Country Dark (Thorndike Press Large Print Reviewers' Choice)

Praise for Chris Offutt:

"If you haven't read Chris Offutt, you've missed an accomplished and compelling writer . . . Masterfully written, insightful, and altogether unforgettable."-- Chicago Tribune on Out of the Woods

"From the hills and tough as oak, in his best stories Offutt bring to mind D. H. Lawrence, blood-driven and holy. His people have an heroic dignity."--James Salter on Kentucky Straight

"Everything Chris Offutt writes is beautiful and brilliant."--Elizabeth McCracken on My Father, the Pornographer

"Chris Offutt owns one of the finest, surest prose styles around, ready and able to convey the hardest truth without flinching . . . [A] masterpiece."--Michael Chabon on My Father, the Pornographer

"Lean and brilliant, Offutt's obvious kin are Richard Ford, Tobias Wolff, and Ernest Hemingway. A magical book."--Leon Rooke, The New York Times Book Review on Out of the Woods

"Offutt. . . is a shot of Kentucky bourbon, a writer whose distillations of life are spare and pure and breathtaking."-- Chicago Tribune on No Heroes

"Out of the Woods has the quiet majesty of classic American fiction. This is beautiful prose--as clear and pure and flowing as a mountain stream. Offutt packs more emotion, and more emotional truth, into a sentence than any American writer since Raymond Carver."--Dan Cryer, Newsday on Out of the Woods

"The stories in Out of the Woods are emotionally accurate, incessantly vivid, and utterly compelling. This is a talent for the long haul."--William Kittredge on Out of the Woods

"Offutt never uses a metaphor that isn't perfect, nor one that doesn't reveal character . . . Prose doesn't get any sharper than Chris Offutt's."--Laura Demanski, Baltimore Sun on Out of the Woods

"This is good storytelling . . . Out of the Woods is a splendid, compulsive, heartbroken, misleading sequence of American yarns."--Rick Moody, Book Forum on Out of the Woods

"The new book confirms his mastery of short fiction about rural lives rendered with laconic intensity, Offutt is a mean hand at pithy sentences, hard-edged dialogue, and the lean portrayal of masculine vices like impulsive violence and compulsive restlessness . . . Out of the Woods is a collection to put on the shelf next to Raymond Carver and Richard Ford."-- Outside on Out of the Woods

Praise for Chris Offutt:

"His people have an heroic dignity."--James Salter on Kentucky Straight

"Everything Chris Offutt writes is beautiful and brilliant."--Elizabeth McCracken on My Father, the Pornographer

"If you haven't read Chris Offutt, you've missed an accomplished and compelling writer . . . Masterfully written, insightful, and altogether unforgettable."-- Chicago Tribune on Out of the Woods

"Chris Offutt owns one of the finest, surest prose styles around, ready and able to convey the hardest truth without flinching . . . [A] masterpiece."--Michael Chabon on My Father, the Pornographer

"Lean and brilliant, Offutt's obvious kin are Richard Ford, Tobias Wolff, and Ernest Hemingway. A magical book."--Leon Rooke, The New York Times Book Review on Out of the Woods

"Offutt. . . is a shot of Kentucky bourbon, a writer whose distillations of life are spare and pure and breathtaking."-- Chicago Tribune on No Heroes

"Out of the Woods has the quiet majesty of classic American fiction. This is beautiful prose--as clear and pure and flowing as a mountain stream. Offutt packs more emotion, and more emotional truth, into a sentence than any American writer since Raymond Carver."--Dan Cryer, Newsday on Out of the Woods

"The stories in Out of the Woods are emotionally accurate, incessantly vivid, and utterly compelling. This is a talent for the long haul."--William Kittredge on Out of the Woods

"Offutt never uses a metaphor that isn't perfect, nor one that doesn't reveal character . . . Prose doesn't get any sharper than Chris Offutt's."--Laura Demanski, Baltimore Sun on Out of the Woods

"This is good storytelling . . . Out of the Woods is a splendid, compulsive, heartbroken, misleading sequence of American yarns."--Rick Moody, Book Forum on Out of the Woods

"The new book confirms his mastery of short fiction about rural lives rendered with laconic intensity, Offutt is a mean hand at pithy sentences, hard-edged dialogue, and the lean portrayal of masculine vices like impulsive violence and compulsive restlessness . . . Out of the Woods is a collection to put on the shelf next to Raymond Carver and Richard Ford."-- Outside on Out of the Woods

Praise for Country Dark

"Chris Offutt's work about mountain life earns high praise from other writers, and Country Dark, his return to fiction, is entirely welcome and a pleasure all around....Offutt writes so well, with such deep knowledge of the language and people, that Country Dark is likely to be read straight through, no resting places."--Daniel Woodrell, author of Winter's Bone and The Maid's Version

"Like the late, great Larry Brown and the late, great William Gay, Chris Offutt delivers a hardscrabble, mythic South with a laconic voice that turns sly to describe the follies of Man...Country Dark is a smart, rich country noir." --Stewart O'Nan, author of City of Secrets

"A lean, mean meditation on family, boundaries, and what a good man will do to protect the ones he loves. In this blood-and whiskey-soaked landscape, I'm reminded of both Faulkner and Steve Earle. A morality tale where grit and heart hold equal weight." --Ace Atkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Fallen and the forthcoming The Sinners

"I've waited nearly twenty years for another novel by Chris Offutt, and boy is Country Dark worth it! From its excellent title to its last page, this one will pull you in and immerse you in the lives of its myriad characters...Offutt is a terrific writer with impressive range." --Thomas Franklin, author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

"Country Dark is grim and funny and touching. It's a crime story, a novel of backwoods manners, and a family saga. It's many things at once, all of them great. Masterful descriptions of the natural world bump up against scenes of shocking violence, and you're left in awe, wondering how the hell Chris Offutt managed to pull this book off." --Richard Lange, author of The Smack, Angel Baby, and Dead Boys

Praise for Chris Offutt:

"His people have an heroic dignity."--James Salter on Kentucky Straight

"Everything Chris Offutt writes is beautiful and brilliant."--Elizabeth McCracken on My Father, the Pornographer

"If you haven't read Chris Offutt, you've missed an accomplished and compelling writer . . . Masterfully written, insightful, and altogether unforgettable."-- Chicago Tribune on Out of the Woods

"Chris Offutt owns one of the finest, surest prose styles around, ready and able to convey the hardest truth without flinching . . . [A] masterpiece."--Michael Chabon on My Father, the Pornographer

"Lean and brilliant, Offutt's obvious kin are Richard Ford, Tobias Wolff, and Ernest Hemingway. A magical book."--Leon Rooke, The New York Times Book Review on Out of the Woods

"Offutt. . . is a shot of Kentucky bourbon, a writer whose distillations of life are spare and pure and breathtaking."-- Chicago Tribune on No Heroes

"Out of the Woods has the quiet majesty of classic American fiction. This is beautiful prose--as clear and pure and flowing as a mountain stream. Offutt packs more emotion, and more emotional truth, into a sentence than any American writer since Raymond Carver."--Dan Cryer, Newsday on Out of the Woods

"The stories in Out of the Woods are emotionally accurate, incessantly vivid, and utterly compelling. This is a talent for the long haul."--William Kittredge on Out of the Woods

"Offutt never uses a metaphor that isn't perfect, nor one that doesn't reveal character . . . Prose doesn't get any sharper than Chris Offutt's."--Laura Demanski, Baltimore Sun on Out of the Woods

"This is good storytelling . . . Out of the Woods is a splendid, compulsive, heartbroken, misleading sequence of American yarns."--Rick Moody, Book Forum on Out of the Woods

"The new book confirms his mastery of short fiction about rural lives rendered with laconic intensity, Offutt is a mean hand at pithy sentences, hard-edged dialogue, and the lean portrayal of masculine vices like impulsive violence and compulsive restlessness . . . Out of the Woods is a collection to put on the shelf next to Raymond Carver and Richard Ford."-- Outside on Out of the Woods

"Chris Offutt is back, writing with his gritty but also poetic language about mid-century east Kentucky. In Country Dark, he takes what in lesser hands could be a mere stereotypical situation of hardscrabble Appalachian life, but instead goes much deeper to reveal the core of one man's humanity as he risks everything, including his life, to hold his family together. Offutt is a born storyteller. He draws us in from the first page and never lets us go." --Ron Rash, author of Above the Waterfall and Serena

Praise for Country Dark

"Chris Offutt has crafted a whole new kind of book--steeped in elements of noir and rich cinematic devices--brimming with characters that are simultaneously realistic while also mythical in the best, bigger-than-real-life kind of way. Country Dark is a perfect balance of wonderful language and pulsing action. I couldn't put it down." --Silas House, author of Eli the Good and Clay's Quilt

"Chris Offutt is back, writing with his gritty, poetic language about mid-century eastern Kentucky. Country Dark reveals the core of one man's humanity as he risks everything, including his life, to hold his family together. Offutt is a born storyteller. He draws us in from the first page and never lets us go." --Ron Rash, author of Above the Waterfall and Serena

"Chris Offutt's work about mountain life earns high praise from other writers, and Country Dark, his return to fiction, is entirely welcome and a pleasure all around....Offutt writes so well, with such deep knowledge of the language and people, that Country Dark is likely to be read straight through, no resting places."--Daniel Woodrell, author of Winter's Bone and The Maid's Version

"Like the late, great Larry Brown and the late, great William Gay, Chris Offutt delivers a hardscrabble, mythic South with a laconic voice that turns sly to describe the follies of Man...Country Dark is a smart, rich country noir." --Stewart O'Nan, author of City of Secrets

"A lean, mean meditation on family, boundaries, and what a good man will do to protect the ones he loves. In this blood-and whiskey-soaked landscape, I'm reminded of both Faulkner and Steve Earle. A morality tale where grit and heart hold equal weight." --Ace Atkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Fallen and the forthcoming The Sinners

"I've waited nearly twenty years for another novel by Chris Offutt, and boy is Country Dark worth it! From its excellent title to its last page, this one will pull you in and immerse you in the lives of its myriad characters...Offutt is a terrific writer with impressive range." --Thomas Franklin, author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

"Country Dark is grim and funny and touching. It's a crime story, a novel of backwoods manners, and a family saga. It's many things at once, all of them great. Masterful descriptions of the natural world bump up against scenes of shocking violence, and you're left in awe, wondering how the hell Chris Offutt managed to pull this book off." --Richard Lange, author of The Smack, Angel Baby, and Dead Boys

"A Southern gothic story . . . Offutt has a fine ear for Kentucky-speak . . . that capture[s] the rhythms of rural conversation . . . Tucker is a knotty and complex character . . . A compelling and brooding read." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"In Offutt's first work of fiction since 1997's The Good Brother, the award-winning author delivers a rich, compelling story of hardscrabble Kentucky mountain life while showing deep empathy for his careworn characters." --Library Journal (starred review)

Praise for Chris Offutt:

"His people have an heroic dignity."--James Salter on Kentucky Straight

"Everything Chris Offutt writes is beautiful and brilliant."--Elizabeth McCracken on My Father, the Pornographer

"If you haven't read Chris Offutt, you've missed an accomplished and compelling writer . . . Masterfully written, insightful, and altogether unforgettable."-- Chicago Tribune on Out of the Woods

"Chris Offutt owns one of the finest, surest prose styles around, ready and able to convey the hardest truth without flinching . . . [A] masterpiece."--Michael Chabon on My Father, the Pornographer

"Lean and brilliant, Offutt's obvious kin are Richard Ford, Tobias Wolff, and Ernest Hemingway. A magical book."--Leon Rooke, The New York Times Book Review on Out of the Woods

"Offutt. . . is a shot of Kentucky bourbon, a writer whose distillations of life are spare and pure and breathtaking."-- Chicago Tribune on No Heroes

"Out of the Woods has the quiet majesty of classic American fiction. This is beautiful prose--as clear and pure and flowing as a mountain stream. Offutt packs more emotion, and more emotional truth, into a sentence than any American writer since Raymond Carver."--Dan Cryer, Newsday on Out of the Woods

"The stories in Out of the Woods are emotionally accurate, incessantly vivid, and utterly compelling. This is a talent for the long haul."--William Kittredge on Out of the Woods

"Offutt never uses a metaphor that isn't perfect, nor one that doesn't reveal character . . . Prose doesn't get any sharper than Chris Offutt's."--Laura Demanski, Baltimore Sun on Out of the Woods

"This is good storytelling . . . Out of the Woods is a splendid, compulsive, heartbroken, misleading sequence of American yarns."--Rick Moody, Book Forum on Out of the Woods

"The new book confirms his mastery of short fiction about rural lives rendered with laconic intensity, Offutt is a mean hand at pithy sentences, hard-edged dialogue, and the lean portrayal of masculine vices like impulsive violence and compulsive restlessness . . . Out of the Woods is a collection to put on the shelf next to Raymond Carver and Richard Ford."-- Outside on Out of the Woods