What do you think?
Rate this book
Win a free print copy of this book!
9 days and 01:17:05
10 copies available
Canada only
Fancy Gap: A Novel
Not yet published
Expected 17 Feb 26Win a free print copy of this book!
9 days and 01:17:05
10 copies available
Canada only
A powerful, unforgettable three estranged generations in Appalachia struggle with loss, poverty, and their individual demons, until an explosive climax brings them together in a most unexpected way.
In the hills and isolated mountain enclaves of southern Appalachia, Nana Grace has left her own family behind to become the “Shepherd” of a disaffected flock of worshippers that she keeps in thrall through both charismatic preaching and the dispensing of stolen drugs.
Her daughter struggles with breast cancer, the painful effects of its treatment, and the expectation to perform unceasing gratitude toward the evangelical community that reluctantly supports her out of a transactional sense of duty.
Her eldest son, Dalton, has been discharged from the army under conditions "Other than Honorable"; accused of breaching the policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. He drifts hesitantly home, pulled by guilt and love for his younger brother. Messy (christened Messiah at Grace’s insistence) is awkward in a world that attacks difference. Guided by faith, tortured by abandonment, Messy eventually develops a warped moral code shaped by alienation and anger.
Fancy Gap is an unflinching look at the desperation that throws kerosene on the flames of opioid use, poverty, illness, and apocalyptic Christianity. Profound and captivating, violent and lyrical, it introduces Zak Jones as a compelling and original new voice in Canadian literature.
In the hills and isolated mountain enclaves of southern Appalachia, Nana Grace has left her own family behind to become the “Shepherd” of a disaffected flock of worshippers that she keeps in thrall through both charismatic preaching and the dispensing of stolen drugs.
Her daughter struggles with breast cancer, the painful effects of its treatment, and the expectation to perform unceasing gratitude toward the evangelical community that reluctantly supports her out of a transactional sense of duty.
Her eldest son, Dalton, has been discharged from the army under conditions "Other than Honorable"; accused of breaching the policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. He drifts hesitantly home, pulled by guilt and love for his younger brother. Messy (christened Messiah at Grace’s insistence) is awkward in a world that attacks difference. Guided by faith, tortured by abandonment, Messy eventually develops a warped moral code shaped by alienation and anger.
Fancy Gap is an unflinching look at the desperation that throws kerosene on the flames of opioid use, poverty, illness, and apocalyptic Christianity. Profound and captivating, violent and lyrical, it introduces Zak Jones as a compelling and original new voice in Canadian literature.
336 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication February 17, 2026
1 person is currently reading
653 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 31, 2025
Southern gothic meets cult horror meets the dry dust of a gravel road. This is a *novel* and a damn fine one. The prose is alive with sound, smell, and texture, bearing echoes of Faulkner and O’Connor. The story makes you think on the micro and the macro level. Wise and intelligent.
Thanks to Hamish Hamilton for the ARC.
Thanks to Hamish Hamilton for the ARC.
Displaying 1 of 1 review