Scratch - Softcover

Steve Himmer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0995654131 ISBN 13: 9780995654136

Publisher: Wundor Editions, 2017

Synopsis

Martin Blaskett moves to a small town to oversee construction of a housing development, where he encounters a shape-shifting figure from local legend—Scratch. He is taken under the wing of his new neighbor, a retired hunting guide named Gil Rose, and befriends a local woman named Alison. Along the way, trouble ensues as Scratch feels threatened by changes to the landscape, luring locals out into the woods, including Alison’s son. As the blame for a range of events falls at Martin’s feet, he is beset by increasingly inhuman dreams, and comes to doubt his own innocence.

About this title

About the Author

Steve Himmer is author of the novels The Bee-Loud Glade and Fram. His stories have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including Hobart, Hawk & Handsaw, The Collagist, and Los Angeles Review, and in anthologies such as On The Clock: Contemporary Short Stories of Work and Re:Telling. He edits the web journal Necessary Fiction and teaches at Emerson College in Boston.

Review

"The writing is magnificently inventive throughout...a terrific voice and premise."―Kirkus Reviews

"Scratch finds Steve Himmer doing what he does best―putting a magnifier to the fine line between human and beast, between what is tame and what is red in tooth and claw. Then he sets fire to any old platitudes about nature and man, creating a new mythology out of the ashes and shadows."
―Amber Sparks, author of The Unfinished World

“Scratch is not only a ripping tale―of dreams and darkness, humans and houses, and the creatures those houses are meant to keep out―but a contemplation of the beautiful dark mysteries of nature. Like a strange old story you overheard when you thought you were alone in the woods, Scratch is beguiling, haunting, and wild.”
―Kate Racculia, author of Bellweather Rhapsody

"Steve Himmer's particular genius involves giving the minds of his characters room to roam. His take on literary horror might usefully be compared to that of Benjamin Percy or William Gay, but its roots reach back much further, through Shirley Jackson to Hawthorne and Poe. This book, this gift to us, is an absolutely essential reminder that every story starts at the edge of the forest."
―Roy Kesey, author of Any Deadly Thing



"The writing is magnificently inventive throughout...a terrific voice and premise." Kirkus Reviews

"Scratch finds Steve Himmer doing what he does best putting a magnifier to the fine line between human and beast, between what is tame and what is red in tooth and claw. Then he sets fire to any old platitudes about nature and man, creating a new mythology out of the ashes and shadows."
Amber Sparks, author of The Unfinished World

Scratch is not only a ripping tale of dreams and darkness, humans and houses, and the creatures those houses are meant to keep out but a contemplation of the beautiful dark mysteries of nature. Like a strange old story you overheard when you thought you were alone in the woods, Scratch is beguiling, haunting, and wild.”
Kate Racculia, author of Bellweather Rhapsody

"Steve Himmer's particular genius involves giving the minds of his characters room to roam. His take on literary horror might usefully be compared to that of Benjamin Percy or William Gay, but its roots reach back much further, through Shirley Jackson to Hawthorne and Poe. This book, this gift to us, is an absolutely essential reminder that every story starts at the edge of the forest."
Roy Kesey, author of Any Deadly Thing

Edition details

• Publisher: Wundor Editions
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0995654131
• ISBN 13: 9780995654136
• Binding: Paperback