All Things Left Wild

by James Wade

After an attempted horse theft goes tragically wrong, sixteen-year-old Caleb Bentley is on the run with his mean-spirited older brother across the American Southwest at the turn of the twentieth century. Caleb's moral compass and inner courage will be tested as they travel the harsh terrain and encounter those who have carved out a life there, for good or ill.

Wealthy and bookish Randall Dawson, out of place in this rugged and violent country, is begrudgingly chasing after the Bentley brothers. With little sense of how to survive, much less how to take his revenge, Randall meets Charlotte, a woman experienced in the deadly ways of life in the West. Together they navigate the murky values of vigilante justice.

Powerful and atmospheric, lyrical and fast-paced, All Things Left Wild is a coming-of-age for one man, a midlife odyssey for the other, and an illustration of the violence and corruption prevalent in our fast-expanding country. It artfully sketches the magnificence of the American West as mirrored in the human soul.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Westerns, Historical, Literary Fiction, Coming Of Age, Family

304 pages, Hardcover

First published June 15, 2020

About the author

James Wade lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country with his wife and daughter. He is the author of "Beasts of the Earth," a winner of the 2023 Spur Award for Best Contemporary Novel, "River, Sing Out" and "All Things Left Wild," a winner of the 2021 MPIBA Reading the West Award for Debut Fiction and a recipient of the 2021 Spur Award for Best Historical Novel from the Western Writers of America.

Represented by Mark Gottlieb with Trident Media Group.

Awards and Honors:
A winner of the 2023 Spur Award for Best Contemporary Novel (BEASTS OF THE EARTH)
A finalist of The Austin Chronicle's Best of Austin 2022 Best Fiction Writer
A winner of the 2021 Reading the West Award for Best Debut Novel (ALL THINGS LEFT WILD)
A winner of the 2021 Spur Award for Best Historical Fiction (ALL THINGS LEFT WILD)
A winner of the 2016 Writers' League of Texas Manuscript Contest (Historical Fiction)
A finalist of the 2016 Writers' League of Texas Manuscript Contest (Thriller)
A finalist of the 2016 Tethered By Letters Short Story Contest
Honorable mention in the 2016 Texas Observer Short Story Contest
Honorable mention in the 2015 Texas Observer Short Story Contest

Work by James can be found in the following Publications and Anthologies:
The Bitter Oleander | Skylark Review (Little Lantern Press) | Tall...ish (Pure Slush Books) | Intrinsick Magazine | Dime Show Review | Bartleby Snopes | Jersey Devil Press | Typehouse Magazine | After the Pause Journal | J.J. Outre Review | Potluck Magazine | Yellow Chair Review | Through the Gaps | Eunoia Review

Reviews

[Jessaka · Rating 4 out of 5]

The two brothers road through the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico, and then into Texas. The rancher followed them. It was during the Mexican revolution, and the Mexicans were leaving Mexico and fear, coming to America where they would only find more trouble. The brothers had found trouble enough when they stole 2 of the ranchers horses and killed his son. While the brothers had trouble enough, they would find more . The 1 brother was a murderer and when he stole he killed. And his younger brother stayed with him even though he knew better. Even though he knew that leaving was the better idea.

In the author is a great writer, even lyrical. I will certainly read more of his books. And I consider him 1 of my favorites has writers go.

[James Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told myself if I got to 99 reviews, I’d be the hundredth. Thank y’all for reading and for taking the time to share your thoughts. So many folks have offered real insight into the novel, and I appreciate each one.
All Things Left Wild won the 2021 Spur Award from the Western Writers of America, and that wouldn’t have been possible without the support shown by readers on this platform.
My new novel— River, Sing Out— is available for preorder wherever you do your shopping. I sure hope you’ll give it a shot and find something in it that you like.
Visit me at my website jameswadewriter.com and let’s talk about books 📚
Love every one of y’all,
JW

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Things Left Wild, Wade’s first novel is a western, or rather a literary novel dressed up as a western. The basic story is of two brothers who, during a bit of horse thievery, manage to kill a rancher’s son. The two brothers, Caleb and Shelby, first appear to be like Butch and Sundance trying to make their getaway with the law hot on their heels. But, when you peel back the layers, they are more Cain and Abel than Butch and Sundance and they are certainly East of Eden with all that implies. Caleb is the thinking brother, the moral sort, and Caleb the devil incarnate with no morals, no compunction, nothing holding him back from whatever he thinks he should get. Caleb is a shadow in Shelby’s bright lights, barely daring to utter a word of protest. Of course, this bond of brotherhood though goes both ways and it’ll turn out that it’s Caleb who nurses a guilty conscience that can never be salved. But the pair are intertwined and stuck together though they kind of hate each other.

Then, there’s the team of bounty hunters on their heels or rather one weak willed rancher told by his wife that he had no balls unless he brought home the scalps of the two brothers who murdered their twelve year old son, their only son. He has with him a sharpshooting woman who thinks she needs to protect the rancher and a couple of orphans they got handed along the way. The question is what will vengeance do to this rancher. Will it leave him any decency?

Wade never fails to show us how the west is filled with bands of outlaws, desperate gamblers, bounty hunters, and betrayers and those trying to start a new world. It is a western by virtue of the scenery and location, but then again what western ever filled itself with so much philosophical musings about the meaning of life?

[Max Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Things Left Wild is a remarkable debut novel by a very gifted author. Written in a style reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy, it deals with issues of life and death in a world where people endure rather than prevail, where morality doesn’t exist, and where violent acts are so horrific that innocence is forever lost and salvation beyond reach.

The story is set in Arizona, New Mexico, and on both sides of the Rio Grande in Mexico and Texas. It is a vast, rugged, treacherous, yet sublimely beautiful landscape. James Wade writes for visual impact and his descriptions of this part of the world conjure indelible breathtaking images of a pristine unchanging land corrupted only by the lawlessness and cruelty of man.

"There are but two natures, one is man’s – human nature – and the other is nature itself from which we have separated ourselves."

Caleb Bentley and Randal Dawson are the two main characters in this exploration of men’s souls. Both are tragically linked by the death of Dawson’s twelve year old son. In a botched horse theft, Caleb accidentally kills the boy and now desperately seeks forgiveness and redemption as he flees across the American Southwest. If he can escape, he hopes to… "never give another thought to all these things left wild."

Randall is in pursuit, out for vengeance to somehow prove his manhood, but ill-prepared for the journey over unforgiving terrain or the lawlessness and violence that he encounters along the way that will change him into that which he loathes.

"He would become all things that he hated and thus grow to hate himself, and in that hate he would find the only solace left to him. He would let it fester and rot until every trace of his humanity became consumed by blackness. If the world was full of monsters, he would
become one."

James Wade’s personal and direct style of writing, his passionate voice, elaborate dialogue, poetic language, and unapologetic graphic depictions of pure evil are hypnotic. There are passages with so much lyricism in them that I found myself reading and re-reading them over and over again.

The novel doesn’t neatly fit into any particular genre or category. Though it takes place in the west, it is not your typical western. Set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution, it is not your usual action-adventure. Describing the loss of innocence, it is not your normal coming of age book. It is at once a beautiful elegy to the land and a profound look into our existence and our mortality.

"The world is of itself and nothing else, and it will be as it is and as it always was. There is no changing for the world, only for the man."

Deeply fatalistic; evil is an inexplicable reality and death is inescapable, All Things Left Wild belongs in a category all to itself. In a word, it is extraordinary!

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my review.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Things Left Wild by James Wade is an excellent historical fiction set in the “wild west” in the early 1900s.
This book ties together the stories and fates of several characters: the Bentley brothers on the run after a botched robbery, Randall Dawson being the man sent to locate and apprehend the heathens, and Charlotte being a woman native to the experiences of the gritty/rough atmosphere who has had her fair share of challenging hands dealt herself.
The interweaving of the lives, choices, fates of those characters, as well as many others, creates an intriguing look at what happens when decisions are made, and the fallouts that occur from said choices.
The author presents a literary dream in regards to the pictures of the western landscapes depicted throughout the book. You could literally feel the heat, the sun beating down upon you, and the dust swirling around with every breeze.

This book was real, it was gritty, it was raw, and it was unapologetic in the outcomes that occur from the choices we make in life as well as how those choices reflect upon us as well as a person.

Excellent book 5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

[Jenn Z at That's What She's Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alternating between the perspectives of a teenage boy and older man, this sweeping saga spans the historic southwest into Texas, documenting the deeply-rooted pain that follows these two tragically linked individuals. From the first lines, the match is lit on this slow-burning story that draws you to what can only be the ultimate flaming conclusion. Yet, from out of the smoldering ash, redemption may be considered though there is a hint that the cycle of vengeance may not be completely broken.

For a debut, this is an absolutely impressive and stunning masterpiece that I don't even believe I can do justice to in writing about! The author's deft storytelling created an unsettling and suspenseful exploration of good and evil as well as an intense character study on the effects of trauma. From the title alone, the question of what it means to be "left wild" is posed throughout the narrative whether in regards to individuals and/or society. Life is immensely tough for everyone involved in this story, and the author paints a heartrending picture of that raw reality against the breathtaking backdrop of the landscape. His picturesque descriptions place readers right with the characters and provide a unique opportunity to walk together in this brutally oppressive and corrupt setting. In a previous post for this blog tour, the author provided a scrapbook page showcasing a few pictures of the real locations that were used as inspiration for the settings within the story, and I can honestly say that those images are overwhelmingly brought to life with his writing. There is magic between these pages that at once evokes the swagger needed to survive and the sensitivity required to not lose all sense of humanity.

Despite their age difference, Caleb and Randall face the pressures of the unrelenting world around them. All along this ride are thought-provoking questions that lend themselves toward insightful discussions about perceptions on masculinity that continue to shape and define our own modern understanding of what it means to be a man. In their own way, each is pursuing a path towards death; however, it is the love of a uniquely fierce and capable woman that steers them to salvation if but only for a moment. These women are no blushing belles or damsels in distress and each pairing is the very ideal of divined by God. Yet life is fleeting, and the fates of these men are still very much interwoven into one another because it's not always so easy to just let things go.

"A man owns only his decisions."

This is a raw and relevant look at the course of a choice and perhaps the legacy we choose to leave behind. Laced between the bravado of its directness lies poetic beauty. The story is filled with a multitude of captivating lines that speak so much truth and metaphors that will have you pondering long after the final page is turned. Like a parable, this story is one that I will definitely return to time and again. Compelling and unapologetic, this is highly recommended and should not be missed!

Many thanks to Lone Star Book Blog Tours and especially the author for providing me with a digital copy of the book. It was a pleasure reading, reviewing, and hosting. This is my honest and thoughtful review.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tries too hard to be another Blood Meridian or Lonesome Dove. It’s the classic good versus evil, a quest, a chase and chasers as well as father and son and brothers all mixed up. Throw in an independent African American woman and a cult for good measure. A descent into depravity. Every chapter alternating between the chased and the chasers- I found this annoying. Descriptions tried too hard to capture place and feeling. Long sentences. Too long. But the action gets going and ends or culminates rather depressingly and perhaps not with the clarity one would hope or expect in such a bloody tale.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book of the year.

[Tomi Rues · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, let me start by saying I do judge a book by its cover, and I thought the cover of this book was compelling! I also liked the title: All Things Left Wild. This book falls under historical/literary fiction. It’s a coming-of-age story for one character and a midlife adventure for the other. The novel weaves a tale between two main characters and is told in first person by the younger man and in third person with the older man. I thought this was an effective way to unfold the story.

This novel takes place in the late 1800s and the early 1900s in the rugged Southwest. Caleb Bentley, who is just 16, follows his older, mean-spirited brother down a path that turns tragically wrong. They thought they could easily steal some horses from a big rancher, but when the rancher’s son gets accidentally killed, this sets the brothers on the run. Soon Randall Dawson, a wealthy, educated rancher who is not rugged, tough, or mean, sets out after the brothers to appease his wife and avenge the death of his son.

The story then takes off with twists and turns and all kinds of characters emerge, some play a more prominent role than others. The story is gritty, dark, raw, and choppy at times. I appreciate that it was not boring, and I certainly liked some of the characters quite a lot, but I would have liked to have more transitions or details setting the stage for each new chapter. Sometimes I felt like some of the chapters were out of context: almost like reading a lot of short stories instead of one cohesive novel.

I was conflicted on whether to give this book three or four stars. The writing is excellent at times but then felt choppy or depressing at other times. The book definitely deals a lot with death and the meaning of life and life hereafter. It was a little violent for me but it is an interesting book which made me think and question life and the choices we make.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in four days! I couldn't put it down. It's a page turner, but it's also a thoughtful investigation of good and evil, raising the question of whether violence is ever a necessary force. The characters are complex, the setting looms large, and the book checks the boxes of the classic western genre without being cliche. In fact, it feels extremely relevant to today's questions and predicaments. I love a book where at times I'm not sure who's the villain and who's the hero, and that's the case here. Not to mention, it's just a great story of pursuit, rescue, escape, and love! Especially recommend for fans of Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, Charles Portis' True Grit, and all things western.

[Vannetta Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is James Wade's debut novel, and I have been looking forward to reading it. The writing is very good, IMO ... in places it waxes a bit poetic for my tastes, but in other places it zips along and is stellar. The characters are well drawn, and I very much enjoyed the setting (Texas back in the day).

I would probably describe this as literary fiction vs popular fiction (that's a blurry line and there are places where this book is one or the other or both). I would also describe it as a guy's book, although there are a few minor female characters and one important female character. But the book focuses on revenge and the wild west, and there's a lot of violence and language. Now why do I think that appeals to men more than women? I'm not sure. There's no HEA here. It's a harsh world, and relationships aren't the priority -- staying alive is. Or is it? Hard, gritty stuff.

My absolute favorite character is the little boy without a name. Excellent. Beautiful! If this is ever made into a movie, he'd probably steal the show.

[Katie P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

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All Things Left Wild is a stunning debut novel from James Wade, bringing together classical western elements and unique storytelling that will enchant readers! Told in alternating point of views, the story follows Caleb, a boy caught in turmoil and struggling with his own demons, and Randall, the man charged with hunting down Caleb for terrible crimes. This juxtaposition reminds me of classic Western novels and writers, like Lonesome Dove and Louis L'Amour. As someone raise on John Wayne movies and wild west tales, I found the narrative to be tightly woven and very topical.

Author James Wade's writing is stylistically unique and has a distinct poetic influence. The tone in which both Caleb and Randall are written is also distinctly different, which enhances the overall effectiveness of the stories of these two characters. The plot ramps up, building tension with each chapter and doesn't lose momentum. The craft and care that the author employs in this novel would have you believe that this is not a debut!

The descriptions of the southwest landscape, dusty towns with saloons, huge swaths of desert, and the perils of the natural world, really bring the story to life. I am often driving near the southern edge of the Palo Duro Canyon and I travel to New Mexico frequently. In my future travels, I will remember the visceral experience of reading All Things Left Wild! I would recommend this book to adult readers who enjoy western adventure tales or coming of age in the west stories.

I received a galley copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Bonnie Brody · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Wade writes with the literary flair of a cowboy poet-philosopher. The book's narrative is fairly straight forward but what makes this novel so remarkable is its language and intellectual depth. I could visualize Socrates and Plato sitting under a tree in the American southwest during the end of the 19th century, when this book takes place, having a dialogue about the book's essence and what it really means.

The story begins with two brothers, Shelby and Caleb Bentley, attempting to rob Randall' Dawson's horses. Randall is a rich land owner who the brothers blame for getting their alcoholic father fired as sheriff of the town. In the process of stealing the horses, Randall's young son Harry confronts them with a rifle in hand and the brothers kill him. Randall, a soft city type who recently moved to the southwest, comes from money. He attended boarding school and is not knowledgeable about ranching. His ranch hands are taking advantage of him and he doesn't know how to stand up to them. His wife, who has had a series of miscarriages, is distraught over losing her only living child. She tells Randall that if he were a real man he would find Harry's murderers and kill them.

Not really knowing what to do and how to proceed, Randall gets on Mara, his Arabian horse and sets out to find Caleb and Shelby. The chapters alternate between Caleb narrating the brothers' stories and Randall narrating his own. Caleb is prone to agonizing about God, philosophy and the essence of good and bad. The death of Harry is eating him up and he believes he will never be forgiven by himself or God, if he really exists. Caleb is basically a caring man while Shelby is bad, through and through.

As Randall's search gets momentum, he becomes more acclimated to what it means to be a 'man in the west. It isn't something he likes or even understands. He's lived his life according to the law and has never killed anyone. In this case, he feels he has something to prove.

Both parties have incredible adventures, meeting up with gangs, outlaws, people fighting in the Mexican revolution, and Native Americans living underground. There is usually something edgy in each chapter and some scenes are very violent.

I loved the philosophical discussions that Caleb and Randall have with those they meet on their travels. The philosophical aspects of this novel are fascinating and make up a significant part of the narrative. Caleb goes through character metamorphoses constantly while Randall develops into a man of the west.

I recommend this novel to anyone who likes beautiful writing, poetic language, and has ever questioned the meaning of the universe.

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A different kind of western with parallel stories being told. I enjoyed it very much. The characters are deep and well thought out.

[Kristine Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

AUDIO BOOK / PRINT COMBO REVIEW. The problem with Mary Poppins-like books (practically perfect in every way), is that nothing I write about it will do it justice. ALL THINGS LEFT WILD is one of those books. Sure, reading it (with my ears and with my eyes) was enhanced by the majestic scenery that surrounded me while I digested the story; it's really something to read amazing, lyrical descriptions of place and look up and say, "Yep. He got that right." But whether readers burrow into this book from a city high-rise or a jacal in New Mexico, they will be completely immersed and transported.

"He emancipated a charred stick from the fire and used its glowing end to light his smoke before condemning it again and watching it for a while as it was consumed by the flame."

While author James Wade writes some incredibly beautiful, profound, and memorable lines of prose, even the simplest of descriptions are exquisite and evocative. Wade masterfully manipulates the readers into being part of the story, not just observers of it. Add to the mix a robust cast of characters, and ALL THINGS LEFT WILD rises to being much more than a great debut novel -- it's a great novel that I expect will stand the test of time alongside those of authors with considerable and important catalogs of titles.

While at its core, ALL THINGS LEFT WILD is about two men -- one coming of age and one in mid-life -- and the path each is forging, some of the most intriguing and dynamic characters are women: strong, intelligent, tough-as-nails women. It is just one of the many aspects that sets the novel apart from most gritty, often gruesome westerns. Male and female, young and old, not a single character is cookie-cutter or predictable. There is a fine and often-crossed line between good and evil, right and wrong, revenge and righteousness -- and of course, surviving and dying.

Wade strikes a perfect balance between giving the details that matter and summarizing those that just need resolution. Not a single loose thread is left by the end of the story, but ALL THINGS LEFT WILD is impossible to leave behind. Expect memories from the story to regularly creep into your consciousness and dwell there.

ABOUT THE NARRATION: Bradford Hastings! Oh, my! His voice and method paired with the characters and text of ALL THINGS LEFT WILD is sheer perfection -- and authentic (which makes sense given he's from Austin). His deep, gravelly voice is colored with just the right amount of cowboy, and he deftly alternates between character accents and attitudes. His pacing and diction is excellent. I will absolutely be looking for more of his audio book performances. I listened at regular speed (because Hastings) on the Downpour app, which is really versatile, and there are no technical issues.

I got my signed copy when I attended the MPIBA Spring Con back in March before the plague hit. But, for the Lone Star Lit promotion, I asked for and was provided a free audio download from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion -- the only kind I give. This full review and other special features on Hall Ways Blog.

[Lynn Poppe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blogging on review tours is a great way to expose oneself to novels that are outside of the comfort zone. I may never have read or even heard about All Things Left Wild on a normal day. But thankfully for me, this tour led me to take a chance that paid off. Reading this novel expanded my exposure to historical westerns beyond romance.

All Things Left Wild is two separate story lines on a collision course to a showdown. Even the chapters follow the separate story lines. The point of view switches between Caleb and Randall with each new chapter. The novel also doesn’t fit into any typical genres, crossing between adventure, historic fiction, and journey of the spiritual and physical variety. The plot twists and turns. Even at halfway through the novel, I wasn’t sure where the story or characters were going, but I was certainly along for the ride.
Mr. Wade’s writing style is lush and visually descriptive. Details about characters, places, and things come alive as you read. I highlighted so many passages of metaphors and dialog that I could not share them all! Here are two of my favorite examples:
“but rage was controlling the puppet strings and there was no reason or hesitation.”
So physically descriptive, I can see the strings!
“The umbilical piping rose up to and through the ceiling and it had been the smoke from this stove which had led them there in the first place …”
The paragraph this sentence belongs to is just an amazing description of a cast iron stove. Who else knew that umbilical is used to describe piping. Not me! I’ll never be able to look at exposed pipes again without thinking about this sentence.

With few exceptions, the characters in All Things Left Wild are flawed and unrelatable. I struggled to empathize with any of the decisions that are made throughout the novel. Caleb is looking for balance and to atone for his sins. He is straddling that line between man and boy, feeling the first rush of hormones while also mourning his mother. Randall is looking for revenge. And maybe redemption. What he finds though is that the family you make is just as important as the family you are born into. Grimes, the leader of The Lobos gang, is very persuasive in his cause. His attempts at persuading Caleb to join the gang are powerful and slick. He has amassed a group of followers that strongly believe he is leading them to their salvation. But no one, apart from Caleb really, questions the means to that salvation. The one character that I really loved in the novel is the Widow Cole who shelters Randall’s group during a snowstorm. Her direct and some might say blunt attitude towards every subject, especially men, was a refreshing blast of cold air on a scorching hot day.

I read All Things Left Wild with both my eyes (ebook) and ears (audio book), as that’s how I roll sometimes. Mr. Hastings’s audio narration was smooth and warm, like a glass of whiskey. The voices are distinct and easy to follow, especially the voices of Caleb and Randall. The Texas twang comes through very well. There audio production is well done, with no awkward pauses. This may have been my first experience listening to Mr. Hastings’s narration, but it will not be my last. (I’m confident in saying I could listen to Mr. Hastings read the phone book and may have already been doing some Audible stalking!) Either format is recommended for this novel.

Overall, I enjoyed reading All Things Left Wild. The descriptive writing and excellent narration made for a satisfying read.

[Ruthie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Revenge isn’t real. You can’t buy coffee with it. It won’t warm your bed at night. And killing only leads to more killing.”

All Things Left Wild is James Wade’s fantastic debut novel that is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s style in The Border Trilogy, especially All the Pretty Horses. Wade’s novel is beautiful and bloody and full of love and loss and greed and vengeance.

This story is ultimately about two men whose life-changing confrontation leaves murder and revenge in its wake. Fate brings Randall Dawson and Caleb Bentley together, but choices keep them forever linked: one on the run and the other on the hunt. Both are good men who tumble into bad situations, but fate must take its course, and All Things Left Wild is a persistent journey of redemption, retribution, and atonement for sins of both commission and omission. Across the wilds of Texas, All Things Left Wild is about two men who find themselves on the path of self-discovery and growth, one transitioning from life as an outlaw to an honest existence and the other from being too naive in a harsh world to falling into the dark abyss of single-minded revenge. The ending collision between these two men is sedate and inevitable and yet heartbreaking in all that has been lost in both body and soul.

James Wade presents an unbelievably beautiful novel that will no doubt cause the reader to pause for a moment or two and reflect on the folly of greed, foolhardiness, and the pursuit for retribution that leaves a trail a blood and broken hearts and broken bodies. Wade's novel provokes deep thought through poetic prose and main characters who wax and wane philosophical as they ponder their choices, their fates, and their place in such a lawless world filled with men who take and kill and take some more. The point of view switches between first person with Caleb and third person with Randall, perhaps to show the parallel yet quite different paths these two men follow: one toward light and personal forgiveness and the other toward darkness and detachment, both destined to cross paths once more. The other characters that orbit both Caleb and Randall are fully developed and have unique personalities. I am especially drawn to the old woman who shelters Randall and his small band of followers from a winter storm. This woman is full of sass and spunk and interesting ideas: “Every man to ever walk this earth has been kept alive only by the patience and practicality of a woman.”

All Things Left Wild is a literary showcase that may not appeal to those readers who want non-stop action without any philosophical meanderings, but one thing is certain. This story will burrow deep and make you contemplate how quickly life can change based on rash decisions that often lead to death and self-destruction until nothing is left but regrets and a life filled with shadows.

I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.

[Lone Star Literary Life · Rating 5 out of 5]

Featured on Lone Star Book Blog Tours. Lone Star Blogger Team average rating: 4.875 stars.

Reviewed by Chris Manno for Lone Star Literary Life.

[Lucy Griffith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Give yourself some much-needed respite from these troubling times by diving in to James Wade’s new novel “All Things Left Wild.” As a poet I appreciate the lyricism in his writing and the raw and wild sense of place that was evoked. The characters come alive and the story gallops along with intensity. The philosophy that weaves itself through the novel deepens the characters and the challenges they confront. In particular, the character of Charlotte caught my heart and never let go, so rare in a story of the west. Well done, James Wade. I’m ready for more.

[Captain Sir Roddy, R.N. (Ret.) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a marvelous novel to read. While this novel somehow seems to be continually compared to Cormac McCarthy's western novels (i.e., the Border Trilogy, Blood Meridian, or No Country for Old Men), I felt that Wade's novel was more elegiac--it started with a death and ends with death, but with life in between; and while violent at times, it was not the palpable and unrelenting violence of McCarthy. Having lived in the southwestern United States and along the U.S. border with Mexico, I felt right at home reading this story, and look forward to reading more of the writing of James Wade.

[Brady Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful debut by an author I look forward to reading again! The setting, characters, and plot were all captivating and well portrayed. The philosophical elements were perfectly intertwined and poignant. This is one of those rare books these days I truly enjoyed from the beginning to end.

[Scott Bielinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

My experience with Wade's novels is randomly finding his most recent novel, Beasts of The Earth, reading it, loving it, and deciding to read his previous two stories. I went and purchased his first novel, All Things Left Wild, and was interested in two things: the book as its’ entity and the book alongside his third novel. There will likely be some light spoilers but read the books anyways. All Things Left Wild is a great literary debut, and I am genuinely unsurprised it has won awards.

Considering the book on its own, James Wade’s literary debut, All Things Left Wild, is a fast-paced and grim Western, upheld (not sprinkled!) by poetic-philosophic-literary-religious allusions and concerns that make this book something, in my view, a bit more special than your average genre fiction. In one sense, this book is a bildungsroman. It chronicles the moral/spiritual formation of two souls and asks the question about the soul’s relationship to good and evil and how one can be made clean from the evil we perpetuate. A couple of reviews say this is a straightforward good vs. evil story, and, respectfully, I think that is a wrong reading of this book. It is quite a bit more complex than that as the two main characters demonstrate a capacity for both, and are inclined to both, and, ultimately, are caught between the good they want to do, and the evil they must do to survive. As Solzhenitsyn famously reminds us, the line between good and evil cuts through each human heart, and evil exists even in the good heart.

Something I loved about the book was the apocalyptic vein in which it was written. I mean this in the biblical sense of the world - that is, an apocalypse is an unveiling or revealing of that which is true. A revealing of what’s behind the clouds, so to speak. Wade uses geography and the Mexican Revolution to unveil/disclose the cyclical patterns of evil that rend our world and render it inhospitable for us. McCarthy’s Outer Dark chronicles well this sense of alienation and dissociation from the natural world: “He followed it down, in full flight now, the trees beginning to close him in, malign and baleful shapes that reared like enormous androids provoked at the alien insubstantiality of this flesh colliding among them.” The characters' constant need to cooperate with uncooperative nature reminds us of our alien presence in this world. Moreover, the way this book ends, indicating the return of violence and chaos, reminds us that this human capacity for evil did not stop when the West was settled. Rather, it continues in our day, operating behind geopolitical/political struggles, working to oppress the ignorant and unaware. Wade tunes in to something that animates a great writer like, say, Dostoevsky: a man acutely aware of the dehumanizing evil (Evil?) behind the social struggles in his day. Grimes, a man who describes himself as pregnant with deity, is simultaneously the old creation, fallen and wasting away, and the hope of a new creation, though this hope is constantly deferred. All Things Left Wild is like Paul’s description of creation in Romans 8: “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now” (8:22, ESV), except the new creation is never birthed. Creation is stuck in a holding pattern, a limbo of fallenness and evil. Inevitably, we succumb to these greater realities. Though the last words in the novel are a cry for “Sophia!” (wisdom!), only death awaits. This is, of course, a flipping of the biblical logic. Grimes concludes that “God has chosen man because we once chose Him” (191), which is a reversal of John’s point: “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19, ESV). Wade’s reversal is in keeping with the gnostic themes/symbols that attend the book.

Randall Dawson, a man forced into the cycle of revenge, whose soul is forced to enter that which Caleb seeks to escape, speaks one of my favorite lines in the book. After 300 grueling pages, we see Dawson slowly succumb and adapt to the badlands to which he is so foreign. “He had once clung to the notion that it would be men like him, educated men, who would change this country. Like the philosophers of old, he would teach thought and reason and compassion. Now he was barren of such hopes. Not because he couldn’t teach those things, but because no one would listen. None would learn because none cared to” (305). For me, this is Dawson’s climax (though Wade places the sealing of his character development a few pages later, final paragraph of the chapter). He has learned the true way of the world - and he yields to it. In a scene with another character, Dawson’s character development is forecast to us “You seem a good and decent man, sir. I’ve known very few, but the ones I knew all had the decency pulled out of ‘em by the woes of the world. It didn’t happen overnight, either. It was a slow burn of a growing flame and eventually it ate up the humanity that made ‘em decent in the first place” (234). Dawson’s humanity, and subsequent hope for it, slowly corrodes and collapses. “The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again” (Isaiah 24:20). This is the opposite case for Caleb, who is uncomfortable with his propensity for violence. Instead, he learns that "Grimes Guerrero, and every evil man in a world full of them, might die by my hand and yet never could I heal the scar of guilt and culpability from my life or any I might thereafter seek to lead" (262). As a brief aside, while I love how Wade purges Dawson of his naivete, I do wonder if the way this character ends is a bit contrived. I was unsatisfied with it, though this may be from some deep-seated and unobserved sentimentalism on my part.

Another criticism I have of Wade’s writing here (something I also noticed in Beasts) is his tendency to do some interpretive work for the reader. Sometimes he makes his plot lines/themes a bit too on the nose. He’s not overly didactic, but his allusions/references/symbols are often accompanied by an obvious juxtaposition or a bit of dialogue that draws out the significance of the signified. I think this is the classic struggle between showing/telling. For example, one of Caleb’s main experiences of the world is being shackled to his family, especially his brother. As Caleb’s relationship with a young woman develops, Shelby, Caleb’s brother, comments, “Looks like you’re the prisoner now, little brother” (105), indicating both Caleb’s growing romantic connection and his relationship with his brother. Or, just a few sentences later, Caleb watches the flames destroy a log: "One piece became two and I was a whole log once" (105). Randall's near-death experience is described as a "rebirth" (184). I think these scenes would have been better left to our minds to make the connection. Similarly, midway through Beasts, there is a scene where Michael aches to save a doe, and Wade explicitly connects this to his guilt for failing to save his sister. Wade does a great job building out a rich framework of symbols/associations. He needs to trust his readers with it and write these scenes such that we can not help but make the connection on our own.

Considering this book alongside Beasts of The Earth, there is a lot of thematic overlap, though, I think, some development in Wade’s thinking. Whereas the characters in All Things Left Wild seem mostly doomed to the cyclical cycle of revenge and evil, Beasts of The Earth offers something closer to a positive vision of the world. In Beasts, hospitality, grace, and genuine love are forms of resistance to the evil machinations of supra-natural forces that conspire against us. Though these virtues exist in All Things Left Wild, they don’t carry the day. In this respect, Beasts helps us overcome the felt experience of inhospitality and alienation from the world with grace and fellowship. What isn’t clear to me, though, is the substance of this grace - is it divine or human? Only the former won’t be swallowed up by evil. It is the former that swallows up evil. “And [God] will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the LORD GOD will wipe away tears from all faces” (Isaiah 25:7-8). For this we wait, resisting evil (telling Judge Holden, “You ain’t nothin”) with hospitality and generosity, waiting for the Lord to bring about the new creation.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

After accidentally killing a boy during a horse theft gone wrong, two brothers flee for Texas with the boy's grieving father hot on their trail. Check it out if you like novels with a good chase and a strong sense of place.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE IT!! So open and honest and raw. It will make you feel and make you think. So well written it draws you into the scene and the story and doesn’t let you go.

[Keana Labra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book broke my heart in the best way. I had a favorite book long before reading this book, and this easily took its place as my new favorite book.

I love the language that Wade uses, and the use of first and third person depending on the point of view further characterizes Caleb Bentley and Randall Dawson. This book is a conversation about life and choice, and Wade converses with the reader through the characters, providing different viewpoints through different characters.

However, life is its own entity, and no man controls life.

A man only owns his decisions.

[Chanel Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Things Left Wild: James Wade

Release Date: Jun. 16, 2020

Moving, immersive and tragic; a raw, historical fiction of life in the American West post-civil war.
Set in the early 1900s, two brothers, filled with vengeance and greed, pursue to rob horses from a well-off rancher. When the heist spoils and takes a turn for the worst, the brothers start riding south, toward the border in hopes of escaping their pasts. The rancher, Randall Dawson, is exactly the opposite of what you would expect. Academic and literary, not to mention astonishingly affluent, Randall sets out to chase after the Bentley brothers unprepared and ignorant of the ills that befall life on the border. Charlotte, a rugged, western native, helps Randall navigate not only the day-to-day survival of life in the west but also the dangerous, and deadly, political turmoil as a revolution brews in the land lining the Mexican American border. As the story line alternates between the Bentley brothers and Randall Dawson, the parallel stories are brought together in a whirl wind of violence, corruption, love and the consequences that follow decisions made.

Thoughtful and intense, James Wade explores tragedy, growth, redemption and the true grit of the west in All Things Left Wild.



Please find the link to my blog post below.

https://ifyoucanreadthisdotblog.wordp...

Respectfully,
Chanel Johnson

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first reaction to James Wade’s novel All Things Left Wild was that the writing was both vivid and incredibly lyrical. I could have easily read three hundred pages of James Wade just describing the scenery and been completely satisfied. But this is not a nature guide, it’s a novel, and the story was as powerful as the opening scene-setting was beautiful.

What I liked was the way Wade depicted the pain that Caleb clearly felt. Whether riding a stolen horse through the dry Texas landscape or sharing his theory about why people really wear black at funerals, Caleb’s words express unwritten pain and unspoken longing, though it’s not always explicit what he’s longing for. Conversely, Shelby is much more what-you-see-is-what-you-get. Sure, he’s the older brother and guiding force, but he’s just as broken as his younger sibling, though he expresses it differently. Wade’s craft really shows in both the similarities and contrasts of the Bentley Brothers.

As to the villain of the story, Dawson could easily have been a cardboard figure, only existing to provide the boys with an impetus to run, but in Wade’s care he becomes equally vibrant and dimensional as the boys. His story, of course, is more mid-life crisis than coming-of-age, but it’s still a story of the way environment and experience change us, no matter how old we are, or what our lot in life might be.

Overall, this is a story that has several gritty elements but is elevated to literary fiction by the quality of the writing and the well-paced plot. Wade never lets us get bored, and while he may linger in a scene from time to time, letting us watch a hawk take flight, or feel the hot and dusty wind, that propensity for description only makes the novel seem more real.

Goes well with: steak cooked over an open fire, and a shot of whiskey.

[Julie Landrum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! Well thought out and great character development. James Wade writes so you can see both sides of the coin as you follow the conundrums that are put into place due to poor decision making. Aspects of each characters are in all of us.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free digital advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review. I definitely enjoyed this book. The language and descriptions were beautiful and at times poetic, without being over the top. It's a non-traditional tale of the Wild West. The story is told in alternating points of view between Caleb Bently (a 16-year-old orphan running from the law with his no-good older brother) and Randall Dawson (a middle-aged land-owner who tracks the brothers and hopes to bring them to justice). At the very beginning of a chapter, it was sometimes difficult to tell which perspective I was reading. Throughout much of the book, both men were in a group on horses and it made it difficult to immediately tell the narrators apart.

I found all of the characters interesting and sympathetic and all of them experienced significant growth or character evolution (good and bad) over the course of the book. The action kept me interested in the plot, but this is by no means an action thriller or a typical shoot 'em up Western.

There was also a philosophical note that ran through the book. It didn't do much for me, but some might like it. All-in-all, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

[Scott Semegran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you need a cowboy poet in your life? I bet that is a question some of you have never considered. I would argue that after you read All Things Left Wild by James Wade that the answer would be yes indeed.

The publisher of this beautiful novel describes it as such, “After an attempted horse theft goes tragically wrong, sixteen-year-old Caleb Bentley is on the run with his mean-spirited older brother across the American Southwest at the turn of the twentieth century. Caleb's moral compass and inner courage will be tested as they travel the harsh terrain and encounter those who have carved out a life there, for good or ill. Wealthy and bookish Randall Dawson, out of place in this rugged and violent country, is begrudgingly chasing after the Bentley brothers. With little sense of how to survive, much less how to take his revenge, Randall meets Charlotte, a woman experienced in the deadly ways of life in the West. Together they navigate the murky values of vigilante justice.”

This novel deftly unfurls the parallel narratives with Wade’s dueling narrators, Caleb’s first-person, outlaw rumination to contrast the third-person, poetic observations of heartbroken Randall. Wade transports his modern perspective to this Wild Western, dissecting what makes a good man as well as the illness—something we modern folks describe as toxic masculinity—that gets these bruised male egos in the end. Charlotte—the very capable, intelligent, and unsung Black heroine of the novel—is the perfect voice for Wade’s conclusions on what makes a good man. When Randall asks his wise and beautiful cohort what makes a man worthy, she answers without blinking an eye, “Kindness. Sure, it don’t hurt if he’s handsome and has a job. But most of all, he ought to be kind.” This right here is part of the thesis of this beautiful novel: great men lead with kindness. That’s something altogether different than the typical male trope of rugged individualism wrapped up in maleficence.

But don’t get me wrong. This novel has adventure with wild characters and a philosophizing antagonist named Grimes, an unrelenting villain that terrorizes the Southwest. It wouldn’t be a Western without that. But Wade excels in literary flourishes, painting the landscape with poetic strokes like this early passage. “Things were different at night, cold and still and dark, and when the clouds burned off, the stars were still there as they’d been since before we began shining lights back at them. They scalded the night sky in their dying, and when they fell we whispered wishes to ourselves for things only the stars might understand.” Wow! And that coming from the murderous Caleb, a man most characters in the novel perceive as rough and tumble, but the reader learns is a man worthy of redemption.

All Things Left Wild is a literary Western with beauty and wit, deeper and more substantial than its dusty genre would leave you to believe. Do you need a cowboy poet in your life? With All Things Left Wild, the answer is undoubtedly YES.

I loved this novel and I highly recommend it. I would give this novel 5 stars.