Food & Culture

New Fiction By Washington-Based Authors

These two local authors place powerful characters amid vivid landscapes

By Seattle Mag March 5, 2015

0315essentialsbooks

This article originally appeared in the March 2015 issue of Seattle Magazine.

Black River by S.M. Hulse (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $24)

This striking debut novel by Spokane writer S.M. Hulse is a contemporary Western that has earned critical comparisons to the work of Larry McMurtry, Annie Proulx and Wallace Stegner—and deservedly so. Hulse uses spare language to craft a rich portrait of inland Northwest as a backdrop for the story of Wes Carver, a man who has just lost his wife to cancer. Carver journeys from Spokane to his hometown in Montana, where, as a corrections officer, he was maimed during a riot, and where his angry stepson awaits his mother’s ashes. Brimming with grief, guilt and the glorious relief music can provide.

 

Me and My Daddy Listen to Bob Marley
by Ann Pancake
(Counterpoint, $24)
Much lauded Seattle-based writer Ann Pancake has a remarkable gift for bringing West Virginia (her childhood home) to life on the page. This new collection of short stories and novellas includes vivid tales of working-class folks living amid the devastation of a type of strip mining known as mountain top removal. She imbues her characters with powerful, poetic voices, and unspools each story—of misfortune, family loyalty, long-held secrets—with a mixture of tension and mystery that unearths many strata of emotion. Hear Pancake read 3/3, 7 p.m. at Phinney Books. phinneybooks.com 

Me and My Daddy Listen to Bob Marley by Ann Pancake(Counterpoint, $24)

Much lauded Seattle-based writer Ann Pancake has a remarkable gift for bringing West Virginia (her childhood home) to life on the page. This new collection of short stories and novellas includes vivid tales of working-class folks living amid the devastation of a type of strip mining known as mountain top removal. She imbues her characters with powerful, poetic voices, and unspools each story—of misfortune, family loyalty, long-held secrets—with a mixture of tension and mystery that unearths many strata of emotion.

 

Follow Us

The Sound of Giving

The Sound of Giving

Three nonprofit music organizations worthy of support

In the March/April issue of this magazine, I wrote an article about the problems with Seattle’s music scene and how we can fix them. There’s a lot to be desired in Seattle’s music scene — like more regular, paying gigs for musicians at local establishments and a more reasonable volume level at venues across the…

A Taste of Europe Comes to Seattle for Christmas

A Taste of Europe Comes to Seattle for Christmas

Monthlong celebration begins the day after Thanksgiving

A scene reminiscent of old Europe will be on full display at Seattle Center this holiday season when the city’s first-ever Seattle Christmas Market opens for a monthlong celebration. Inspired by historic German Christmas markets, the Seattle Christmas Market opened Nov. 24 and runs through Christmas Eve at Fisher Pavilion and South Fountain lawn at…

Editor's Note: An Experience That Lives  Forever

Editor’s Note: An Experience That Lives Forever

The world isn't always as it seems

It was Friday night after a long week. I had just arrived home. The red light was flashing on my answering machine (remember those?). I was ready for the weekend. The call crushed me. My first love, my high school sweetheart, my partner in mischief, had passed away due to complications from Multiple Sclerosis. Gwen…

Author Sadie Hartmann’s Halloween Reads

Author Sadie Hartmann’s Halloween Reads

Some trusted classics and fresh finds 

In the spirit of Halloween, Tacoma resident and author of 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered, Sadie Hartmann, recommends some of her favorite scary books and stories. It’s time to let the flashlight cast eerie shadows in the dark, listen for mysterious sounds outside your window, and immerse yourself in the world of…