The Fruit of Stone

by Mark Spragg

The author of Where Rivers Change Directions pens a beautiful, lyrical novel about two lifelong friends who love the same woman and the journey that will take them through the heart of the West, and into the heart of their relationship. A first novel. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction, Westerns, Contemporary, Book Club, Adult Fiction

321 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Mark Spragg is the author of Where Rivers Change Direction, a memoir that won the 2000 Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers award, and the novels, The Fruit of Stone, An Unfinished Life, and, Bone Fire. All four were top-ten Book Sense selections and An Unfinished Life was chosen by the Rocky Mountain News as the Best Book of 2004. Spragg’s work has been translated into fifteen languages. He lives in Wyoming with his wife, Virginia, with whom he wrote the screenplay for the film version of his novel, An Unfinished Life, starring Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, and Jennifer Lopez, and released in 2005.

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the record, I am a big Mark Spragg fan. I would start a Mark Spragg fan club if I didn't secretly dream of being friends with him and I don't think that can happen if he sees me as some groupie who sends out a newsletter with gushy words and candid photos taken while stalking him at his ranch.

The man can write. And his characters are so real, so authentic to the places where they are. He has the "author" eye for situations and settings. You know that you could go out to a bar for a beer with him and while it might seem like a nice night to you, he would be able to capture and describe things and details that you didn't even really notice, but would instantly recognize once you saw them through his eyes.

This first novel is set in Wyoming, but moves through Montana and ends up in Nebraska. It's about love - the kind of love that lasts a long time. It's about friendship - the kind of friendship that lasts a long time. And it's about a way of life that is entirely separate from cities and urban things.

[Steve Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this novel the landscape of Wyoming and Yellowstone is like the inner landscape of the characters. Two men love a woman from their teen years to their 60s. A horse and a dog accompany them on a quest for the woman, Gretchen. Mark Spragg breathes their breaths, feels their aches. He's an exceptional writer.

[Jeanette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do not take the 2 star rating in vetting your choice to read it or not. Because many others loved the mood and the placements, AND the story line.

I've abandoned quite early, something I rarely, rarely do. It's over the top flowery and the writing style one in which I just can't go on. Is it an adjective or an adverb waterfall? Or more a projectile run on sentence syndrome? Both, for me. To some who love more is more and/or a romantic and emotive base motive in the male pattern consciousness- you may feel the opposite. Or at least, that it is lyrical for the locale or plotting placements.

Not for me, it goes on my abandoned shelf. These men don't seem possible to me either. I've lived nearly 70 years and most of it in the Midwest within deep city and also in open sky rural. And known people from literally 100's of ethnic groups/nationalities/backgrounds. But none of them are as backward looking dismal as these men, not even the addicts. Thank God.

[Garlan ✌ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely one of the best books I've read this year. Spragg tells the story of Barnum McEban and his best friend Bennett as they follow the woman they both love across the Rocky Mountain west. Along the way, we discover their childhood background and the things that have shaped their adult lives. Its a story of love, friendship, betrayal and forgiveness. Spragg's descriptions of the west are filled with lyrical prose while his dialogue is taut and spare. The contrast makes for a real, gut-wrenching story that is entirely believeable. The current story is interwoven with McEban's (protagonist) recollections of his childhood. The two parallel tales race toward one another and culminate in an ending that is both sad and satisfying to the reader. I gave this one 5 stars.

[Julie Richert-Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prepare yourself to be stunned by an astonishing language of light, shadows, water, wind, rock, and darkness.
Prepare to meet people whose conciousness has been shaped by these forces and by their love of these forces.
Prepare for the thoughts and convictions of such persons, collided with the frenetic reality of the modern world.
While it sometimes is making you smile behind your hand, and sometimes making you laugh out loud, this novel will be quietly breaking your heart.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I've read by Spragg and I have to say I'm glad I stumbled across his work.

It wouldn't seemingly make much sense to say this book isn't overly dramatic, yet dramatic events happen within its pages.

I guess his style just struck me as very ... normal. Very everyday. Very human. Things which might happen to any one of us. Thoughts we might think. Dreams we might have.
And yet it's beyond "everyday," in that his descriptions catapult you into the pages to see, smell, hear, taste, touch ... as though you are another character walking along with the others.

Beautiful depth without over-the-top histrionics.

[Bronson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this author. I read a collection of his essays that I was very impressed with and I thought this novel was wonderful. Kind of Ivan Doig, Kent Haruf like but a little more raw and with the right amount of tragedy.

[Jon Koebrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fruit of Stone is a fine book that gets better the farther one reads. It is a smoldering fire that consumes itself slowly in a somber tale of sad Wyoming endings. Spragg does a fine job feeding the contained fire in two parallel tracks of youth to young adult and in a few weeks of the present time. The work, mannerisms and vernacular of the ranchers reminded me of farm work I experienced growing up. If you like Kent Haruf you will like this book.

[Books I'm Not Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really great writing and depiction of ranch life ... I had a few troubles with the book, but overall it was an interesting story.

[Mia Tryst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strangest thing, after I had read this book, I enthusiastically loaned it out to an acquaintance, a part-time writer and librarian (who really isn't much of a librarian inasmuch as he is a fixture in front of a computer screen) and told him he should read this book (if he wanted to be a better writer). A week later, he told me he didn't like the writing because it was "effeminate, flowery language." That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Like being a macho writer is necessary to being a male writer? Stick to Marvel Comics, then. Anyway it annoyed me. The fact that he didn't return the book, still has it, but won't read it? What a crock.

Sorry. I digress. The Fruit of Stone is fabulous story telling; it's literary prowess narrated in a languid, unhurried voice. Something you might encounter if you're sitting around a campfire in the middle of Wyoming, Texas, Montana...men swapping tales of Western hardship, boyhood, and women with humor spliced in, broken bones, broken hearts and yes, love. I loved this book, and went on to buy all of Spragg's books. There is no give away, here. Just know that you need to read Mark Spragg once in your lifetime. I'll have to come back to this give a synopsis.

[Mark Soone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, I am not sure even what to say about this one? I know Spragg writes non-fiction and my hope is that he reverts back to that forum (sorry if that bothers anyone).

The writing style seemed way to forced in the way he would try and give flowery descriptions to every single mundane facet of life. I had kinda hoped that these would cease after the beggining, but they never seemed to. I am not sure if he was trying to add a poetic type of prose to his descriptions but I soon wearied of them (actually from the start). The characters seemed a little to cardboard for me, and I never really identified with any of them. The plot seemed to have a decent premise but once again due the characters and writing style it was never able to connect with me.

I can't think of a single person I would recommend this one to...But if you read it I hope you enjoy it more than me!

[Jonathan K (Max Outlier) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't get into it due to the repetitive narrative style, as in "he does this, and then does that, but he really thinks he might have done the other thing". It's overused and lacks rhythm that keeps the reader engaged. The cowboy thing grows old, though his creative use of descriptions as it relates to the environment is well done. But it left me wanting much more, so I quit reading it half way through. I DID enjoy "An Unfinished Life" and had hoped for more with this book. Oh well.

[Signe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn't know what to expect with this, but really enjoyed Where Rivers Change Direction. Am actually just going shelf by shelf and reading those books I purchased but didn't read right away. Some books will be donated, this one will be a keeper for awhile.

The way the book is presented doesn't really do justice to the novel. Not being a fan of romance type books I wondered what I was thinking when I bought this. A certain segment of society has burned many people out with the continual insistent melodramatic demand--sometimes violent--to focus on their sex life and genitals. Another down score that this opens with a sex scene. Had very low expectations of this at the outset.

As the novel developed it became much more layered and interesting. The main character is a rancher in Wyoming who is going through a reckoning with his life, his family, his closest friends and the loss of his family over time. Spragg moves the novel through predictable patterns of past experiences inlaid with the current life of the main character. It really works well as a character development as we see him with his family and friends from boyhood on in small vignettes . As he loses more people he begins to wonder about his choices in life and his ability to see what is right in front of him.

This novel is plain on the surface, but has a surprising amount of depth and complexity. I don't think I comprehend it all at the first read.

The main character, though we do have to read a few references to his "pecker", does seem like a real person. This novel doesn't get trashy or gratuitous because the main character isn't. He is quiet, spare in speech but beautifully direct, calm in temper, hardworking, and has integrity. His character is a wonderful foil to the other characters who are struggling through their own tragedies and losses while continuing on with their lives. And just when it seems everything is going to hell in a hand basket, there are wonderful moments of grace and comedy. I would say it's more down to earth about the human condition, one aspect of which is sex, which isn't presented as a driving force for all behaviors and decisions in life and the pinnacle of all experiences.

All together they are an interesting group. Enjoyed all the characters in this novel.

Loved the studies of Wyoming land, light, air, weather.

[Kim R. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book at a library who was giving away books that no one had checked out in many years. Now I know why this book was there!

It was the weirdest writing I had ever read. I started skipping sentences, then paragraphs and then most of whole chapters. The characters were ridiculous and the random people they ran into were just as bizarre. I finally skipped a whole lot at the end and once I picked it back up, McEban had been shot, his foot was broken and frozen, his shirt was bloodied......and I didn't even care to go back and find out what had happened to him

I never not finish a book, but it was so hard to pick this one back up after reading a few chapters. I'd read some, put it down, and felt agony to pick it up again another day as I knew I would not enjoy it. But, I finished it (after skipping some parts) and thought what a waste of time that was.
I read other reviews afterwards and all they talked about was the language - the flowery language, the many adjectives (tons!!), the long descriptive paragraphs......so if you like that type of writing, go for it. Otherwise, I say not to bother.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an unusual read for me. I'm pretty sure I found this book in my Little Free Library because it was described as a Western which I very rarely read. It must have been the book cover. When I started it, I wondered if I really wanted to read it and then remembered a statement I read about reading books. If a book doesn't seem that good from the start, subtract your age from 100 and then read the number of pages that you get - so, being 81, I only had to read 19 pages so I gave it a try. By the time I got to Page 19, I thought I'd read a little more of it and it didn't take long before I knew I would read it to the end. It was more like reading 2 books and a few dreams - 1/2 the book was about the present and 1/2 was about the past and the dreams were at the very end. Usually, I don't like books that bounce back and forth but it was OK in this instance. What helped was that most of the characters were good and interesting and I wanted to find out what happened in the end.

I would recommend it to a friend.

[Ken Saunders · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really confused by this book. It's a love triangle melodrama, cranked up with oddness and violence into a Western WUTHERING HEIGHTS.

In the story, rancher McEban drives his best friend Bennett out around Wyoming in search of the woman they both love, Gretchen. Along the way, the casual way characters erupt in brutality for no apparent reason is disorienting. Early on, Gretchen bloodies one friend's head with a 2x4 and later Bennett beats a park ranger to the brink of death. The characters all just sort of shrug.

Here's what McEban's grandmother told him about her arrival from Ireland via Ellis Island in 1917:
"
  "We told them we'd hold America to our hearts."
  She opened her eyes and looked to her sides and lowered her voice.
  "We didn't tell them we'd kill them," she said. "Kill every last mother's son of them if we were turned away."
"
The author uses disorientation a lot. In addition to the unfathomable character behavior, scenes drift around past and present to express how memories filter perception. A surprisingly weird book.

[Ted · Rating 2 out of 5]

The books started out on an interesting note and went downhill from there. The flashback scenes in this book, taking the Protagonist Barnaby McCaben back to his childhood provided the best action in the book, the narrative around the present time is what caused me the most problems. The letters, the blind horse, Bennet and how absolutely pathetic he was, the never-ending description of junk food they were eating (hot dogs and wonder bread). I enjoyed the Wyoming setting, but that wasn't enough to save this novel.

[T. Coughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

One thing is certain, Mark Spragg has a way with words and is a master of details and setting. The author knows the territory he writes about, he knows horses and hard work on a Wyoming ranch. I stayed with the story to the end and enjoyed the dynamics between the characters. There is a scene when Gretchen enters McEban's bedroom. It's masterful. I did want more of her, wanted to know what made her tic (and toc). I'd rate this novel 3 1/2 to 4. Scene by scene it works.

[Gina Pickering Hutchison · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to describe how this Book touched me! I grew up on a ranch in Wyoming, and I can totally relate to this story. The women are strong and the men are usually short on words or emotions! McEban grows up in this Environment and cannot quite get his head around being alone. He and Bennett and Gretchen have been friends their whole lives. This book uncovers the secrets, the lies, and the tough determination of them all, and the bond of friendship that stretches but never breaks.

[Shannon Marrette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this via Sribd. My initial thought was there was way too much description…..however that thought was quickly gone as I found myself getting lost in this story. It was a treat that Mark Spragg narrated. The tone and cadence of his voice fits the story perfectly. I always rate books but rarely take time to write a review. I loved this book and when I find an author that speaks to me….I tend to read everything they have written. I hope he continues to write for a long time.

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

As soon as I finished this book I started over. I started over partly because I was in a fog for the first 100 pages. I started over because I fell unexpectedly in love and I had a chance to start before the beginning. I started over because the sky in the cracks made sense and I wanted to see for myself. It's been compared to Lonesome Dove and I can see it. I can see it. Even though I am just a blind horse. Please, please don't leave me here with the remains of PS I love you.

[Gregory Tait · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm actually sad that I have finished this book. At first Spragg's writing style was difficult to get into. The rhythm was different for me. All the characters were broken and bruised is some way. I loved how much of their lives were reviled and the book felt so real and honest. Excellent!

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is of two long time friends who grew up together on Wyoming ranches and their love for the same women. Both are tough, get it done men of the West. The story accurately depicts the life in the American West.

[Elsabe Retief · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classic cowboy story, just the way I like it. A lot of attention to the words and the rhythm of the images and characters. True real characters honest and living like the land and of the earth. The landscape goes along with the rhyme and the animals become the reason.

[Nicholas Belardes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I soaked myself in the prose and feel better for it. The story itself didn’t really matter because I was reading for craft, trying to unlock codes, and discern Spragg’s use of language about Wyoming nature. Glad I did.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the prose and the pace of the story as well as the characters who were very real. The settings/environments were beautifully and realistically described.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt like I was along for the ride. Very nice descriptions brought things to life.

[Venita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book. I didn't think I'd find cowboy culture so interesting. Would like to read more by this author.

[Leo W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has the Hemingway style down. A well-told story.

[James Stamper · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and suspenseful book written on the semi modern west. I enjoyed it very much. Any fan of Louis L'Amour or Larry McMurtry would love this writer.