Sallowsfield (Lone Star Book Blog Tour)

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Sallowsfield: A Novel

By Cliff Hudder



Literary Fiction / Humor / Saga / Texas / Yorkshire

Publisher: Texas Review Press

Pages: 390

Publication Date: October 21, 2024

 

SYNOPSIS

Wyatt W. Sallow, MBA—poet, business ethics professor, and coach of the 8th ranked collegiate chess team in East Texas—travels to the heart of northern England to trace his family origins in mundane Sallowsfield, only to find his supposed ancestry a mirage. He does have a real past, however: one that stalks him across the green hillsides in echoes of his catastrophic marriage, the lingering shadow of a lost child, and—there, in person, inexplicably emerging from the town’s faux-Victorian train station—“X,” the enigmatic object of his unrequited passion and a figure as perplexing as an algebraic variable.

On his eight-day tour/pilgrimage/mock epic journey, Wyatt pursues the specter of his lost love and crosses paths with the citizens of this down-at-its-heels market town as they struggle to grasp the all-consuming obsessions, ghosts, and X-factors that confound their days.

Thought-provoking yet dryly humorous, Sallowsfield weaves diverse elements into a story both light-hearted and philosophical, exploring along the way universal human touchstones of obsession, ruined love, and the inexplicable mysteries that shape our lives.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Cliff Hudder received an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Houston in 1995 and a PhD in American Literature from Texas A&M in 2017. He has been an archaeological laborer, a film and video editor, photographer, air compressor mechanic, electrical lineman, and educator. 

His fiction has appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, The Kenyon Review, The Missouri Review and other journals and his work has received the Barthelme and Michener Awards, the Peden Prize, and the Short Story Award from the Texas Institute of Letters. His novella, Splinterville, won the 2007 Texas Review Fiction Award, and his novel, Pretty Enough for You, was named a Top Ten Texas Favorite by Lone Star Literary Life in 2015. In 2017 Cliff was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters.


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REVIEW

Sallowsfield is a story that follows a poet on a journey that pairs humor with broken relationships to make an intriguing and enjoyable read. This isn't the type of book that I usually pick up, but I was more than happy to give it a chance. It's always fun to push the boundaries on my typical reading and find new authors to enjoy. 

The characterization in this novel is a bit mind-boggling. That's the best way I can think to describe it. This is the kind of novel that leaves you with more questions than answers, which I either really enjoy or despise. In this case, I enjoyed it. The more I read, the less sure I was of the kind of person Wyatt Sallow is. He is the epitome of an unreliable narrator. Nonetheless, I was kept intrigued and followed along with every step of his journey. 

As far as the journey goes, things feel a bit slow to start, but the pacing definitely picks up. It can be a bit of a challenge to find a flow, particularly since the story isn't presented in a linear way. There are jumps in chronology that can make things tough. However, this is part of the challenge and adventure the book presents, so ultimately, I appreciated it and the way it challenged my perspective of the characters and events unfolding. For some readers, there's a high chance it could be confusing. Additionally, there are some mentions of infidelity, which could be a major turn-off. 

This isn't as easy read. It's challenging, which made it more entertaining for me. I found this book to be very engaging, forcing me to pay attention closely to follow along effectively. I give Sallowsfield a Lone Star rating of ✯✯✯✯ stars. 




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