BEASTS OF THE EARTH

BY

JAMES WADE

Categories: Literary Fiction / Crime Fiction

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

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Date of Publication: October 11, 2022

Number of Pages: 350 pages

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James Wade, whose first two novels were praised as “rhapsodic” and “haunting,” delivers his most powerful work to date—a chilling parable about the impossible demands of hate and love, trauma and goodness, vividly set in the landscapes of Texas and Louisiana.

Beasts of the Earth tells the story of Harlen LeBlanc, a dependable if quiet employee of the Carter Hills High School’s grounds department, whose carefully maintained routine is overthrown by an act of violence. As the town searches for answers, LeBlanc strikes out on his own to exonerate a friend, while drawing the eyes of the law to himself and fending off unwelcome voices that call for a sterner form of justice.

Twenty years earlier, young Michael Fischer dreads the return of his father from prison. He spends his days stealing from trap lines in the Louisiana bayou to feed his fanatically religious mother and his cherished younger sister, Doreen. When his father eventually returns, an evil arrives in Michael’s life that sends him running from everything he has ever known. He is rescued by a dying poet and his lover, who extract from him a promise: to be a good man, whatever that may require.

Beasts of the Earth deftly intertwines these stories, exploring themes of time, fate, and free will, to produce a revelatory conclusion that is both beautiful and heartbreaking.

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Praise

“Wade’s pitch-perfect, personality-driven dialogue sings in the voice of life, and his ability to meld existential thought, situational metaphor, and cinematic setting is a full-bodied experience…A soul-deep exploration of a wounded man in crisis, James Wade’s Beasts of the Earth…secures his position as an author of extraordinary merit.” —New York Journal of Books

“James Wade writes a terrific story, but that isn’t what makes him so good. Wade is a craftsman. His books should be read slowly, to luxuriate in his word choices, his sentence structure, his character revelation. That is why he is a joy to read.” —James L. Haley, Spur Award–winning author of the Bliven Putnam Naval Adventures

“I found myself rooting for the characters throughout their near-Biblical tribulations, and the storyline kept me turning the pages, desperate to find out what would happen next. Here we have a novel that blends realism with existentialist philosophy to redefine contemporary Southern fiction. Don’t miss this tour de force of modern literature.” —David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Spur and Anthony Award–winning author of Winter Counts

This story comes full circle and is filled with poetic language and details that had me pondering many questions in my head.

This story is told in two different time periods and points of view, Michael in 1965 and Harlan in 1985. My heart bled for Michael and the home life that he endured, but it wasn’t anything new from what we might know from our ancestors. He might have lived in poverty and had a killer for a father, but he was determined not to let his upbringing hold him back. There are things we learn later in the book that continues to haunt him and follows him into the future. The only saving grace for Michael is Remus, a man that takes him under his wing and cares for him after Michael runs away from his situation. We learn that Remus has health issues, but I think Michael’s presence seems to extend his life, even if by a few months. They take care of one another the best that they can before time runs out for Remus.

Harlan is a quiet man that does his job at the local high school and stays out of trouble. He has his routine, but when a young woman is found dead on school grounds, he is determined to uncover the true killer. We never know what we are capable of until we are put into stressful conditions such as these. There is a lot to admire about Harlan, but at the same time, there is much to fear, not knowing what he could potentially do to harm another.

I enjoyed the story as it continued to grow and expand, and with the descriptive language, I felt like I was there in the swamps of Louisiana and this small Texas town. I have to say this author does a beautiful job describing everything, from the people to the scenery. There were some connections I made pretty quickly (or at least the assumption, which was later proven correct), but this story left me with many questions! I won’t share those questions because it would give away part of the ending. It did leave me thinking about how many can overcome situations that might leave others wanting. We all have it in us to rise above a bad situation.

I felt a wave of emotions reading this book, from sadness to horror, to a little bit of joy. While we know that the underbelly of people can be harsh, this book pulls out every last dreg of humanity.

This is a book well worth reading, and we give it 4 paws up.

James Wade lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country with his wife and daughter. He is also the author of River, Sing Out and All Things Left Wild, a winner of the prestigious MPIBA Reading the West Award for Debut Fiction, and a recipient of the Spur Award for Best Historical Novel from the Western Writers of America.

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TWO WINNERS

Two winners each receive an autographed copy of Beasts of the Earth.

(US only. Ends midnight, CDT, October 21, 2022)

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