Beasts of the Earth by James Wade

Beasts of the Earth by James Wade is a novel of literary fiction with elements of mystery, crime, and family drama. The book description from the publisher describes it best: “Beasts of the Earth tells the story of Harlen LeBlanc, a dependable if quiet employee of the Carter Hills High School’s grounds department, whose carefully maintained routine is overthrown by an act of violence. As the town searches for answers, LeBlanc strikes out on his own to exonerate a friend, while drawing the eyes of the law to himself and fending off unwelcome voices that call for a sterner form of justice. Twenty years earlier, young Michael Fischer dreads the return of his father from prison. He spends his days stealing from trap lines in the Louisiana bayou to feed his fanatically religious mother and his cherished younger sister, Doreen. When his father eventually returns, an evil arrives in Michael’s life that sends him running from everything he has ever known. He is rescued by a dying poet and his lover, who extract from him a promise: to be a good man, whatever that may require. Beasts of the Earth deftly intertwines these stories, exploring themes of time, fate, and free will, to produce a revelatory conclusion that is both beautiful and heartbreaking.”

Beasts of the Earth is the third novel from acclaimed literary author James Wade. Although a modern Western with similar themes to his previous work, this new novel is leaner and more grounded to its characters and the town they live in. There is a much keener focus to the many characters that inhabit this world as well as the relationships that develop. Tightly plotted and drawn with dreadful suspense, the two plot lines run in distinct parallel lines until the satisfying conclusion which reveals the ties that bind them. There is some rumination about time and fate, although less so than in Wade’s previous novels, but what is here is beautifully written. Wade’s poetic observations about nature are still on display as these unruly creatures of nature and the small town they inhabit come alive.

Main character Harlen LeBlanc is mysterious and reticent yet compelling. The townsfolk as well as the reader will wonder what is simmering underneath that laconic exterior. Once revealed, the town and the reader will never be the same. James Wade is a writer of exceptional talent and this novel is his latest entry toward his path to greatness.

I really enjoyed this novel and I highly recommend it. I would give this book 5 stars.

Buy the hardcover on Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/152/9781665024082