Beartooth

by Callan Wink

Two brothers in dire straits, living on the edge of Yellowstone, agree to a desperate act of survival.

In an aging timber house hand-built into the Absaroka-Beartooth mountains, two brothers are struggling to keep up with their debts. They live off the grid on the fringe of Yellowstone, surviving after the death of their father. Thad, the elder, is more capable of engaging with things like the truck registration and the medical bills from their father’s fatal illness and the tax lien on the cabin their grandfather built, while Hazen is... different, more instinctual, deeply attuned to the natural world. Desperate for money, they are approached by a shadowy out-of-towner with a proposition and agree to attempt a heist of natural resources from Yellowstone, a federal crime. Beartooth is a fast-paced tale set in the grandeur of the American West.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Westerns, Adventure

256 pages, Hardcover

First published February 11, 2025

About the author

Callan Wink is the author of the novels Beartooth and August and the story collection Dog Run Moon. He has been awarded fellowships by the National Endowment for the Arts and Stanford University, where he was a Wallace Stegner Fellow. His stories and essays appear widely, including in The New Yorker, Granta, Playboy, Men’s Journal and The Best American Short Stories Anthology. He works as a fly fishing guide on the Yellowstone River in Montana.

Reviews

[Dez the Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this hits the same is “August”, the authors other novel. Same decent writing, same lack of flow.

Lots of details about painting the picture of the scenery and the relationship between the brothers, but it just seemed to lack purpose…direction.

We follow a story of two mid-20’s brothers trying to make money to keep the cabin their father let them so they are presented with doing something illegal to keep it. It didn’t engage me or enthrall me, I wasn’t thrilled or intrigued, it just kind of left me wondering where the book was going and how it way going to tie altogether. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really.

This is my second go with this author and it felt the same, so maybe his writing just isn’t for me. It’s no Great Alone!!!!

[Ania · Rating 4 out of 5]

i could smell this book

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Beartooth is a deeply sensory novel about two brothers doing what they need to do to not only to survive, but find themselves after the death of their father. Despite its straightforward prose, the beautiful writing, complex themes, and excellent character work elicited quite an emotional reaction from me.

Thad and Hazen are two brothers living alone together in the Montana mountains, reeling with the financial strain of hospital bills after the death of their father. Facing the loss of their house, they’ve taken on small illegal poaching gigs from a strange local guy and his “daughter” to keep them afloat. Thad, being more grounded, deals with the planning and logistics of these jobs, and keeps much of the details of their financial crisis from his brother, who is more nature oriented and better at executing the tasks. When approached with a larger, riskier job, and with the unexpected return of their aloof mother, Thad and Hazen have no other choice but to accept. Due to circumstances around this job, both brothers have to grow as individuals for better or for worse. And as they do so, they both need to face a reality in which they won’t have each other anymore.

This is probably one of the most sensory books I’ve ever read. I came out of this in total awe with how well the serene, and often dangerous, nature was described, I felt like I was up there in the Cottonwoods in the Montana mountains. This paired perfectly with the subdued story which focused more on the gentle exploration of relationships amongst family among the backdrop of a sort of nature heist plot.

While the heist story line might have roped me in, it was the excellent characters that held me onto this. Everyone was so deeply complex and interesting, realistic and flawed in wonderful ways. Critics of this book might say that it is too slow paced, or that not enough happens, but I think it did a perfect job of fully exploring each of these characters as they grew. It was a truly beautiful reading experience.

[switterbug (Betsey) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wilderness and survival story, Beartooth covers a breathtaking landscape where two brothers, Thad and Hazen, are scarcely getting by in their leaky, rundown house on their smallholding property. They live in a sparsely populated and wooded area in the Big Sky, Montana region, close to the densely tourist territory of Yellowstone Park. Their father died a few years ago after accumulating a massive medical debt that still plagues their finances. The brothers chop and sell wood to folks in the area, not enough to pay their debts or fix the house. On other occasions, they hunt bear out of season, for a murderous and dangerous man known as “the Scot.” The gallbladder of a bear fetches $1500 in the Asian market. It’s hard to go legit when they are on the verge of losing their home.

The Scot approaches them with a new criminal idea, one that would surely pay off their debts. Thad is the more intellectual of the two, a year older than 26-year-old Hazen, who has good instincts, especially in fishing and hunting, but he drinks too many beers and talks to too many listening ears. Hazen is impulsive and may get them into trouble.

Callan Wink writes a measured narrative with mature prose and a propulsive pace. The tension runs higher and deeper as Hazen and Thad make decisions that risk their lives. It’s a thriller on the one hand, but the themes are more about family, loyalty, survival, and trust. Provocative and thoughtful, Beartooth (named for the Beartooth Mountains) flowed into my veins, and by the end, it struck my heart.

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title/Author: Beartooth by Callan Wink

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Spiegel & Grau

Format: audiobook on hoopla
https://www.hoopladigital.com/audiobo...

Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: first time

Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978195411...

Release Date: February 11, 2025

General Genre: Popular Fiction, Mystery, Thrillers & Crime, Literary Fiction, Popular Fiction

Sub-Genre/Themes: Ancient American West History, Family dynamics, Brothers, Loneliness, Yellowstone Park, survival, rural living, poverty, Mothers & sons, grief, crime

Writing Style: compelling, emotional, sparse, intricately plotted, character-driven

What You Need to Know: "Two brothers in dire straits, living on the edge of Yellowstone, agree to a desperate act of survival in this taut, propulsive novel reminiscent of the works of Peter Heller and Donald Ray Pollock."

My Reading Experience: This book is totally outside my usual go-to genres but I have a seriously obsessive affection for well-written stories about brothers who get caught up in something bigger than themselves. Thad and Hazen, both in their late twenties, live near Yellowstone Park, off the grid in their family home. They are struggling to survive with only their father's firewood cutting/delivery service accounts and living off the land.
I loved the dynamic between the two brothers and later, their flighty/estranged mother when she returns to squat on their property in her trailer. The underlying sense of dread made my heart invest in Thad and Hazen so much, it was painful. As soon as The Scott showed up offering some risky deal to make money, I had the worst feeling something bad would happen.
The story is full of wisdom and the author-asides about guilt, loneliness, obligation, brotherly love, pain, and forgiveness. One of my new favorite audiobooks--I always looked forward to my walks so I could listen to this story. I need more just like it.

Final Recommendation: Recommended for readers who enjoy a wilderness setting, deeply emotional family ties/brotherly relationships, strong writing, compelling story, and well-developed characters with distinct personalities and backstories that you helplessly fall in love with.

Comps: To Carry a Body to Its Resting Place by C. S. Humble, The Heavenly Table by Donald Ray Pollock, David Joy books

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I heard that a new Callan Wink book was on the horizon, I knew I had to be an early reader. I loved his novel August and his short story collection Dog Run Moon. And when I saw that Beartooth was being compared to two of my favorites—Peter Heller and Donald Ray Pollock—I was positively salivating.

Now I’m here to tell you that this book is good. Can’t pull yourself away good. Can’t come up for air good. Let me tell you how good it is: I’m an urban woman who has never camped, has rarely been in the wilderness, and is about as far from a survivalist as you can get, yet I felt completely immersed in the world that Callan Wink created. Beartooth is like receiving an all-expenses visa to a whole different world.

The plot in a nutshell: Thad and Hazen are two brothers from Yellowstone country. Their mother, Sacajawea, deserted them when they were young and is a total enigma to them, and their father recently died. Isolated and alone, they survive by the skin of their teeth, chopping firewood and poaching bears. Then, a nefarious Scotsman approaches them with a dangerous scheme: smuggling elk antlers out of Yellowstone, which carries hefty fines and a jail sentence. They reluctantly accept after things go from bad to worse for the brothers. As they navigate this treacherous path, their emotional journey is as compelling as the physical dangers they face.

The intimately connected brothers, Thad and Hazen, are at the heart of the story. They are starkly different in their approach to life. Thad, the pragmatic one, has incorporated their father’s spartan work philosophies and unyielding adherence to regulation. He is meticulous, work-oriented, clear-headed, and resourceful. His one flaw, which the Scotsman quickly gleans, is his belief that he’s his brother’s keeper and that Hazen would flop without him there to lead. Hazen, on the other hand, lets life have its way with him and rarely considers the consequences of his action. He is comfortable in his own skin, though. Thad describes him succinctly: “The way he acts is how he is.”

Not unlike Peter Heller in The River, Callan Wink places these brothers in a high-stakes situation where two men of vastly different temperaments must struggle to complete a feat that holds the key to their future. Showcased against immutable natural history and nature's majesty and potential violence, the action unfolds in surprising ways. The writing is powerful and visceral as the two brothers are forced to battle the natural world that rages both inside and outside of them to survive. This book gets an unqualified and honest 5-star rating from me, and I thank Spiegel & Grau for the privilege of receiving an early copy.

[Stephanie (aka WW) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This is one well-written story. I literally wanted to mark every other sentence as exceptional. This is typical: “He felt himself draining in some elemental way, hollowing day by day. He occasionally had the thought that it could go one of two ways. Either he’d empty until there was nothing left and a strong wind would blow him away, or he’d slowly fill back up, and what he’d been before would be replaced with something different altogether. He’d heard somewhere that every ten years the cells in your body are completely renewed. He felt that it was happening to him now in some sort of accelerated process that he wasn’t sure he’d survive.”

Beartooth tells the story of two brothers, Thad and Hazen, living in the Absaroka-Beartooth mountains just outside of Yellowstone National Park. Thad is solid and capable, the voice of reason and the handler of real-world issues like finances and taxes. Hazen is younger and impulsive, less concerned with limitations and more in tune with the natural world. Desperate for money after their father dies, the brothers become involved with a shady figure and undertake an illegal enterprise. Things don’t go as planned and the brothers come face to face with the law and mortality. It’s a rough-and-tumble story about the coming-of-age of two men who approach life very differently, and it kept me compulsively turning the pages.

I have to address the ending because readers will likely find it abrupt, as I did. Not all questions are answered…not everything wrapped up nicely. I was slightly disappointed. Not with the unanswered questions, I can deal with that, but with the fact that I could have happily read 200 more pages about these two characters and their often funny encounters with nature and their fellow man. As I have said, the writing is extraordinary. Callan Wink is brilliant and deserves to be widely-read.

Much thanks to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Chris Bissette · Rating 5 out of 5]

People say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but I'm not at all ashamed to say that I requested an ARC of this from the publisher entirely based on the cover art and the title. I don't think I even read the blurb before I asked for it, so let's read it together now:

Two brothers in dire straits, living on the edge of Yellowstone, agree to a desperate act of survival in this taut, propulsive novel reminiscent of the works of Cormac McCarthy and Donald Ray Pollock.

In an aging, timber house hand-built into the Absaroka-Beartooth mountains, two brothers are struggling to keep up with their debts. They live off the grid, on the fringe of Yellowstone, surviving off the wild after the death of their father. Thad, the elder, is more capable of engaging with things like the truck registration, or the medical bills they can’t afford from their father’s fatal illness, or the tax lien on the cabin their grandfather built, while Hazen is . . . different, more instinctual, deeply in tune with the natural world.

Desperate for money, they are approached by a shadowy out-of-towner with a proposition, and the brothers agree to attempt a heist of natural resources from Yellowstone, a federal crime. Beartooth is a fast-paced tale with moments of surprising poignancy set in the grandeur of the American West. Evoking the timeless voices of American pastoral storytelling, this is a bracing, masterful novel about survival, revenge, and the bond between brothers.

I won't bury the lede here. I really loved Beartooth, and it's a strong contender for my favourite book so far this year.

I'm a very fast trader generally, and this is a relatively short book, so I expected to rattle through it. The blurb promises a "fast-paced tale" but I didn't find that to be the case (which sounds like a criticism, but it isn't). There's a quality to Wink's writing, and to the sprawling, verdant setting, that almost demands you slow down and drink it in. I found myself stopping for a few minutes after each section to sit and reflect on what I'd just read before carrying on, which is not something I generally do when I'm reading.

Despite being a novel about adult men this feels like a coming-of-age story in a lot of ways. Thad begins the novel as an elder brother acting almost as a surrogate father to his younger brother, their actual father dead and their mother absent. He's dealing with debts, with trying to keep the house standing, with making sure that they have enough money to eat, with making sure that they both keep working. But it's all too much, and he's on the verge of becoming "worn out", something his father always warned him against. After their heist doesn't pan out the way they expect it to he retreats into himself, shutting himself away from the world and entering a sort of hibernation that sees him almost regress to childhood. And it's through this regression that his brother is finally allowed to step out from under his shadow and to start carving his own path - a path that leads him away from Thad, ultimately. By the time Thad finally emerges from his hibernation it's as a transformed man who, maybe, is finally ready to join the world in ways he never has before.

Wink's prose is fantastic, painting his world in small details that add up to a much larger whole. His characters feel alive, ready to stride off the page, and the relationship between Thad and his brother feels real and complex and honest. We don't spend much time with Hazen but I really felt like I knew him and understood him - possibly better than his brother understood him - despite that.

The publisher lists this under "Mystery & Thrillers" and I suppose that that's true, in that the plot concerns itself with a criminal act and the subsequent fallout from it, including an act of extreme violence that the entire narrative hinges around. But we never actually see the violence, only the consequences of it, and the heist is slow and measured and undertaker in the depths of night with nobody else around. It's the quietest thriller I've ever read. Much like the relationships that Wink develops, much of what's important here happens off the page, but we understand enough to be able to piece it together ourselves.

This one doesn't come out until February next year, but I'll definitely be picking up a physical copy when it lands.

[Brian Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

[3.5, rounded up] This well-written wilderness tale with a novella feel (256 pages) features two brothers who struggle to subsist in the Montana wilds. It was a solid 4 stars in the first half and a mediocre 3 stars in the second half.

Wink does a skillful job highlighting the dissimilar personalities of the two siblings. He also serves up an intriguing storyline that focuses on illegal deeds in Yellowstone, one of my all-time favorite spots. But things didn’t quite come together for me in the second half.

That being said, Wink’s wilderness prowess is evident from start to finish. Fun fact: he lives in Montana where he moved at age 18 or 19 to become a fly-fishing guide on the Yellowstone River. This continues to be his livelihood. In a February 2025 interview, Wink conceded his outdoor adventures are more personally satisfying than his role as a word merchant. “I would much rather be rowing the boat down the Yellowstone than staring at my computer,” he said to a chorus of chuckles who gathered for an event in a Mississippi bookstore.

Hence, it’s no surprise that the author guides readers on a wilderness odyssey that provides numerous insights (who knew that bear gallbladders are viewed by many as a prized aphrodisiac that can command stunning prices?)

I also appreciated the fact that there were only five key characters to follow. I’ve come to the somewhat embarrassing conclusion in recent years that my literary “sweet spots” are fictional works that have single-digit character rosters. Perhaps a former Buffalo mayor was correct when he once publicly branded me as being “of average intelligence.”

[Andy Weston · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author himself is a fishing guide on the Yellowstone river which partly explains how his descriptions of the seasons and mountain wilderness are so evocative, they are pretty much characters themselves and certainly play a large part in the enjoyment of the novel.

Thad and his younger brother, Hazen, have been doing whatever they need to survive, living off the land. Their mother long ago abandoned the family, and now their father has died. In contrast to their father who had strong morals they do what they need to survive, and that includes illegal bear poaching and antler collecting from within Yellowstone National Park.

By the nature of the genre Wink is writing in it is no surprise that the brothers come unstuck, and their lives become even more of a challenge. Their nefarious activities involve them mixing with a mysterious and dodgy outsider known as ‘the Scot’ and it seems the brothers are destined for disaster, but Wink is good at subverting expectations.

In criticism, though it may be seen as a compliment also, his descriptions of the landscape are stronger than his characters, we get to know the mountains better than the people. Also, that the emphasis is on the pace of the novel, which again, many readers will like, with page-long chapters and short sentences; a novel intended to excite rather than to educate or discuss.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A propulsive plot drives this novel in which a pair of brothers living on the fringes of Yellowstone and barely getting by—combining a small saw mill operation with a little poaching on the side—are made an offer they can’t refuse by a really shady figure. Well, of course things don’t go well. Really suspenseful and engaging. If you like writers like Peter Heller and (the late, lamented) Jim Harrison, chances are you’ll be on board for this.

[Trent Welton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the premise and idea of this story. But I wanted more. I will read more from this author. I think this book could have maybe should have been 100 pages longer.

[Robert Intriago · Rating 4 out of 5]


Two brothers make a living by hunting bear and selling wood. A proposal is made to them by a man looking for elk antlers. It involves the removal of discarded antlers from Yellowstone park. This event changes their live. A nice story, well written and well developed characters. It starts a little slow but the action picks up with some really good action.

[Bonnie Brody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thad and Hazen are two brothers living in remote Montana, somewhere near Yellowstone National Park. Their father has recently died and, unlike his careful and meticulous care of their home, the brothers have let things go. The roof is leaking, the outside needs painting, and they are very behind in their real estate taxes. They make a meager living selling firewood to residents and wealthy second home owners in their area.

Thad almost always takes the lead and is the initiator and planner. Hazen follows along and the reader is left to wonder if he is somewhat cognitively impaired or on the autism spectrum. Their father was a man of conscience and hard work, attitudes he attempted to instill in his sons. However, they both grapple with ethical and moral issues, especially Thad. His endeavors become shady and he often asks himself what his father would have thought about what he is doing.

Into the picture comes Sacajawea, their absent mother, who one day appears in their yard hanging her wash on a clothesline and parking her RV near their home. Sacajawea is somewhat like a hippie with wanderlust. She left the brothers when they were very young and only very occasionally reappeared for short periods. It appears now that she plans to stay. Thad won't acknowledge her but Hazen seems intrigued by her arrival.

There is also the mysterious Scot, a large and tall man, with a mystery about him. The brothers often sell him wood and are intrigued by his silent adult daughter who sits in the front of the car and occasionally plays the bagpipes for them. The Scot may not really be Scottish, and there is something about him that worries Thad. Thad likes to have his 22 pistol on him when he deals with the Scot who is said to have killed a young man who was robbing him.

Callan Wink writes beautifully and his descriptions of the land's beauty, brutality, and mysteries are carefully employed in the narrative. His characterizations are detailed and descriptive. I felt like I was in Thad's head as he grappled with his angst and conscience. This book was so good that, upon finishing, I ordered a copy of Mr. Wink's book of short stories.

I thank NetGalley, the author and the publisher for granting me the privilege of reading and reviewing this early review copy.

[Shawn Hicks · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was excited to read this book based on the plot summary. Unfortunately, it missed the mark. I recently read another novel about a bond between brothers: The Survivors, by Alex Shulman. This was a much more interesting read and did a great job of bringing you into the family plot and caring for the brothers' lives and struggles.

Beartooth did a good job of introducing Thad and Hazen and getting you interested in their bond at first. You feel the tension between the two brothers, and get wrapped in the idea that Thad might be more level-headed, and Hazen may be a bit slow-minded. However, as the story progresses, I did not enjoy the pacing. The first 50% of the novel focuses on the brothers and a vague idea of a job Hazen wants to take which Thad doesn't, due to its potentially dangerous nature. Suddenly, they take the job and a short number of pages quickly blows through the progress of said job, without much detail or sense of danger. Then the novel quickly wraps up with a sudden ending and no real feeling of conclusiveness.

It was a highly unsatisfactory ending which left me feeling like I wasted my time investing any amount of energy in the story of these two brothers. I don't know what I just read because it felt incomplete. I can't really get into much more than that without giving away plot spoilers, but this book was highly lacking in plot development because it focused too much on character development. If you want a bond-between-brothers story, go with The Survivors by Alex Shulman. This just wasn't it for me.

[Bobby · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[R.Z. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two brothers, Thad and Hazen, are alone in hill country after their father dies. They must learn how to survive financially without losing their deteriorating home. Thad is a year older than Hazen, and he tries to guide his younger, impulsive brother. The brothers cut and sell wood to people throughout the valley, but it's not enough to settle the mounting bills to pay for their father's hospitalization and the taxes coming due on the property. Desperate to make more money, the brothers agree to go into Yellowstone National Park to gather elk antlers for the Scot, a known killer, to sell illegally. Easier said than done. The Scot advances cash for them to buy inflatable rafts to haul the antlers down the river and out of the park after they spend several days camping, gathering, and loading the antlers that the elk had shed. Coming back from their heist, they are spotted by park rangers and try to outrun them but fail. Thad suffers a severe injury and is potentially bleeding to death. Hazen dumps the antlers into the river. The rangers spot them again, but this time, Hazen calls out for help, and the rangers get Thad to a hospital.
Author Callan Wink is a skilled writer and weaves in other characters seamlessly. Much more than the straightforward plot described above, this becomes a tale of how Thad slowly recovers from his injuries and how the two brothers grow apart. As he heals, Thad begins to imagine another future for himself.
I can see this leading to a sequel and possibly to a movie. Yes, this story is that good!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wink is a new author for me, I love his writing. I enjoy books set in Montana and this is the setting of the story of two brothers. Strong characters brought to life on each page by the author. I found myself caring about Thad and Hazen.
Wink is a fly fishing guide on the Yellowstone River. I’m excited to read more of his work!

[Mary McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Great story of two adult brothers living off the grid near Yellowstone. In debt and trying to survive, they plot a scheme with a nefarious man that goes awry. The sense of place is masterfully portrayed as are the bonds of family. Full of mounting tension and wonders of the west..
One that wasn’t on my radar but so glad I was intrigued enough to read.

[Caroline Dunbar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 5/5. A 10/10. A 100/100. On whatever ranking scale used this is a perfect score.

[Annie Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the ARC of this book! I’m landing on a 4.75 star rating rounded up. Beartooth was basically everything I could have wanted in a gritty backcountry tale. The imagery in this book is absolutely stellar. Very atmospheric and visceral without being over the top. I felt like I was stomping around the damp leaves and twigs right alongside Thad and Hazen. In some ways, this book was really relaxing. There was a somber sort of energy throughout the story that was almost meditative. The quiet exploration of characters amidst the backdrop of a beautiful and brutal land was captivating and also quite realistic. I did feel pretty stressed for our boys at times! The looming financial situation combined with one of the more unique heist plots I’ve come across definitely drives the story forward. I’m excited to read more from Callan Wink.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I initially thought this book might be a slow or difficult read for me, but I really got hooked quickly by the two main characters, Thad and Hazen. I became immediately curious and invested in the two brothers and the other characters that are introduced. The scene descriptions and development of the plot kept me hooked and I finished the book in a day. I can definitely see this being made into a film someday and hope the author considers a second book to bring us back to these characters.

[Isak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in under 24 hours it was so good. I’ve liked Callan Wink’s short stories and his book August, but this is his best so far. Less coming of age and more outdoor thriller a la Peter Heller, the plot of the story takes off right from the beginning and has some great nature descriptions, foreshadowing, and excellent pacing. Very excited to read future books of his.

[Paul Lemcke · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were story bits here and there that could have been interesting if they had been brought together and finished. But a theme would build and then die. I was super interested a half dozen times, but then let down. The very open-ended ending was disappointing.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this dynamic and thoughtful novel about two brothers on the edge of financial ruin who get drawn into a scheme to make some big money with one dangerous trip into Yellowstone National Park. Dark, gripping, and thoroughly enjoyable - I didn't want to leave these characters.

[Nina Simon]

Captivating, propulsive, uneven.

[Karli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot more than I honestly thought I was going to. Reading the description kind of gives off an old man/dad book kind of vibe that I normally wouldn't pick up, but this book was super engaging. It reminded me of a northwest version of "No Country for Old Men."

This book is filled with such rich descriptions that it's almost like an assault on the senses. I've never been in the deep woods of Montana before, but I feel like I could recognize them by appearance and smell, such based on this authors writing.

I thought the characters were the best part of this book. Both Thad and Hazen were incredibly fleshed out and felt so real. I loved the older/younger brother dynamic. The slow reveal of who Hazen was as a person, despite seeing him mostly through the biased eyes of older brother Thad, was really well done. I wish part of the novel had been done in Hazen's POV because he was my favorite.

My only issue with the novel waa that I was expecting more of the novel to be them out in the mountains conducting the 'heist'. It felt like it came and went pretty quickly to me. I also feel like a lot of the action happened off the page.

Thank you to Netgalley and Spiegel & Grau for providing me an ARC for an honest review

[Emma Struebing]

I enjoyed it but I think I was expecting more? A large part of the reason I picked it up is that it was described as being atmospheric and having plenty of gorgeous descriptions of the Montana wilds, and, if you know me, writing rife with lush descriptions of the natural world is my favorite. There was certainly some of it, but not as much as I was hoping or expecting. In general, I was left with this certain sense of remoteness or distance between Thad (narrator) and his feelings / Thad and his actions / Thad and his surroundings. It’s not that his motivations didn’t make sense, just that there was a palpable barrier between the character and my visceral experience of his experience on a narrative/craft level if that makes sense. I dunno, maybe that’s the point; survival is hard and doesn’t leave a lot of room for anything else.

I like the final vignette a lot.

[Tera Shaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was definitely more vibes than plot. It picked up a bit in the last 50 pages but when it ended it felt like “that’s it?” I did love the descriptive writing style and it was an interesting enough read. I just still have so many questions.

[Piper · Rating 2 out of 5]

To any single mothers who just took away their 15 year old son’s PlayStation 5 as punishment: I recommend this book for your son!