In February 1895 the wife of a Texas landowner, Vadav Skala , died while giving birth to their son, Karl.  Though Karl never knew his mother, he was haunted by thought of her throughout his life. 

Karl had three older brothers who helped to raise him.  Their father Vadav worked all of his sons hard.  He had wonderful horses that he pampered but it was the 4 brothers were the ones that pulled the plow in the fields, with their father cracking the whip.  In fact, Karl’s neck leaned to the left his entire life because of this.

Karl excelled in riding horses and his father made land bets against his neighbours with Karl riding.  Karl always won and was reward by not getting a beating.  One day a wealthy  Mexican man, makes a horse race bet with Vadav.  His daughter against Karl.  The outcome was for much more than land and would ultimately break the Skala apart.

Bruce Machart has been compared to William Faulkner and I can see the resemblance.   He captures the desolate landscape and greyness of the story quite like Faulkner would.   Here’s and example of his writing:

“He’d known land in his life that, before a few seasons of regular rainfall, had been hard enough to crack a plow point, and he knew that if, by stubbornness or circumstance, that earth became yours to farm, you’d do well to live with the constant understanding that, in time, absent the work of swollen clouds and providence, your boots would fall loudly, giving rise to dust, when you walked your fields.”

This is ultimately the story of the bond of family, forgiveness, and redemption.  It has sparse dialogue and lots of narrative.  I would have like more dialogue to break up the long narrative more. 

This is a book that is not to be rushed.  It must be treated like a fine wine and savoured for both the prose and the story.  It took me awhile to appreciate this story and see it’s merit.  I must have read a good 100 pages before I decided if I was going to finish it or not.  However, I am glad I stuck with it.  There many pearls to be discovered in the prose.  Machart is an author to watch!

Bruce Machart is the author of the novel, The Wake of Forgiveness, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in October of 2010, and a forthcoming collection of short stories entitled Men in the Making, due out from HMH in 2011. His fiction has been published in some of the country’s finest literary magazines, including Zoetrope: All-Story, Story, One Story, Five Points, Glimmer Train, and elsewhere. His short stories have been anthologized in Best Stories of the American West and Descant: Fifty Years. The winner of numerous awards and fellowships, Bruce is a graduate of the MFA program at The Ohio State University.

3,5/5

Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Net Galley for the eBook version of this book.
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