Josh Ritter is a songwriter from Moscow, Idaho. His albums include The Animal Years and So Runs the World Away. Bright’s Passage is his first novel. He lives in New York. Follow @joshritter on Twitter, Visit joshritter.com
About the book
In the tiny timber town of Cordelia, Idaho, everyone has heard tales of the Applegates. Local legend says their family line boasts some of the greatest lumberjacks to ever roam the American West, and from the moment young Weldon stepped foot in the deep Cordelia woods as a child, he dreamed of joining the rowdy ranks of his ancestors in their epic, axe-swinging adventures. But at the beginning of the twentieth century, times are changing fast, and the jacks are dying out.
On his deathbed nearly a century later, Weldon Applegate recounts his life in all its glory, filled with tall tales writ large with murder, mayhem, avalanches and bootlegging. It’s the story of dark pine forests brewing with ancient magic, and Weldon’s struggle as a boy to keep his father’s inherited timber claim, the Lost Lot, from the ravenous clutches of Linden Laughlin.
Braided with haunting saloon tunes and just the right dose of magic, The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All is a novel bursting with heart, humor, and an utterly transporting adventure that is sure to sweep you away into the beauty of the tall snowy mountain timber.
Review
Weldon Applegate, nearly a century of age, full of stories and memories. He takes the reader back to his days of his childhood when his father introduced him to the magic of the woods - the brotherhood of the lumberjacks, the men who conquer the mighty timber. Sometimes they win and sometimes they lose.
I'm not sure if people nowadays give themselves enough time to really experience the true magic of a forest and standing in the midst of many trees, especially when they are truly old. It's like being one with a magical sense of the beauty we are surrounded by. The awe of the strength, the majesty and thought of how many others have stood in the same position admiring the stoic fixture. A visual representation of seasons coming and going.
It's this inexplicable feeling that Ritter has drawn upon and infused the story with. Combined with the nostalgia of memories, a coming-of-age story and one of brotherhood the tale takes a step into magical realism.
If you enjoyed the read then I also suggest giving the audiobook a whirl, it makes the magical and then the musical element come to life.
Buy The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Hanover Square Press - HQ Fiction; pub date 16 September - £18.99. Buy at Amazon com.
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