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A review by matthewcpeck
Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson
5.0
Golly, this is a great book. Prior to reading, I somehow had the impression that "Fourth Of July Creek" was simply a crime thriller with an interesting setting and some positive critical buzz. As it turns out, Smith Henderson's debut is an epic tragedy of rural America that reminds me of Denis Johnson, Claire Vaye Watkins, and Cormac McCarthy.
Set at the start of the 1980s in the mountainous wilderness of western Montana, this novel is about an eventful year in the life of a social worker named Pete Snow. Social work seems like such fertile ground for dramatic and episodic storytelling, that it's odd that there isn't more pop culture on the subject. Henderson has done his research, and he convincingly relates Pete's routine of home visits, court appearances, and pick-ups/drop-offs. To compliment the range of domestic problems he faces in his work, Pete has an impressive share of his own - binge drinking, a brother on the lam after viciously beating his parole officer, and separation from his wife and teenage daughter. Pete's troubled daughter, Rachel, provides the parallel narrative running through the novel. Her chapters are presented as stylized questionnaires, a risky literary decision that ends up working beautifully instead of becoming a gimmick.
After Pete picks up a filthy and malnourished boy found lurking around the school, his path crosses with that of the child's father, a paranoid-apocalyptic-conspiracy-touting patriarch named Jeremiah Pearl. Pearl is an intriguing and frightening character - especially in our present era of domestic terrorism - but Henderson imbues him with increasing complexity and humanity as the book climbs toward a shocking revelation at its conclusion.
"Fourth Of July Creek" is a novel that manages to be downright addictive while telling its story at a near leisurely pace. Some of its magnetism is due to the vivid sense of place in Henderson's native Montana; some of it is due to the rugged poetry of his prose and dialogue. A great deal comes from its gloriously messed-up hero: Pete is one of the most compelling fictional protagonists I've ever encountered, and I'm holding out hope that Henderson uses him in some sequels. Aside from some insignificant quibbles about female characters and the piling on of hardships, this is an overwhelmingly good book. I recommend pairing it with "Preparation For The Next Life" for a sobering examination of neglected lives in the countrysides and cityscapes, respectively, of the United States.
Set at the start of the 1980s in the mountainous wilderness of western Montana, this novel is about an eventful year in the life of a social worker named Pete Snow. Social work seems like such fertile ground for dramatic and episodic storytelling, that it's odd that there isn't more pop culture on the subject. Henderson has done his research, and he convincingly relates Pete's routine of home visits, court appearances, and pick-ups/drop-offs. To compliment the range of domestic problems he faces in his work, Pete has an impressive share of his own - binge drinking, a brother on the lam after viciously beating his parole officer, and separation from his wife and teenage daughter. Pete's troubled daughter, Rachel, provides the parallel narrative running through the novel. Her chapters are presented as stylized questionnaires, a risky literary decision that ends up working beautifully instead of becoming a gimmick.
After Pete picks up a filthy and malnourished boy found lurking around the school, his path crosses with that of the child's father, a paranoid-apocalyptic-conspiracy-touting patriarch named Jeremiah Pearl. Pearl is an intriguing and frightening character - especially in our present era of domestic terrorism - but Henderson imbues him with increasing complexity and humanity as the book climbs toward a shocking revelation at its conclusion.
"Fourth Of July Creek" is a novel that manages to be downright addictive while telling its story at a near leisurely pace. Some of its magnetism is due to the vivid sense of place in Henderson's native Montana; some of it is due to the rugged poetry of his prose and dialogue. A great deal comes from its gloriously messed-up hero: Pete is one of the most compelling fictional protagonists I've ever encountered, and I'm holding out hope that Henderson uses him in some sequels. Aside from some insignificant quibbles about female characters and the piling on of hardships, this is an overwhelmingly good book. I recommend pairing it with "Preparation For The Next Life" for a sobering examination of neglected lives in the countrysides and cityscapes, respectively, of the United States.