The Hour of Lead

A “riveting and beautifully written” epic family saga imbued with Western mythology, from the acclaimed author of Lonesome Animals (Seattle Times).
 
“Bruce Holbert is a lyrical, soulful chronicler of our ever-changing West.” —Jess Walter, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins
 
After losing both his twin and his father in a brutal, unexpected snowstorm, Matt Lawson must take over the family ranch. As his mother disappears into grief, Matt learns the hardest lesson the west has to teach: the pain of being alone.
 
The necessity of work stabilizes young Matt against the pitfalls of first love with Wendy, a grocer’s daughter. But their ragged end will send Matt on a journey across the county, leaving Wendy to tend the ranch with a local schoolteacher and her unwieldy son. It will take decades for Matt to learn his way back home, and his long journey will have great impact on all of those around him . . .
 
Invoking the same beautiful landscape and language of Holbert’s critically-acclaimed debut, The Hour of Lead is an expansive, affecting novel, a “powerful work [that] echoes the romance of America’s Western experience” (Kirkus Reviews).