Pineville Trace

An "introspective, haunting tale that remains with us" (Heavy Feather Review) about a former revival preacher who walks away from an Eastern Kentucky prison in the 1970s, following a cat named Buffalo and trying to reconcile himself with his past. Publishers Weekly BookLife Editor's Pick | Winner of the Etchings Press Novella Prize | Finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award for First Novel | Finalist for the Feathered Quill Book Award for Debut Author | Featured on Deep South Magazine's Reading List "Blake's atmospheric prose will pull readers into Frank's resigned fatalism, and Pineville Trace serves as the incisive, elegiac odyssey of a confidence man who has lost his sense of spiritual direction." —Publishers Weekly BookLife "A man escapes from prison only to find he can't separate himself from his past. Wes Blake renders the tale with great empathy and in language that's so lyrical it practically lifts from the page." —Lee Martin, author of Pulitzer Prize Finalist The Bright Forever "An absolutely compelling read. Blake's prose is sparse and simple, whose short, almost broken, sentences sing with enormous power." —SmokeLong Quarterly "I always tell the same story. Over and over. It's the story about getting what you want. And the story about not getting what you want. It's the only story I know." Wes Blake tells a parallel story in Pineville Trace. Like a photo and its negative, the narrative follows similar characters and situations as Frank, a former faith healer and revival preacher, is rewriting over his past to make sense of it. Following the Buffalo—or, at least, at cat named Buffallo—Frank Russet mulls over his past in a layered narrative that would lead you deeper into the wilderness with no way out. Wes Blake's debut novella plays with time, begging the reader to follow along and trust the ride. Frank is a protagonist filled with guilt, searching for meaning in the forest with his cat, Buffalo. "[Frank] had become an actor in his own life. Reading a script." As Frank traverses the shadowy edges of society, he encounters remnants of his former self, forcing him to confront his deepest regrets and desires. Blake's haunting prose captures the essence of a man on the brink of transformation, urging readers to ponder the thin line between redemption and damnation.
ASIN: 1955521344
VSKU: BVV.1955521344.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Blake, Wes
Binding: Paperback