AUGUST 2014 - AudioFile
MacLeod Andrews narrates this dark, intense exploration of love and disenchantment in a low conversational tone. During the Reagan era, Pete Snow, a dedicated social worker, is just trying to help children and their dysfunctional families in remote areas of Montana. Andrews’s voices for male characters, such as Jeremiah Pearl and his son, are enhanced by his empathic tones and consistent volumes. Henderson’s lyrical prose is also lovingly delivered by Jenna Lamia, who gives empathy to her characterization of Pete’s daughter, Rachel. The setting is bleak, and the characters are flawed, yet the story is unforgettable. Daily struggles and unintended consequences are featured, and listeners will grow to care about the characters whose lives seem to have little joy in store for them. S.C.A. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
Social worker Pete Snow is stuck in the middle of nowhere 1980 Montana, but his life is far from uneventful. After bringing some closure to the case of a wayward teen and his speed-addicted mother, he moves on to a crisis even more troubling and complicated. Asked to investigate the plight of eleven-year-old Benjamin Pearl, he discovers a boy unbathed and reeking, living under the tight rein of a paranoid survivalist father. Fourth of July Creek ties together the stories of Snow's professional obsessions with his family's own problems, making this debut fiction both powerful and believable. (P.S. Smith Henderson writes with the ferocity of a young Jim Harrison or Richard Ford, making this one of the summer's breakout novels.)
Publishers Weekly
03/31/2014
This uneven debut, set in 1980 Montana, isn’t always able to sustain the interest of its opening sections. The first chapter introduces us to social worker Pete Snow, who has been called by the police to defuse a domestic dispute between a 15-year-old boy, who has been in trouble with the law repeatedly, and his speed-addicted mother. The situation is grim, but Snow goes above and beyond the call of duty to place the teenager in a stable and supportive environment. His greater challenge comes with his next case: a boy who shows up on the playground of the local school dirty and reeking. The child, Benjamin Pearl, is reticent about revealing the circumstances at home, and Snow finds trying to help him difficult; Benjamin’s reclusive and angry father is opposed to assistance, even making the boy strip naked rather than wear the clean clothes Snow has provided. Snow’s efforts to help the Pearls despite the father’s hostility are the focus of the book, which is too long and features an unsatisfying ending. (June)
From the Publisher
First novels don’t come much more confidently written or fully imagined than this.” — New York Times
“This is a hell of a great book.”- — Esquire
“Breathtaking...heartbreaking…Henderson’s immersive, colorful style makes this scenic journey worthwhile. He’s a curious kind of hard-boiled poet - part Raymond Chandler, part Denis Johnson.” — Entertainment Weekly
“The best book I’ve read so far this year...Henderson choreographs these parts so masterfully that the novel is never less than wholly engaging… All week I was looking for opportunities to slip back into these pages and follow the trials of this rural social worker.” — Washington Post
“...a masterful debut...we find ourselves rooting for these deeply human characters in the end.” — The Oregonian (Portland)
“Fourth of July Creek is an extremely dark book, but Henderson’s lyrical sentences lend an elegance-an importance-to the lives of his fictional children. By tenderly portraying horrible family secrets, Henderson is able to illuminate the richness and possibility in even the most painful lives.” — Kirkus Reviews
“On a political level, Henderson skillfully presages the contemporary political environment in his portrayal of the America of three decades ago. On a deeper level, this dark, compassionate novel finds in Jeremiah’s-and Pete’s-pain a mirror of everyone’s. This is a significant debut.” — Library Journal
“Born and raised in Montana, author Smith Henderson knows the terrain and its people, crafting a profoundly American tale that explores our love for freedom, our individualism and the price people sometimes pay.” — AARP
“[A] remarkable first novel...” — Shelf Awareness
“This book left me awestruck; a stunning debut which reads like the work of a writer at the height of his power…Fourth of July Creek is a masterful achievement and Smith Henderson is certain to end up a household name.” — Philipp Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of The Son
“Fourth of July Creek knocked me flat. This gorgeous, full-bodied novel seems to contain all of America at what was, in retrospect, a pivotal moment in its history...Smith Henderson has delivered nothing less than a masterpiece of a novel.” — Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
“Fourth of July Creek cannot possibly be Smith Henderson’s first book. Its scope is audacious, its range virtuosic, its gaze steady and true. A riveting story written in a seductive and relentlessly authentic rural American vernacular, this is the kind of novel I wish I’d written.” — Claire Vaye Watkins, author of Battleborn
“Fourth of July Creek is an astonishing read. The writing is energetic and precise. Henderson has a mastery of scale that allows this particular place and these particular people to illuminate who we are as Americans...I could not recommend this book more highly.” — Kevin Powers, bestselling author of The Yellow Birds
“Tremendously satisfying—think Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone...or Jimmy McNulty...set...in...another kind of violent American wilderness...[a] mesmerizing accomplishment. I cannot think of a finer first novel; it’s hard, in fact, to think of a finer second, third, or fourth one, either.” — Antonya Nelson
“A soul-wrenching debut novel... Henderson’s talents lie in the tenderness and empathy he extends to (almost) every character in the book, no matter how damaged.” — O, the Oprah Magazine
“Henderson, a Montana native, is a nimble wordsmith… His debut novel gives us flawed people, a bleak setting, and a story that’s impossible to forget.” — Parnassus Books / Musing
“This is an impressive, bold, ambitious book, an unforgettable epic that confidently navigates big themes and breaks your heart with small tragedies.” — Miami Herald
“I was blown away by Smith Henderson’s debut novel, Fourth of July Creek....” — Dallas Morning News
“In Henderson’s impressive novel, an overburdened social worker becomes involved with a near-feral boy and his survivalist father in 1980 Montana.” — New York Times Book Review, Notable Book
“[A] stunningly accomplished debut novel … Henderson’s narrative enthralls, his dialogue crackles, and on the considerable strength of this, a promising literary career beckons.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune
“The myth of rugged individualism crumbles…at the side of the body of water that gives Henderson’s debut novel, Fourth of July Creek, its name…Henderson’s saga of looking for salvation by way of saving others is lyrical, suspenseful, and heartbreaking. Not all can be rescued, but we can all be redeemed.” — Entertainment Weekly, #3, Year's Best Fiction
“Another big, gripping novel and fine feat of naturalistic storytelling.” — Janet Maslin, NYT, Top Ten Books of 2014
“My favorite book of 2014, Smith Henderson’s Fourth of July Creek, is out in paperback... which gives me another chance to recommend it. This exciting, beautifully written debut novel describes the travails of Pete Snow, a social worker in Montana struggling to save damaged families - including his own.” — Washington Post, Ron Charles
“Fourth of July Creek is the beautifully written story of a flawed man trying to save children from bad people like himself… a richly satisfying novel and well worth its reader’s time.” — Tullahoma News
“Probably the most significant book to come from a Portland writer in the past year is Smith Henderson’s Fourth of July Creek… one of the most assured and accomplished debut novels in recent memory, right up there with Zadie Smith’s White Teeth. The book… is both savage and beautiful.” — Willamette Week (Portland)
“Henderson’s firm understanding of rural Montana and its residents reminds one of Kent Haruf’s novels set in Colorado, but, as if Cormac McCarthy has come to town, there’s an undercurrent of violence and vice throbbing throughout the story. Henderson understands the explosive possibilities of having those tensions surface.” — Cleveland Plain Dealer
Entertainment Weekly
Breathtaking...heartbreaking…Henderson’s immersive, colorful style makes this scenic journey worthwhile. He’s a curious kind of hard-boiled poet - part Raymond Chandler, part Denis Johnson.
Philipp Meyer
This book left me awestruck; a stunning debut which reads like the work of a writer at the height of his power…Fourth of July Creek is a masterful achievement and Smith Henderson is certain to end up a household name.
Washington Post
The best book I’ve read so far this year...Henderson choreographs these parts so masterfully that the novel is never less than wholly engaging… All week I was looking for opportunities to slip back into these pages and follow the trials of this rural social worker.
Esquire
This is a hell of a great book.”-
Shelf Awareness
[A] remarkable first novel...
The Oregonian (Portland)
...a masterful debut...we find ourselves rooting for these deeply human characters in the end.
AARP
Born and raised in Montana, author Smith Henderson knows the terrain and its people, crafting a profoundly American tale that explores our love for freedom, our individualism and the price people sometimes pay.
New York Times
First novels don’t come much more confidently written or fully imagined than this.
Kevin Powers
Fourth of July Creek is an astonishing read. The writing is energetic and precise. Henderson has a mastery of scale that allows this particular place and these particular people to illuminate who we are as Americans...I could not recommend this book more highly.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
[A] stunningly accomplished debut novel … Henderson’s narrative enthralls, his dialogue crackles, and on the considerable strength of this, a promising literary career beckons.
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Henderson’s firm understanding of rural Montana and its residents reminds one of Kent Haruf’s novels set in Colorado, but, as if Cormac McCarthy has come to town, there’s an undercurrent of violence and vice throbbing throughout the story. Henderson understands the explosive possibilities of having those tensions surface.
Dallas Morning News
I was blown away by Smith Henderson’s debut novel, Fourth of July Creek....
Janet Maslin
Another big, gripping novel and fine feat of naturalistic storytelling.
Willamette Week (Portland)
Probably the most significant book to come from a Portland writer in the past year is Smith Henderson’s Fourth of July Creek… one of the most assured and accomplished debut novels in recent memory, right up there with Zadie Smith’s White Teeth. The book… is both savage and beautiful.
Ben Fountain
Fourth of July Creek knocked me flat. This gorgeous, full-bodied novel seems to contain all of America at what was, in retrospect, a pivotal moment in its history...Smith Henderson has delivered nothing less than a masterpiece of a novel.
Antonya Nelson
Tremendously satisfying—think Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone...or Jimmy McNulty...set...in...another kind of violent American wilderness...[a] mesmerizing accomplishment. I cannot think of a finer first novel; it’s hard, in fact, to think of a finer second, third, or fourth one, either.
Parnassus Books / Musing
Henderson, a Montana native, is a nimble wordsmith… His debut novel gives us flawed people, a bleak setting, and a story that’s impossible to forget.
Miami Herald
This is an impressive, bold, ambitious book, an unforgettable epic that confidently navigates big themes and breaks your heart with small tragedies.
Tullahoma News
Fourth of July Creek is the beautifully written story of a flawed man trying to save children from bad people like himself… a richly satisfying novel and well worth its reader’s time.
the Oprah Magazine O
A soul-wrenching debut novel... Henderson’s talents lie in the tenderness and empathy he extends to (almost) every character in the book, no matter how damaged.
New York Times Book Review
In Henderson’s impressive novel, an overburdened social worker becomes involved with a near-feral boy and his survivalist father in 1980 Montana.
Claire Vaye Watkins
Fourth of July Creek cannot possibly be Smith Henderson’s first book. Its scope is audacious, its range virtuosic, its gaze steady and true. A riveting story written in a seductive and relentlessly authentic rural American vernacular, this is the kind of novel I wish I’d written.
Miami Herald
This is an impressive, bold, ambitious book, an unforgettable epic that confidently navigates big themes and breaks your heart with small tragedies.
Washington Post
The best book I’ve read so far this year...Henderson choreographs these parts so masterfully that the novel is never less than wholly engaging… All week I was looking for opportunities to slip back into these pages and follow the trials of this rural social worker.
O: the Oprah Magazine
A soul-wrenching debut novel... Henderson’s talents lie in the tenderness and empathy he extends to (almost) every character in the book, no matter how damaged.
Antonya Nelson
Tremendously satisfying—think Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone...or Jimmy McNulty...set...in...another kind of violent American wilderness...[a] mesmerizing accomplishment. I cannot think of a finer first novel; it’s hard, in fact, to think of a finer second, third, or fourth one, either.
Entertainment Weekly (Grade A)
Breathtaking...heartbreaking…Henderson’s immersive, colorful style makes this scenic journey worthwhile. He’s a curious kind of hard-boiled poet - part Raymond Chandler, part Denis Johnson.
Library Journal
01/01/2014
Graced with powerful characters and beautifully focused writing, Henderson's epic debut hit my desk the day a critic friend buttonholed me at an awards event to tell me that it was something special. The 100,000-copy first printing suggests that plenty of other people have faith in this book. Set in Montana, the author's home state, in the late 1970s-early 1980s, it features social worker Pete Snow, increasingly dismayed with his job until he meets scrawny, untamed, 11-year-old Benjamin Pearl, whose crazy survivalist father is anticipating some kind of apocalypse. Pete is all fired up to help Benjamin, but then his own estranged daughter disappears and the FBI gets interested.
AUGUST 2014 - AudioFile
MacLeod Andrews narrates this dark, intense exploration of love and disenchantment in a low conversational tone. During the Reagan era, Pete Snow, a dedicated social worker, is just trying to help children and their dysfunctional families in remote areas of Montana. Andrews’s voices for male characters, such as Jeremiah Pearl and his son, are enhanced by his empathic tones and consistent volumes. Henderson’s lyrical prose is also lovingly delivered by Jenna Lamia, who gives empathy to her characterization of Pete’s daughter, Rachel. The setting is bleak, and the characters are flawed, yet the story is unforgettable. Daily struggles and unintended consequences are featured, and listeners will grow to care about the characters whose lives seem to have little joy in store for them. S.C.A. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
