Description

Small-town Minnesota teenager Basil The Brute Thorsona shy, reluctant wrestling star and special tracked into special education classesvows to make his family whole again in the wake of multiple tragedies, during a year in which his community is roiled by strange religious and mythological events.

Another perceptive and empathetic novel from the author of Indie Next and All Iowa Reads selection Little Wolves, blending myth, history, and religion with a nuanced look at contemporary rural life, perfect for fans of Marilynne Robinson, Richard Russo, and Paul Harding.

When the ashes from an Ash Wednesday service in the prairie town of Andwhen, Minnesota, refuse to wash off, members of a small congregation are left wondering whether theyve been blessed or cursed. For Basila gentle giant of a teen reeling from a farming accident that shattered his family and haunted by his mothers decade-long confinement in a state mental hospitalthe ashes become a sign. He embarks on a secret ritual of fasting and prayer, seeking meaning in his unraveling world.

Meanwhile, Basil and his friends, Lukas and Morgan (who self-identify as a gay, a goth, and a giant), stumble upon what may be the centuries-old remains of a Viking explorer in a local meadow, a find that brings its own complications, as folk history clashes with the agendas of online racists. As Basils relentless fasting warps his grip on reality, the danger he poses to himself and his family escalates.

Blending the fragments of a Norse saga with a finely observed portrait of rural Midwestern life at the start of the pandemic, Thomas Maltman delivers a novel of narrative daring and profound empathyhis most inventive and compassionate work yet.

Author: Thomas Maltman
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Soho Press
Published: 07/15/2025
Pages: 336
Weight: 1.01lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.60w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9781641296700
Language: English