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“An unflinching exploration of American apocalyptic yearning…It also happens to be a deep look at one of the more unsettling
aspects of our national character—religion as desire. This is a rare
and beautiful debut that will have readers thinking of Aleksandar Hemon,
of E. L. Doctorow, of Don DeLillo.”
— Colum McCann, New York Times bestselling author of Transatlantic
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“A great new American epic…Cheshire tackles the biggest questions
of all, God, love, and death, and he does it with such style and raw
psychological insight. Nothing less than Dostoyevskian.”
— Philipp Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of The Son
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"[A] vivid, visceral tale about a son schooled in the holy fire of
old-time religion who must seek bold new bonds with his evangelical father, his
departed mother, his ex-wife, and his own richly transformed inner life.”
— Elle
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“It’s this complicated father-son relationship that Bridles
is focused on, but the novel is very much a bigger story about overcoming
failure—the failure of Josie’s business, the failure of his father to be a
father, the failure of basic humankind. Elegant and careful, Cheshire has
penned a novel that is rooted in specific times and places, but its themes and
haunting mood will resonate universally.”
— Amazon.com, editorial review
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“Deeply imagined…Mr. Cheshire skillfully writes about the burdens and
silver linings offered by faith and other inheritances.”
— New York Times
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“Daring and brilliant…Cheshire captures the anguish that has always
driven people of faith—or no faith—toward the unbridled promise of a time when
‘there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there
be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.’ No matter what you
believe, fiction writing that delivers us to a moment like that is something of
a miracle.”
— Washington Post
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“Cheshire is a writer of undeniable talent and power. The images in his
first novel, High as the Horses’ Bridles,
are vivid, his language vigorous and bright, and his storytelling passionate…a
fine debut novel.”
— Seattle Times
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“The prophets of High as the Horses’ Bridles live struggling in
anticipation of the Apocalypse they think they want and struggling in
denial of the one they already have. In a three-book bible, written to
profound and devastating purpose, Scott Cheshire counts the cost in love
of inviting the end of the world.”
— Chris Adrian, author of The Children’s Hospital
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“Scott Chesire has made the insane choice to write with nuance and intelligence about religion. High As The Horses' Bridles
refuses to dismiss or lampoon the kind of people who are usually just
fodder for comedy. Because of this, his debut novel is tender and
enlightening, riveting and raw. The man can write but, just as
importantly, he keeps his eye on the humane just as surely as the
divine.”
— Victor LaValle, author of The Devil in Silver
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“Adam Grupper does a good job of channeling
Josiah Laudermilk…Grupper injects a weary cynicism into Josie’s voice as he
returns east to make peace with his father, his past, and his history. Finally,
the story shifts to 1801 Kentucky, where the family’s tradition of evangelical
preaching began. Grupper gives personality to the young Laudermilk and to
Cotton, the man who saves him.”
— AudioFile