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Mesilla
1863, New Mexico Territory. Shot full of holes and on the run from the relentless pursuit of his one-time friend now intent on retribution, Confederate deserter Everett Root finds himself navigating the brutal desert headed to the town of Mesilla, where he believes salvation lies. But when Everett stumbles on a cache of silver, and a young girl who’s lost everything, he is forced to take stock of his past and his future. Full of sprawling landscapes and wild gunmen, Mesilla is a story of one man’s resolve to rectify the wrongs he has committed and make peace with his place in the world.
Advance praise:
“A shotgun marriage between classic and revisionist Western, Mesillasings a hard-bitten practicality and brutal authenticity.” —Emily Schultz, author of The Blondes
“In a mounting gush of sumptuous prose, Robert James Russell’s Mesilla scrubs bare the elements of the classic Western—the wounded, questing hero, the damsel in distress, the phantasmal villain in hot pursuit—and reinvents them as existential meditation.” —Matthew Gavin Frank, author of Preparing the GhostThe Mad Feast
“Robert James Russel’s Mesillareads like young James Lee Burke–action so sharp readers might as well pull their fingers from the page looking for blood. A fine story of revenge in the old west, salvation hoped for, but not easily achieved.” —Urban Waite, author of The Terror of Living and Sometimes the Wolf
“If Albert Camus had written westerns, they might have sounded something like Robert James Russel’s Mesilla. Tough as rawhide, coiled like a diamond back, and spare as the New Mexico desert, this taut novel is as loaded as the Dance revolver its wounded hero wields. Russell is a writer on the rise, with a voice and vision sure to entrance every reader who lays eyes on this book. I’m already pinning away for his next one.” —Peter Geye, author of The Lighthouse Road
Advance praise:
“A shotgun marriage between classic and revisionist Western, Mesillasings a hard-bitten practicality and brutal authenticity.” —Emily Schultz, author of The Blondes
“In a mounting gush of sumptuous prose, Robert James Russell’s Mesilla scrubs bare the elements of the classic Western—the wounded, questing hero, the damsel in distress, the phantasmal villain in hot pursuit—and reinvents them as existential meditation.” —Matthew Gavin Frank, author of Preparing the GhostThe Mad Feast
“Robert James Russel’s Mesillareads like young James Lee Burke–action so sharp readers might as well pull their fingers from the page looking for blood. A fine story of revenge in the old west, salvation hoped for, but not easily achieved.” —Urban Waite, author of The Terror of Living and Sometimes the Wolf
“If Albert Camus had written westerns, they might have sounded something like Robert James Russel’s Mesilla. Tough as rawhide, coiled like a diamond back, and spare as the New Mexico desert, this taut novel is as loaded as the Dance revolver its wounded hero wields. Russell is a writer on the rise, with a voice and vision sure to entrance every reader who lays eyes on this book. I’m already pinning away for his next one.” —Peter Geye, author of The Lighthouse Road
116 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2015
2 people are currently reading
323 people want to read
About the author
Robert James Russell
33 books75 followersA born and bred Michigander, Robert James Russell is the co-founding editor of the literary journal Midwestern Gothic, which aims to catalog the very best fiction of the Midwestern United States (an area he believes is ripe with its own mythologies and tall tales, yet often overlooked), as well as the micro-press MG Press. In 2013 he launched the online literary journal CHEAP POP, which publishes micro-fiction, 500 words or less.
Fascinated by regionalist literature and the intersection of place/landscapes and relationships, his work has appeared in numerous publications, both print and online. His first novella, Sea of Trees, was published by Winter Goose Publishing in 2012. His chapbook, Don’t Ask Me to Spell It Out, was published in April 2015 by WhiskeyPaper Press. His Western novella, Mesilla, was published in September 2015 by Dock Street Press. He’s been nominated nine times for the Pushcart Prize, and was awarded an artist residency with the University Musical Society for the 2014-2015 performance season. In 2016 he was awarded Runner-up for the Passages North Waasnode Fiction Prize, and his essay “Lord of the Lake” was a finalist for the Parks and Points Fall Essay Contest.
Robert is the former Director of Development for the non-profit writers’ center Great Lakes Commonwealth of Letters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Co-Director of the Voices of the Middle West literary festival at the University of Michigan. Robert currently lives in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is represented by Abby Saul of The Lark Group.
Fascinated by regionalist literature and the intersection of place/landscapes and relationships, his work has appeared in numerous publications, both print and online. His first novella, Sea of Trees, was published by Winter Goose Publishing in 2012. His chapbook, Don’t Ask Me to Spell It Out, was published in April 2015 by WhiskeyPaper Press. His Western novella, Mesilla, was published in September 2015 by Dock Street Press. He’s been nominated nine times for the Pushcart Prize, and was awarded an artist residency with the University Musical Society for the 2014-2015 performance season. In 2016 he was awarded Runner-up for the Passages North Waasnode Fiction Prize, and his essay “Lord of the Lake” was a finalist for the Parks and Points Fall Essay Contest.
Robert is the former Director of Development for the non-profit writers’ center Great Lakes Commonwealth of Letters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Co-Director of the Voices of the Middle West literary festival at the University of Michigan. Robert currently lives in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is represented by Abby Saul of The Lark Group.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 20, 2016
Read 1/4/16 - 1/8/16
5 Stars - Highly Recommended / The Next Best Book
Page: 113
Publisher: Dock Street Press
Released: September 2015
Confession: I've had this book downloaded to my Kindle for quite some time and for reasons that are not completely clear to me, I left it sitting in the good ole TBR pile. After seeing The Hateful Eight a few weeks ago, I suddenly had this overwhelming urge to read a gritty western that wasn't too concerned with the fact that it was a Western and turns out, Robert James Russell's Mesilla was the perfect choice.
In this tight little story about survival in the unfriendly New Mexico desert, we meet up with Everett Root as he hides out in a mine after a recent shoot out. Having taken a bullet to the leg, Everett's in pretty rough shape. His only chance of survival is to outrun his pursuer, and get to Mesilla - a town he believes will offer him sanctuary.
You'll find the usual Western tropes, or what I assume are the usual, since I don't typically read westerns - an unintentionally charming gunslinger; a relentless antagonist; hostile Indians; a mouthy damsel in distress; and a small chunk of silver that will hopefully ease his passage through the desert. But the beauty of the novel lies in Russell's prose, which flows like poetry off the page.
Breathtaking, beautiful, and bloody as hell, Mesilla kept me captivated straight through to the very end. The book is all landscape and language, Russell is one helluva talented writer. The only complaint I have is that I wish it were longer.
5 Stars - Highly Recommended / The Next Best Book
Page: 113
Publisher: Dock Street Press
Released: September 2015
Confession: I've had this book downloaded to my Kindle for quite some time and for reasons that are not completely clear to me, I left it sitting in the good ole TBR pile. After seeing The Hateful Eight a few weeks ago, I suddenly had this overwhelming urge to read a gritty western that wasn't too concerned with the fact that it was a Western and turns out, Robert James Russell's Mesilla was the perfect choice.
In this tight little story about survival in the unfriendly New Mexico desert, we meet up with Everett Root as he hides out in a mine after a recent shoot out. Having taken a bullet to the leg, Everett's in pretty rough shape. His only chance of survival is to outrun his pursuer, and get to Mesilla - a town he believes will offer him sanctuary.
You'll find the usual Western tropes, or what I assume are the usual, since I don't typically read westerns - an unintentionally charming gunslinger; a relentless antagonist; hostile Indians; a mouthy damsel in distress; and a small chunk of silver that will hopefully ease his passage through the desert. But the beauty of the novel lies in Russell's prose, which flows like poetry off the page.
Breathtaking, beautiful, and bloody as hell, Mesilla kept me captivated straight through to the very end. The book is all landscape and language, Russell is one helluva talented writer. The only complaint I have is that I wish it were longer.
July 30, 2020
I took a Westerns and Film Noir class in college (it was an elective for comparative something or other). I knew nothing about either genres having been a mostly contemporary fiction, 1800s British Literature, and fantasy novel reader up to that point. I was actually surprised by 1) how much the genres have in common, and 2) how much I liked both. Maybe I'm just a book nerd who likes reading whatever, whenever. But my old habits have stuck and I haven't picked up a western since even though I went to an awesome second hand bookstore in Riverside, CA in Florida where they were plentiful. (Was Lions a Western? - I digress).
So I'm glad that this book came in a book mail box. It's really a novella, but pretty fascinating and at 113 pages, it was a book I feel like I could read again to tease out more of the narrative.
In any case, it's 1863 and even though Everett Root should be fighting in the Civil War, he's not. Instead he's in New Mexico trying to get away from George, a one-time friend, turned enemy who is hell bent on catching and killing Everett. It's pretty clear early on that Everett has run out of options. I didn't have a good feeling about his chances.
This random innocent side character won't be unnecessarily killed will she? I thought. I must have forgotten I was reading a western where the plot is as unforgiving as the terrain.
Anyway, Everett has this idea he gets fixated on about a destination, Mesilla, and how it's the answer to his problems. Folks, the answer to your problem is never a destination. Especially if you have a festering wound and penicillin hasn't been invented yet.
This books reminds me to step out of my genre comfort zones and so maybe next time I'm in a book store I'll wander over to the Westerns and try again.
So I'm glad that this book came in a book mail box. It's really a novella, but pretty fascinating and at 113 pages, it was a book I feel like I could read again to tease out more of the narrative.
In any case, it's 1863 and even though Everett Root should be fighting in the Civil War, he's not. Instead he's in New Mexico trying to get away from George, a one-time friend, turned enemy who is hell bent on catching and killing Everett. It's pretty clear early on that Everett has run out of options. I didn't have a good feeling about his chances.
This random innocent side character won't be unnecessarily killed will she? I thought. I must have forgotten I was reading a western where the plot is as unforgiving as the terrain.
Anyway, Everett has this idea he gets fixated on about a destination, Mesilla, and how it's the answer to his problems. Folks, the answer to your problem is never a destination. Especially if you have a festering wound and penicillin hasn't been invented yet.
This books reminds me to step out of my genre comfort zones and so maybe next time I'm in a book store I'll wander over to the Westerns and try again.
September 22, 2015
Tight little western that you can knock out in a single sitting or a weekend. All the classic elements of the western are there, filtered through Russell's honed literary voice. Treasure and riches? Check. Grizzled gunslingers? Check. A stark landscape for the villain to chase the hero across? Check. Thoroughly enjoyed this novella.
January 1, 2021
Westerns are not really my thing but a friend wrote this and I am curious to read inside the imaginations of people I know. It is, without a doubt, a gritty and descriptively poetic western. I love the details of the desert plants and the 1860s equipment. It's almost possible to taste the journey you go on with the main character, through the lawless times chased by the ramifications of bad decisions. My body aches with the accumulated wounds and my mouth stings with the injustices (or perhaps justice) as the story comes to a close. It is a short novella, worthy of gifting to your father if he is a Western lover like mine.
November 17, 2015
MESILLA is a Western. It says so right on the cover. It makes no apologies for being a Western but doesn’t make a show of it, either. By this, I mean that it isn’t “celebrating the genre” by self-consciously evoking classic tropes and referencing every John Wayne movie. Rather, MESILLA gives us a story and that story happens to be a Western.
The plot of this 113 page novella is, in fact, fairly simple. It’s 1863, and Confederate deserter Everett Root traverses a desert in New Mexico Territory. Gravely wounded, he is pursued by the man who shot him and wants him dead. Root’s destination is the Mexican town of Mesilla, where he hopes to find safety and salvation. On his journey, he encounters a silver nugget and a girl needing his help.
No, there isn’t anything especially original there, but many good stories spring from familiar plot elements. Not surprisingly, the outward simplicity of MESILLA’s story constitutes much of that story’s appeal. One could say that it’s a STARK simplicity – as stark as the landscape that the characters inhabit. Ultimately, MESILLA is a story of hard men in a beautiful but equally hard world. It shares this theme with many classic Westerns, and THE SEARCHERS came immediately to my mind. The comparison with this revered work does not diminish author Russell's story. Russell seems to fully appreciate the importance of landscape to the Western myth, and he compensates for a lack of cinematic visuals with a vibrant, picturesque language. Admittedly, there were a few moments where the “visual imagery” is, perhaps, laid on a little thick (For example: Russell tells us that his protagonist’s fingers are “doing the dance” when reaching for a Dancer revolver.). For the most part, though, the prose is elegant and evocative and an integral part of the work.
In the interest of full disclosure, I will note that I’m acquainted with Russell, who works with my wife. I genuinely do believe that the man has talent, however, and that it’s fully on display here. Russell also clearly loves the Western genre, and I hope that other Western fans will give MESILLA a look.
The plot of this 113 page novella is, in fact, fairly simple. It’s 1863, and Confederate deserter Everett Root traverses a desert in New Mexico Territory. Gravely wounded, he is pursued by the man who shot him and wants him dead. Root’s destination is the Mexican town of Mesilla, where he hopes to find safety and salvation. On his journey, he encounters a silver nugget and a girl needing his help.
No, there isn’t anything especially original there, but many good stories spring from familiar plot elements. Not surprisingly, the outward simplicity of MESILLA’s story constitutes much of that story’s appeal. One could say that it’s a STARK simplicity – as stark as the landscape that the characters inhabit. Ultimately, MESILLA is a story of hard men in a beautiful but equally hard world. It shares this theme with many classic Westerns, and THE SEARCHERS came immediately to my mind. The comparison with this revered work does not diminish author Russell's story. Russell seems to fully appreciate the importance of landscape to the Western myth, and he compensates for a lack of cinematic visuals with a vibrant, picturesque language. Admittedly, there were a few moments where the “visual imagery” is, perhaps, laid on a little thick (For example: Russell tells us that his protagonist’s fingers are “doing the dance” when reaching for a Dancer revolver.). For the most part, though, the prose is elegant and evocative and an integral part of the work.
In the interest of full disclosure, I will note that I’m acquainted with Russell, who works with my wife. I genuinely do believe that the man has talent, however, and that it’s fully on display here. Russell also clearly loves the Western genre, and I hope that other Western fans will give MESILLA a look.
September 23, 2016
It is clear to me that I am becoming more and more of a fan of Robert James Russell. His novellas are wonderfully written and spark so much intrigue. Russell takes your typical western backdrop and turns in into something more. His poetic pens flows and delivers us a rugged gunslinger, woman in distress, and hostile Indians. This book is a fast read and packed full of adventure. The backdrop of this book is set in a rough world and you root for our main hero as he races against his opponent. This gritty world is brought to life before you and you are pulled in as this book unfolds before your very eyes. With a keen imagination from Russell you will not be able to put this book down! 5 stars from me!
June 22, 2016
I picked up this book mostly due to the title. Mesilla is a town very close to where I live, and reading this book, I was able to imagine the landscape. Although, I had a hard time figuring out in what direction the main characters were traveling, but I recognized all the named landmarks. Definitely a western in the vein of Larry McMurty and Lonesome Dove.
October 22, 2016
I'm generally not drawn to Westerns for no real reason really. But Robert's novella was a short, sweet, and impactful entry into the genre for me. Awesome to read and support someone has been so supportive of my own work along the way. Plus, mine has an original drawing of an ostrich inside. Does yours?
November 13, 2015
A great short novel that will totally captivate you. I am so glad I won this as a giveaway on goodreads. It is a quick read but worthwhile nonetheless. I thoroughly loved the authors abrupt style.
November 23, 2015
Excellent Western with a man on the run from an unrelenting enemy done almost in the style of Carpenter's "Halloween". Great tension throughout. Hoping for a follow-up!
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February 8, 2021Gripping as fuck.
March 8, 2017
Excellent western novel. Unflinching and relentless. A panoramic view of the southwest, and a slow (painful) revealing of one man's heart.
October 2, 2016
Simple short western that evoked memories of a real place in an imagined time. This is my country and people
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews