Book description
In his National Book Award–winning novel Augustus, John Williams uncovered the secrets of ancient Rome. With Butcher’s Crossing, his fiercely intelligent, beautifully written western, Williams dismantles the myths of modern America.
It is the 1870s, and Will Andrews, fired up by Emerson to seek “an original relation to nature,” drops…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Butcher's Crossing as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I found myself riveted for the entire book.
I think the genre will always resonate with me; a young adult facing the prospect of monotonous regular life and deciding to go off into the wild. But I love more that the book subverts this. This sort of rite-of-passage trope is easily romanticized, but in practice, it can prove to be much more chastening and sobering than expected.
You’ve got to be careful what you wish for. True adventure might not be for everyone. Experiencing the dark underbelly of life at the borderlands of the civilized/developed world, where it’s every man…
From Jack's list on navigating a world you're not cut out for.
Vivid details and excellent writing bring the Western frontier to life in this unique novel that avoids cliché.
A greed-driven frenzy for buffalo hide based on market speculation decimated the species in the late 1800s.
The tragedy of the buffalo is paralleled by the plight of William Andrews who, inspired by transcendental philosophy, sets out to find his true self on the Western Frontier, yet ends up losing more than his innocence as he follows the buffalo into the abyss.
The tragedy of the buffalo is conveyed through story and is in no way pedantic or political. This novel taught…
From Alison's list on existential and experimental historical fiction.
If you love Butcher's Crossing...
These Blue Mountains
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
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