A story of violence at the heart of a pastoral landscape, from the author of Indie Next pick and All Iowa Reads selection Little Wolves Recovering from a terrible auto accident just before the turn of the millennium, college dropout and hobbyist computer-game programmer Lucien Swenson becomes the caretaker of a house in northern Minnesota. Shortly after moving in, Lucien sets out to find a woman with whom he had an affair, who vanished along with money stolen from the bank where they had worked together. His search will take him to Rose of Sharon, a white supremacist church deep in the wilderness, where a cabal of outcasts awaits the end of the world at a place they call The Land. Lucien is visited at the house by a mysterious guest, who may not be who she claims, as well as a vast flock of violent ravens out of an apocalyptic vision. At once a mystery and spiritual noir, The Land explores the dark side of belief, entrenched white supremacy in the Heartland, the uniquely American obsession with end times, and the sacrifices we make for those we love.

Small-town Minnesota teenager Basil “The Brute” Thorson—a shy, reluctant wrestling star and “special” tracked into special education classes—vows to make his family whole again in the wake of multiple tragedies, during a year in which his community is roiled by strange religious and mythological events.Another perceptive and empathetic novel from the author of Indie Next and All Iowa Reads selection Little Wolves, blending myth, history, and religion with a nuanced look at contemporary rural life, perfect for fans of Marilynne Robinson, Richard Russo, and Paul Harding.When the ashes from an Ash Wednesday service in the prairie town of Andwhen, Minnesota, refuse to wash off, members of a small congregation are left wondering whether they’ve been blessed or cursed. For sixteen-year-old Basil—a shy wrestling star reeling from a farming accident and his mother’s institutionalization—the ashes become a sign. He embarks on a secret ritual of fasting and prayer, seeking meaning in his unraveling world.Meanwhile, Basil and his friends come upon what may be the centuries-old remains of a Viking explorer in a local meadow, a find that brings its own complications, as folk history clashes with the agendas of online racists. As Basil’s relentless fasting warps his grip on reality, the danger he poses to himself and his family escalates.Blending the fragments of a Norse saga with a finely observed portrait of rural Midwestern life at the start of the pandemic, Thomas Maltman delivers a novel of narrative daring and profound empathy—his most inventive and compassionate work yet.

A story of violence at the heart of a pastoral landscape, from the author of Indie Next pick and All Iowa Reads selection Little Wolves Recovering from a terrible auto accident just before the turn of the millennium, college dropout and hobbyist computer-game programmer Lucien Swenson becomes the caretaker of a house in northern Minnesota. Shortly after moving in, Lucien sets out to find a woman with whom he had an affair, who vanished along with money stolen from the bank where they had worked together. His search will take him to Rose of Sharon, a white supremacist church deep in the wilderness, where a cabal of outcasts awaits the end of the world at a place they call The Land. Lucien is visited at the house by a mysterious guest, who may not be who she claims, as well as a vast flock of violent ravens out of an apocalyptic vision. At once a mystery and spiritual noir, The Land explores the dark side of belief, entrenched white supremacy in the Heartland, the uniquely American obsession with end times, and the sacrifices we make for those we love.

Small-town Minnesota teenager Basil “The Brute” Thorson—a shy, reluctant wrestling star and “special” tracked into special education classes—vows to make his family whole again in the wake of multiple tragedies, during a year in which his community is roiled by strange religious and mythological events.Another perceptive and empathetic novel from the author of Indie Next and All Iowa Reads selection Little Wolves, blending myth, history, and religion with a nuanced look at contemporary rural life, perfect for fans of Marilynne Robinson, Richard Russo, and Paul Harding.When the ashes from an Ash Wednesday service in the prairie town of Andwhen, Minnesota, refuse to wash off, members of a small congregation are left wondering whether they’ve been blessed or cursed. For sixteen-year-old Basil—a shy wrestling star reeling from a farming accident and his mother’s institutionalization—the ashes become a sign. He embarks on a secret ritual of fasting and prayer, seeking meaning in his unraveling world.Meanwhile, Basil and his friends come upon what may be the centuries-old remains of a Viking explorer in a local meadow, a find that brings its own complications, as folk history clashes with the agendas of online racists. As Basil’s relentless fasting warps his grip on reality, the danger he poses to himself and his family escalates.Blending the fragments of a Norse saga with a finely observed portrait of rural Midwestern life at the start of the pandemic, Thomas Maltman delivers a novel of narrative daring and profound empathy—his most inventive and compassionate work yet.