Henry by Mark Cecil will open the door to a slough of new mainstream legend retellings, this is worth reading. Maybe make this your next book club book.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
American legends John Henry (the steel driving man) and Paul Bunyan (the giant lumberjack) are reimagined and given new backstories in this modern fable by Mark Cecil.
Paul Bunyan is a miner in the run-down, dirty Lump Town. He's stuck in the job with no way to leave and no way to advance. The town is tightly controlled by the mogul El Boffo. When Paul's wife, Lucette, gets sick from the toxic Lump that's being mined, Paul sets out to meet with El Boffo and bring it to his attention.
But people don't just meet with El Boffo whenever they want and Paul learns that El Boffo runs a fighting ring and the winner might have a chance to meet the man who owns the mine. Paul's a big, young man, but he's a gentle giant - he's never been in a fight in his life. With the help of a good corner man and a supernatural 'gleam' that lights up in front of Paul, directing him with where to go or what to do, Paul quickly climbs the winner circle in the fighting ring, but his final battle is against El Boffo's champion, a former steel-driving man named John Henry.
John is a man on the run, having left is forced steel-driving days and always watchful for the F.O.L. (Fraternal Order of Liberty - a thinly disguised K.K.K. organization). The pair find they are evenly matched and form a bond that gets them out of the ring and through a number of escapades.
I really enjoyed this book, though my enjoyment tempered some the more I went through it.
Despite living in Minnesota (where the statue of Paul Bunyan can often be found on tourism marketing) I can honestly say I haven't thought of Paul Bunyan or his legend in decades but just seeing this book brought about a certain amount of excitement. I do often enjoy reading retellings and mash-ups of classic myths, legends, and stories and this stands out as being quite unique. I suspect that as this gains some traction we'll see more of these kinds of stories.
Right from the start author Mark Cecil sets the tone of high allegory. Names like Lump Town and El Boffo put us in the right frame of mind. Sometimes, though, he goes a little overboard, hitting us over the head as if the reader isn't going to get it. For instance, Bunyan and Henry are sitting in an all-Black tavern, with lookouts watching for signs of the F.O.L. and repeatedly people come up to Henry and ask if he's okay and if the white guy at the table can be trusted. Repeatedly. Great. So we don't need Bunyan to say, very directly:
“Never been in a place like this.”
“A place like what?”
“It’s like the color of my skin makes me a target.”
"I can't imagine."
Maybe it's just a chuckle because we 'get' the irony, but really, we get it without the directness. There's also a line later on which might be the moral of the story, but again, is spoken so directly as if I wasn't going to get the lessons presented ("It's the great project of this country, isn't it? Turning Nature into stuff.").
I really like John Henry's background - a steel driving man, but not by choice. Instead he's a convict, forced to work on the railroad, and when he thinks by doing it well his sentence will be done without complaint he is instead charged with bogus crimes in order to keep him working (“You’re the best hammer I got. Couldn’t afford to let you go.”).
Bunyan's background I'm less excited about. I recognize that making him a miner allows for more pollution and poison to be worked into the allegorical tale, but one would think that keeping with his background as a lumberjack and exposing the problems with clearcutting forests could have been equally as worthy of such a tale.
Babe the Blue Ox (Paul Bunyan's faithful friend, for those of you who shamefully don't know the legend) does make an appearance, and I loved how it came about. Yes, I was waiting for it and was going to be disappointed if it wasn't there. Thank you, Mark!
The adventure gets a little long. Once we get their individual stories and their teaming up, we don't need the additional obstacles to their goal. I was thrilled in the beginning, excited at the ending, but bored through about a quarter of the book in the middle. Trying to reach El Boffo in the circus made Paul look stupid to me. Did he really not yet get that El Boffo was not someone who was going to be reasoned with?
I'm still not sure what to make of 'The Gleam' - Bunyan's supernatural help. It's a bit of deus ex machina that confuses and weakens our central character (it also rather weakens the lessons if it's all overseen and/or controlled by a supernatural (God) entity. Maybe the hint is in the full title, Bunyan and Henry: Or, the Beautiful Destiny, in which case it IS all pre-determined/destiny, which is frankly less exciting.
Looking for a good book? Mostly fun and exciting, Bunyan and Henry by Mark Cecil will open the door to a slough of new mainstream legend retellings, this is worth reading. Maybe make this your next book club book.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
July 15, 2025
It may just be my good luck, but there seems to be a small publishing vogue for novels that reinvent iconic characters as persons with modern sensibilities and full inner lives. Last year it was James and this year it is Bunyan and Henry, both being books that I adore because they take these characters we think we know and use them to crack open the society they/we inhabit. This reboot of classic characters can do something that the originals can't; answer why these characters behave the way they do. Namely what made Jim so devoted to Huck? It wasn't that he was simple and childish, Twain proved that amply in the course of the novel. So what reason would Jim have to put himself at such peril for the sake of Huck? James answers that beautifully, and does so much more to expand Jim into a fully human character that we can respond to. In that same way Cecil takes the two greatest avatars of the 19th century working class and makes them human, and so answers why they were who they were. He gives Bunyan and Henry reasons to be heroic, and the reader reasons to admire them. Yes, the plot is a classic MacGuffin and the villain is cartoonishly simple, but that feels like Cecil flipping the script a little. In the classic tale of John Henry his foe is the steam drill, but why really? He surrenders his life to prove exactly what to the boss man? The classic Paul Bunyan is a giant who clears entire forests with a sweep of his axe. His inventions speed up the harvesting of timber exponentially. Question is, why?
Why do these extraordinary super humans use their extraordinary gifts only to work always harder? To enrich the capitalists profiting off of their labor? The realistic answer answer is that they didn't have anything but their bodies, their sweat to offer up for a living to a rapacious system designed to extract as much profit as possible from their labor. So that is where we find Bunyan and Henry at the start. These would become heroes to men working those jobs, workers who knew that they were being exploited exactly to the degree which they could bear. So they invented mythic workers who worked hard because they could beat the system, who could out drive the engines, who's massive work camps were a kind of paradise to men immured in the cold misery of the north woods.
So Cecil makes that exploitation explicit and embodies it in a caricature of a capitalist that a child could understand, a man with a silly name, who was born on third base but believing he hit a triple, and with only one hunger - always more of everything. He has to be the super capitalist to be a proper foe to the super heroes he is trying to defeat. Properly repellent and soulless enough that we can enjoy his eventual defeat.
Another fun thing about this novel and something it also has in common with James is how many reviews condemn the author for not writing the character they know and love. I mean, fair point they are great characters in the original, but why don't you just reread The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Paul Bunyan if you want the same characters doing the same things?
So look, this is just a fun book, a joyous novel full of big ideas and hope. It's a rare and timely novel. You should read it.
Why do these extraordinary super humans use their extraordinary gifts only to work always harder? To enrich the capitalists profiting off of their labor? The realistic answer answer is that they didn't have anything but their bodies, their sweat to offer up for a living to a rapacious system designed to extract as much profit as possible from their labor. So that is where we find Bunyan and Henry at the start. These would become heroes to men working those jobs, workers who knew that they were being exploited exactly to the degree which they could bear. So they invented mythic workers who worked hard because they could beat the system, who could out drive the engines, who's massive work camps were a kind of paradise to men immured in the cold misery of the north woods.
So Cecil makes that exploitation explicit and embodies it in a caricature of a capitalist that a child could understand, a man with a silly name, who was born on third base but believing he hit a triple, and with only one hunger - always more of everything. He has to be the super capitalist to be a proper foe to the super heroes he is trying to defeat. Properly repellent and soulless enough that we can enjoy his eventual defeat.
Another fun thing about this novel and something it also has in common with James is how many reviews condemn the author for not writing the character they know and love. I mean, fair point they are great characters in the original, but why don't you just reread The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Paul Bunyan if you want the same characters doing the same things?
So look, this is just a fun book, a joyous novel full of big ideas and hope. It's a rare and timely novel. You should read it.
April 5, 2024
Part of raising a child well is telling them the right stories…Stories are the stuff souls are made from.
from Bunyan and Henry by Mark Cecil
Images appliqued to the Dream Quilt blocks were inspired by a Voice which came to Lucette. The images seemed prophetic, Lucette interpreting them only in hindsight. But what were these last two portending? There was one was of a man with an axe, a hammer, and an anvil. And now this latest one of a bird in fight over water, holding another bird below it.
Lucette was the one good thing that had happened in Paul Bunyan’s life. He was a child when his father had been trampled by diseased cattle and a teenager when his mother was taken to debtor’s prison. Bunyan toiled for years in El Boffo’s Lump mine for the promised reward of money that would pay off his mother’s debt and free her. Bunyan was a dedicated, hard worker, even winning the title of Lump Master. But the promised reward was withheld. Freeing his mother would have to wait.
Bunyan didn’t know that Lump was the source of all his problems. It powered the world while destroying it. It had turned the cattle mad, destroyed the pristine forests and waters, and now it had infected Lucette with Silverdark and she was dying. There was a rumored cure that only El Boffo had access to. Bunyan set off on a journey that would take him into danger, but he also would find unexpected allies in John Henry, in hiding after escaping from an unjust imprisonment, and his brilliant wife.
Only when you’re up against a nightmare will you learn to face the nightmare–not a moment before!
from Bunyan and Henry by Mark Cecil
Bunyan follows the Gleam, trusting that its twisty path will lead him to his Beautiful Destiny. It is not an easy road. He will battle monsters of all kinds, from El Boffo to a monstrous bovine that lurks in a dark cave. With each day, Lucette is closer to death. Yet Bunyan never loses his humanity and faith, never walks away from helping another. By saving John Henry, he has made a priceless friend who will accompany him on his journey.
You may think that a novel about Tall Tale characters will be just for children. And the author tells that he first told the story to his children. But at the core of all stories and myths are essential truths.
This is a quest story about two friends committed to each other and to saving the world. There is adventure and adversity, and love and hope.
The story is also a commentary on American history, the legacy of colonialism and systemic racism, and how the American Dream works only for a few. El Boffo, the populist promoter of capitalism, preaches consumerism, extolling to produce more, to buy more, while his industry systematically destroys the environment and brings death to the people.
Near to death, Lucette understands that “the dark was vaster than the light,” and yet “the light was more eternal than the dark.”
And that is the kind of hope we so desperately need, the kind of story we need to share with our children. Life is not easy and the challenges can be so overwhelming you may want to give up. But if we commit to what is right, and believe, and work together, we can find our beautiful destiny.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book.
from Bunyan and Henry by Mark Cecil
Images appliqued to the Dream Quilt blocks were inspired by a Voice which came to Lucette. The images seemed prophetic, Lucette interpreting them only in hindsight. But what were these last two portending? There was one was of a man with an axe, a hammer, and an anvil. And now this latest one of a bird in fight over water, holding another bird below it.
Lucette was the one good thing that had happened in Paul Bunyan’s life. He was a child when his father had been trampled by diseased cattle and a teenager when his mother was taken to debtor’s prison. Bunyan toiled for years in El Boffo’s Lump mine for the promised reward of money that would pay off his mother’s debt and free her. Bunyan was a dedicated, hard worker, even winning the title of Lump Master. But the promised reward was withheld. Freeing his mother would have to wait.
Bunyan didn’t know that Lump was the source of all his problems. It powered the world while destroying it. It had turned the cattle mad, destroyed the pristine forests and waters, and now it had infected Lucette with Silverdark and she was dying. There was a rumored cure that only El Boffo had access to. Bunyan set off on a journey that would take him into danger, but he also would find unexpected allies in John Henry, in hiding after escaping from an unjust imprisonment, and his brilliant wife.
Only when you’re up against a nightmare will you learn to face the nightmare–not a moment before!
from Bunyan and Henry by Mark Cecil
Bunyan follows the Gleam, trusting that its twisty path will lead him to his Beautiful Destiny. It is not an easy road. He will battle monsters of all kinds, from El Boffo to a monstrous bovine that lurks in a dark cave. With each day, Lucette is closer to death. Yet Bunyan never loses his humanity and faith, never walks away from helping another. By saving John Henry, he has made a priceless friend who will accompany him on his journey.
You may think that a novel about Tall Tale characters will be just for children. And the author tells that he first told the story to his children. But at the core of all stories and myths are essential truths.
This is a quest story about two friends committed to each other and to saving the world. There is adventure and adversity, and love and hope.
The story is also a commentary on American history, the legacy of colonialism and systemic racism, and how the American Dream works only for a few. El Boffo, the populist promoter of capitalism, preaches consumerism, extolling to produce more, to buy more, while his industry systematically destroys the environment and brings death to the people.
Near to death, Lucette understands that “the dark was vaster than the light,” and yet “the light was more eternal than the dark.”
And that is the kind of hope we so desperately need, the kind of story we need to share with our children. Life is not easy and the challenges can be so overwhelming you may want to give up. But if we commit to what is right, and believe, and work together, we can find our beautiful destiny.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book.
January 26, 2024
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, for an advance copy of this novel about America in another time and place, where fold heroes strode the Earth, fighting the good fight, helping those who needed it, living an American Dream that was uniquely their own.
I have always been a fan of folk heroes. Probably for the same reason why I like super heroes. One of my favorite kinds of comic stories, rare when I first started reading comics, fairly common now where when heroes teamed up. They always started with a fight, followed by and understanding, than a team-up and woe be to those who stood in their way. Bunyan and Henry; Or, the Beautiful Destiny would probably be the first big team-up in folk hero history. Paul Bunyan with his axe, John Henry with his fire and his mighty hammer. Debut author Mark Cecil has created a story as big as these men, full of dream creatures, mad cattle, wasting disease, Capitalism run amuck, and of course friendship, family, and love.
Paul Bunyan has been beat by life, but thinks he might be finally getting ahead. At an early age he lost his father and use of his foot due to a cattle stampede. His mother is in debtor's prison, and Bunyan is working in the industrial town of Lump City, mining for the new wonder material Lump. On the day that he thinks his luck has changed Bunyan finds his dreams are lies, and his wife has come down with a sickness that will soon kill her. Only El Boffo the owner and financier behind Lump might be able to cure her, so Bunyan goes to the Windy City to find El Boffo. There he crosses paths and a few rights and lefts with John Henry, a man on the run for fleeing imprisonment in the South building train lines for El Boffo. Henry needs passage to the Great White North, and helps Bunyan on his quest. A quest that is both magical, and dogged by the capitalist dreams of America, and even these two heroes might not stand a chance.
There is a lot more to this book, and I don't want to ruin this for readers. What a big story, full of great writing, characters and even better huge ideas. A mix of magical realism, buddy picture, a love story, an attack on what American loves most, money and racism, a much more. I can not get over that this is a first novel. Cecil has such an assured hand in writing, and even the craziest things make sense in the novel. In addition there are lines that will make the hardest of readers go wow, and or sniffle a little. Especially when Henry has to leave his son, with Henry's fate unknown the words they say to each other really touched me. The characters are all really good, especially John Henry. The way he tells his tale, the pain, the loss, even his loss of innocence is just amazing. A book that seemed so much larger than it was, and yet I wish the story went on.
Mark Cecil is not only a great writer, but has a great imagination. The skill to craft this, so close to what we know, and yet different enough to make it seem fresh. A fantastic debut, and one that makes me look very forward to more books by Mark Cecil.
I have always been a fan of folk heroes. Probably for the same reason why I like super heroes. One of my favorite kinds of comic stories, rare when I first started reading comics, fairly common now where when heroes teamed up. They always started with a fight, followed by and understanding, than a team-up and woe be to those who stood in their way. Bunyan and Henry; Or, the Beautiful Destiny would probably be the first big team-up in folk hero history. Paul Bunyan with his axe, John Henry with his fire and his mighty hammer. Debut author Mark Cecil has created a story as big as these men, full of dream creatures, mad cattle, wasting disease, Capitalism run amuck, and of course friendship, family, and love.
Paul Bunyan has been beat by life, but thinks he might be finally getting ahead. At an early age he lost his father and use of his foot due to a cattle stampede. His mother is in debtor's prison, and Bunyan is working in the industrial town of Lump City, mining for the new wonder material Lump. On the day that he thinks his luck has changed Bunyan finds his dreams are lies, and his wife has come down with a sickness that will soon kill her. Only El Boffo the owner and financier behind Lump might be able to cure her, so Bunyan goes to the Windy City to find El Boffo. There he crosses paths and a few rights and lefts with John Henry, a man on the run for fleeing imprisonment in the South building train lines for El Boffo. Henry needs passage to the Great White North, and helps Bunyan on his quest. A quest that is both magical, and dogged by the capitalist dreams of America, and even these two heroes might not stand a chance.
There is a lot more to this book, and I don't want to ruin this for readers. What a big story, full of great writing, characters and even better huge ideas. A mix of magical realism, buddy picture, a love story, an attack on what American loves most, money and racism, a much more. I can not get over that this is a first novel. Cecil has such an assured hand in writing, and even the craziest things make sense in the novel. In addition there are lines that will make the hardest of readers go wow, and or sniffle a little. Especially when Henry has to leave his son, with Henry's fate unknown the words they say to each other really touched me. The characters are all really good, especially John Henry. The way he tells his tale, the pain, the loss, even his loss of innocence is just amazing. A book that seemed so much larger than it was, and yet I wish the story went on.
Mark Cecil is not only a great writer, but has a great imagination. The skill to craft this, so close to what we know, and yet different enough to make it seem fresh. A fantastic debut, and one that makes me look very forward to more books by Mark Cecil.
June 10, 2024
Read my full review: https://www.mwgerard.com/review-bunya...
Mark Cecil has deftly reframed the hallowed figures of Paul Bunyan and John Henry in this book. The legendary men are forced to go toe to toe with the capitalistic greed of an expanding America. They remain heroes in this retelling but their foes now include amorphous ideals as well as bad guys.
Paul Bunyan works a backbreaking job as a miner in Lump Town but can never quite get ahead. He toils each day with the mine owner’s promise that any worker who makes it ten years will earn a gold bar and can choose a new home from his shiny catalog. But his beloved wife Lucette has contracted the dreaded silver dark disease. Paul must leave Lump Town, and risk his promised pension, to find a cure for her.
Along the way, he meets John Henry, a wanted man determined to escape with his family to a country where they can truly be free. A wrongly convicted Black man, he was put on the chain gang where he drove spikes along new railroad. His speed and strength were renowned, so much so that when he sentence was nearing its end, the warden fabricated a reason for the judge to extend his sentence — he was too valuable to the railroad expansion project. He escaped his chains and is now running for his life.
Both men have been beaten down by life and yet have found hope and something to fight for. Their unlikely adventures require each to trust the other, consider unusual possibilities, and be brave in the face of monsters real and imagined.
Mark Cecil has deftly reframed the hallowed figures of Paul Bunyan and John Henry in this book. The legendary men are forced to go toe to toe with the capitalistic greed of an expanding America. They remain heroes in this retelling but their foes now include amorphous ideals as well as bad guys.
Paul Bunyan works a backbreaking job as a miner in Lump Town but can never quite get ahead. He toils each day with the mine owner’s promise that any worker who makes it ten years will earn a gold bar and can choose a new home from his shiny catalog. But his beloved wife Lucette has contracted the dreaded silver dark disease. Paul must leave Lump Town, and risk his promised pension, to find a cure for her.
Along the way, he meets John Henry, a wanted man determined to escape with his family to a country where they can truly be free. A wrongly convicted Black man, he was put on the chain gang where he drove spikes along new railroad. His speed and strength were renowned, so much so that when he sentence was nearing its end, the warden fabricated a reason for the judge to extend his sentence — he was too valuable to the railroad expansion project. He escaped his chains and is now running for his life.
Both men have been beaten down by life and yet have found hope and something to fight for. Their unlikely adventures require each to trust the other, consider unusual possibilities, and be brave in the face of monsters real and imagined.
November 21, 2024
In Mark Cecil's debut novel, BUNYAN AND HENRY OR A BEAUTIFUL DESTINY, the reader is taken on a sweeping American adventure in another time. He's reimagined the folklore of Paul Bunyan and John Henry and set them on an epic journey to pursue their destinies and set things right. With it's well-researched historical fiction and elements of magic and myth, I can fairly say it's like nothing I've ever read, but gave me the feeling of watching an Indiana Jones movie, especially at the end. (Maybe it was just the silverdark snakes). In any event, I'd love to see this story on the screen some day.
Throughout the fun and entertainment, Cecil employs dark humor and satire to confront essential, highly-relevant societal issues and he does so in an emotionally vulnerable, thoughtful way. (He is after all, The Thoughtful Bro). His characters, like all of us, are impacted by the interplay of racism, capitalism, and the exploitation of natural resources.
This line from Page 140 was especially poignant. "Racism, you see, deep down, it's alway just been good business. Nothing lives in America unless it turns a profit, and nothing dies as long as it does."
Though Cecil does not shy away from these challenging themes, the story's tone always leans towards hopeful and it's driving force is friendship and love. I had such a good time reading this novel. It is clear from these pages that Mark Cecil's imagination and adventurous spirit know no bounds.
Throughout the fun and entertainment, Cecil employs dark humor and satire to confront essential, highly-relevant societal issues and he does so in an emotionally vulnerable, thoughtful way. (He is after all, The Thoughtful Bro). His characters, like all of us, are impacted by the interplay of racism, capitalism, and the exploitation of natural resources.
This line from Page 140 was especially poignant. "Racism, you see, deep down, it's alway just been good business. Nothing lives in America unless it turns a profit, and nothing dies as long as it does."
Though Cecil does not shy away from these challenging themes, the story's tone always leans towards hopeful and it's driving force is friendship and love. I had such a good time reading this novel. It is clear from these pages that Mark Cecil's imagination and adventurous spirit know no bounds.
November 30, 2024
I picked this book up because the previous interest in me. A retelling of the Paul Bunyan legend? I went into reading this with zero expectations of liking it or not liking it and I think that is the way that you have to approach this. Let me tell you why I loved this book.
There are so many subtle and not so subtle messages within the story that really apply to our current situation today. I’m not talking about just the political climate although that is represented here, I’m also talking about the social aspects, the way people are treated because of their differences. For example, one of the things that I love was when the fighters of liberty go after John Henry yet again and Paul Bunyan points to one of the fighters tattoos that reads “FOL” and tells him he’s missing a letter - another “O”.
The friendship between Bunyan and Henry shows that each one of us has things we bring to the table. Later in the book, indigenous people are represented and again show how they bring something to the American landscape. I loved how while this was a retelling of how Paul Bunyan came to be, there were so many layers and so many lessons we can really learn from. It was creative, entertaining, and thought-provoking - nothing like I expected.
I only give five stars to books that stir something deep within my soul and usually bring tears to my eyes. No tears here but I’d easily give it a 4.8. Really loved this book and will hold on to it to read again.
There are so many subtle and not so subtle messages within the story that really apply to our current situation today. I’m not talking about just the political climate although that is represented here, I’m also talking about the social aspects, the way people are treated because of their differences. For example, one of the things that I love was when the fighters of liberty go after John Henry yet again and Paul Bunyan points to one of the fighters tattoos that reads “FOL” and tells him he’s missing a letter - another “O”.
The friendship between Bunyan and Henry shows that each one of us has things we bring to the table. Later in the book, indigenous people are represented and again show how they bring something to the American landscape. I loved how while this was a retelling of how Paul Bunyan came to be, there were so many layers and so many lessons we can really learn from. It was creative, entertaining, and thought-provoking - nothing like I expected.
I only give five stars to books that stir something deep within my soul and usually bring tears to my eyes. No tears here but I’d easily give it a 4.8. Really loved this book and will hold on to it to read again.
July 12, 2024
Fascinating debut novel: part fable, part satire, and sometimes creative fireworks that are pure delight.
At face value, this is a retelling of the American myths about Paul Bunyan and John Henry, legends who step out of the mist of the 1800s into a muscular, sprawling nation. The settings are vivid and fresh, and there is none of the mildew of old tall tales.
There are dastardly villains, of course, and they are experts in toying with human motivation. But instead of the gold, oil and overcutting of trees in the old Bunyan's world, there is an evil energy source whose powers serve more as allegory than reality. Imagine if climate change happened not over decades, but over days.
The genius of this book is in its set pieces. There are many, and they are packed with ideas. My favorite is a place called The Bubble -- a one page savagery toward privilege and status, it's smart and merciless. Another great one happens when Bunyan and Henry, white men, enter a Black saloon, and their host has to keep vouching for them. It's a sharp turnabout from who has access to what in contemporary America.
I'm not sure I understood what the Beautiful Destiny meant, nor whether it came to pass. No matter -- I was busy being enthralled by the inventiveness. And I was very glad to learn, toward the end, where the giant bull called Blue came from.
At face value, this is a retelling of the American myths about Paul Bunyan and John Henry, legends who step out of the mist of the 1800s into a muscular, sprawling nation. The settings are vivid and fresh, and there is none of the mildew of old tall tales.
There are dastardly villains, of course, and they are experts in toying with human motivation. But instead of the gold, oil and overcutting of trees in the old Bunyan's world, there is an evil energy source whose powers serve more as allegory than reality. Imagine if climate change happened not over decades, but over days.
The genius of this book is in its set pieces. There are many, and they are packed with ideas. My favorite is a place called The Bubble -- a one page savagery toward privilege and status, it's smart and merciless. Another great one happens when Bunyan and Henry, white men, enter a Black saloon, and their host has to keep vouching for them. It's a sharp turnabout from who has access to what in contemporary America.
I'm not sure I understood what the Beautiful Destiny meant, nor whether it came to pass. No matter -- I was busy being enthralled by the inventiveness. And I was very glad to learn, toward the end, where the giant bull called Blue came from.
May 19, 2024
{4.5 stars}
Thanks to Pantheon Books for the gifted copy. All opinions below are my own.
I'm a real sucker for retellings and this is the most unique one I've come across yet. It balances mythological magical realism with a real takedown of capitalism and the dark side of the American dream. Paul is the perfect example of a hardworking, ethical American who believes if they work hard and live well they will be rewarded. But from a young age, he is impacted by the misery and greed of the time. His family is caught in the endless cycle of poverty and he dreams of so much more. Every time he gets ahead, life hands him another caveat. But he has a secret weapon, a magical gleam that helps guide him towards the "right" decisions, although they don't always result in the fate he imagines.
I loved the writing of this story, it was so evocative of the time. The cadence of the story and the misery of the backbreaking time reminded me of one of my favorite shows, Hell on Wheels. I could easily envision Lump Town and its residents. I was desperately rooting for Paul and yet cringing at how believable the truths of life kept trying to cut him down. I loved the balance of an adventure story with a story drowning in heart and faith and the cautionary tale that is always so inherent in a fairy tale (or American tall tale in this case).
Thanks to Pantheon Books for the gifted copy. All opinions below are my own.
I'm a real sucker for retellings and this is the most unique one I've come across yet. It balances mythological magical realism with a real takedown of capitalism and the dark side of the American dream. Paul is the perfect example of a hardworking, ethical American who believes if they work hard and live well they will be rewarded. But from a young age, he is impacted by the misery and greed of the time. His family is caught in the endless cycle of poverty and he dreams of so much more. Every time he gets ahead, life hands him another caveat. But he has a secret weapon, a magical gleam that helps guide him towards the "right" decisions, although they don't always result in the fate he imagines.
I loved the writing of this story, it was so evocative of the time. The cadence of the story and the misery of the backbreaking time reminded me of one of my favorite shows, Hell on Wheels. I could easily envision Lump Town and its residents. I was desperately rooting for Paul and yet cringing at how believable the truths of life kept trying to cut him down. I loved the balance of an adventure story with a story drowning in heart and faith and the cautionary tale that is always so inherent in a fairy tale (or American tall tale in this case).
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