Jewelweed: A Novel - Softcover

Rhodes, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1571311068 ISBN 13: 9781571311061

Publisher: Milkweed Editions, 2014

Synopsis

From a masterful storyteller, comes a Midwestern epic that illuminates the majestic in the commonplace.

When David Rhodes burst onto the American literary scene in the 1970s, he was hailed as a brilliant visionary” (John Gardner), and compared to Sherwood Anderson and Marilynne Robinson. In Driftless, his most accomplished work yet” (Joseph Kanon), Rhodes brought Words, WI, to life in a way that resonated with readers across the country. Now with Jewelweed, this beloved author returns to the same out-of-the-way hamlet and introduces a cast of characters who all find themselves charged with overcoming the burdens left by the past, sometimes with the help of peach preserves or pie.

After serving time for a dubious conviction, Blake Bookchester is paroled and returns home. The story of Blake’s hometown is one of challenge, change, and redemption, of outsiders and of limitations, and simultaneously one of supernatural happenings and of great love. Each of Rhodes’s characters flawed, deeply human, and ultimately universal approach the future with a combination of hope and trepidation, increasingly mindful of the importance of community to their individual lives. Rich with a sense of empathy and wonder, Jewelweed offers a vision in which the ordinary becomes mythical.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

When David Rhodes burst onto the American literary scene in the seventies, he was hailed as a brilliant visionary” (John Gardner), and compared to Sherwood Anderson. With Driftless, the best work of fiction to come out of the Midwest in many years” (Alan Cheuse), Rhodes brought Words, Wisconsin, to life in a way that resonated with readers across America. Now, with Jewelweed, this beloved author returns to the Driftless Region, and introduces a cast of characters who all find themselves struggling to find a new sense of belonging in the present moment sometimes with the help of peach preserves or mashed potato pie.

After serving time for a conviction, Blake Bookchester returns home, enthralled by the philosophy of Spinoza and yearning for the woman he loves. Having agitated for his release, Reverend Winifred Helm slowly comes to understand that she is no longer fulfilled by the ministry. Winnie’s precocious son, August, and his best friend, Ivan, befriend a hermit and roam the woods in search of the elusive Wild Boy. And Danielle Workhouse, Ivan’s single mother and Blake’s former lover, struggles to do right by her son. These and other inhabitants of Words all flawed, deeply human, and ultimately universal approach the future with a combination of hope and trepidation, increasingly mindful of the importance of community to their individual lives.

Rich with a sense of empathy and wonder, Jewelweed offers a vision in which the ordinary becomes mythical, and the seemingly mundane is transformed into revelatory beauty.

As a young man, David Rhodes worked in fields, hospitals, and factories across Iowa. After receiving an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he published three acclaimed novels: The Last Fair Deal Going Down (1972), The Easter House (1974), and Rock Island Line (1975). In 1976, a motorcycle accident left him partially paralyzed. In 2008, Rhodes returned to the literary scene with Driftless, a novel that was hailed as the best work of fiction to come out of the Midwest in many years” (Alan Cheuse). Following the publication of Driftless, Rhodes was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2010, to support the writing of Jewelweed. He lives with his wife, Edna, in Wisconsin.|Praise from booksellers for Jewelweed

A damn fine novel one of the best kinds where ordinary people living ordinary lives are drawn by the deft and lyrical touch of the author in such an achingly rich way, one quietly marvels.” Sheryl Cotleur, Copperfield’s Books, Sebastopol, California

Rhodes describes the natural world and his characters’ inner lives with equal passion, creating an ensemble as natural to its landscape as the trees. Jewelweed is a remarkable piece of storytelling, soul-felt and deeply moving.” Mark Laframboise, Politics & Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC

David Rhodes takes seemingly mundane events, and makes them magic. The everyday is made spectacular through his telling.” Jack Hannert, Brilliant Books, Traverse City, Michigan

From philosophical prison inmates to childhood-haunted truckers, Rhodes’s mélange of characters feels so real, you’d swear you lived among them.” Emily Crowe, The Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley, Massachusetts

With Jewelweed, David Rhodes has once more produced a moving, deeply thoughtful novel, of poor people doing difficult things, often against their best interests. He is the same writer, maybe better, as the author of Driftless.” Paul Ingram, Prairie Lights Books, Iowa City, Iowa

From the Back Cover:

Praise from booksellers for "Jewelweed"
"A damn fine novel--one of the best kinds--where ordinary people living ordinary lives are drawn by the deft and lyrical touch of the author in such an achingly rich way, one quietly marvels." -- Sheryl Cotleur, Copperfield's Books, Sebastopol, California
"Rhodes describes the natural world and his characters' inner lives with equal passion, creating an ensemble as natural to its landscape as the trees. Jewelweed is a remarkable piece of storytelling, soul-felt and deeply moving." -- Mark Laframboise, Politics & Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC
"David Rhodes takes seemingly mundane events, and makes them magic. The everyday is made spectacular through his telling." -- Jack Hannert, Brilliant Books, Traverse City, Michigan
"From philosophical prison inmates to childhood-haunted truckers, Rhodes's melange of characters feels so real, you'd swear you lived among them." -- Emily Crowe, The Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley, Massachusetts
"With "Jewelweed, " David Rhodes has once more produced a moving, deeply thoughtful novel, of poor people doing difficult things, often against their best interests. He is the same writer, maybe better, as the author of "Driftless."" -- Paul Ingram, Prairie Lights Books, Iowa City, Iowa

About this edition

• Publisher: Milkweed Editions
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1571311068
• ISBN 13: 9781571311061
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 464