Smith Henderson

This book left me awestruck; a stunning debut which reads like the work of a writer at the height of his power. Begins with the story of one struggling man and his family and soon seems to encompass and address all of modern America’s problems. Fourth of July Creek is a masterful achievement and Smith Henderson is certain to end up a household name.

Philipp Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of The Son

An impressive book – deeply so. [Cormac] McCarthy’s shadow may loom heavy across the prose, but the story this prose conveys, and the manner in which Henderson unfurls it, bears its own unalloyed power … It’s Pearl’s story, more than anything else, that lock this novel in your hands … [A] trenchant and vigorously empathetic novel.

An intense, mesmerising book that uses this surprisingly intimate relationship to explore grand themes about American culture ... Devastating and inspiring.

Stunning debut novel … that crackles and lurches with the intensity of a Tom Waits song. Here, at the beginning of his career, Henderson has come within shouting distance of writing a great American novel.

It’s hard to believe that this is a first novel. Confidence verging on swagger leaks out of every page. It is a big fat all-American epic that has earned its place on airport bookshelves for many months to come…Think Cold Mountain but with more action…The conclusion has all the surprise of a great detective story. Henderson has created an instant classic.

There is a lot to praise here: striking descriptions of the mountain landscape, imaginative imagery and, above all, the irresistible energy of so much American fiction.

Fourth of July Creek knocked me flat. This gorgeous, full-bodied novel seems to contain all of America at what was, in retrospect, a pivotal moment in its history. In the story of Pete Snow’s struggle to save families, children, lives – his own and others' – Smith Henderson has delivered nothing less than a masterpiece of a novel.

Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn’s Halftime Walk

Smith Henderson's Fourth of July Creek is an astonishing read. The writing is energetic and precise. The story is enthralling. Henderson has a mastery of scale that allows this particular place and these particular people to illuminate who we are as Americans, and the consequences of the complex project that has become our nation. I could not recommend this book more highly.

Kevin Powers, bestselling author of The Yellow Birds

Fourth of July Creek cannot possibly be Smith Henderson's first book. Its scope is audacious, its range virtuosic, its gaze steady and true. A riveting story written in an seductive and relentlessly authentic rural American vernacular, this is the kind of novel I wish I'd written.

Claire Vaye Watkins, author of Battleborn

Engrossing … A piercing glance at the US’s social margins where the American dream and the horrors of government abandonment walk hand in hand.

At the heart of this ambitious debut novel set in rural early 1980s are vulnerable members of American society…Henderson has a skill for evoking the physical and psychological state of his characters at the same time as making general comments on his country in a probing “state-of-the-nation” novel…Powerful…The novel sensitively yet unflinchingly depicts deeply disturbing incidents of domestic violence. The tension between the individual and community ripples through a philosophical, thought-provoking novel, where Henderson contrasts civilisation and the wilderness and raises profound questions: what does it mean to be civilised? What is the best way to live and how should we best help each other?

Smith Henderson's prose is an utter joy to read. An intricate novel with an echo of Céline. A great accomplishment. An extraordinary debut.

A terrific debut novel, packed full of bracing scenes and sentences that stick in the mind long after the last page. It barely seems credible that this is Smith Henderson's first book.

Zings with an immediacy that makes you feel like you’re right there … Henderson, a former social worker and prison guard, hails from Montana, so it’s no surprise he can do it justice.

Listen out for echoes of Richards Russo and Ford as Henderson powers his way to an abruptly devastating ending.

Striking early scenes show why Henderson has his illustrious admirers.

A worthy contender for the title of a great American novel. With its magisterial scope and emotionally rich storytelling, this literary tour-de-force captivated and, at few points, grounded me to dust with its sheer brilliance. It is one of the books that will always keep bouncing around my head and one around which many readers will redefine their life. I can't recommend it enough.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE FOR FICTION 
WINNER OF THE CWA JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER (award for the best crime novel by a debut author) 
 
 
A dark and powerful debut novel set in the hardscrabble American heartlands. 
 
'If I knew for a certain’ty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life...' 
 
After trying to help Benjamin Pearl, an undernourished, nearly feral eleven-year-old boy living in the Montana wilderness, social worker Pete Snow comes face-to-face with the boy’s profoundly disturbed father, Jeremiah. With courage and caution, Pete slowly earns a measure of trust from this paranoid survivalist itching for a final conflict that will signal the coming End Times. But as Pete’s own family spins out of control, Jeremiah’s activities spark the full-blown interest of the FBI, putting Pete at the centre of a massive manhunt from which no one will emerge unscathed. 
 
In this shattering and iconic novel, Smith Henderson explores the complexities of freedom, community, grace, suspicion and anarchy, brilliantly depicting America’s disquieting and violent contradictions. FOURTH OF JULY CREEK is an unforgettable, unflinching debut that marks the arrival of a major literary talent.

Smith Henderson

Praise for Fourth of July Creek

This book left me awestruck; a stunning debut which reads like the work of a writer at the height of his power. Begins with the story of one struggling man and his family and soon seems to encompass ...

An impressive book – deeply so. [Cormac] McCarthy’s shadow may loom heavy across the prose, but the story this prose conveys, and the manner in which Henderson unfurls it, bears its own unalloyed power … It’s ...

An intense, mesmerising book that uses this surprisingly intimate relationship to explore grand themes about American culture ... Devastating and inspiring.

This book left me awestruck; a stunning debut which reads like the work of a writer at the height of his power. Begins with the story of one struggling man and his family and soon seems to encompass ...

An impressive book – deeply so. [Cormac] McCarthy’s shadow may loom heavy across the prose, but the story this prose conveys, and the manner in which Henderson unfurls it, bears its own unalloyed power … It’s ...

An intense, mesmerising book that uses this surprisingly intimate relationship to explore grand themes about American culture ... Devastating and inspiring.

This book left me awestruck; a stunning debut which reads like the work of a writer at the height of his power. Begins with the story of one struggling man and his family and soon seems to encompass ...

An impressive book – deeply so. [Cormac] McCarthy’s shadow may loom heavy across the prose, but the story this prose conveys, and the manner in which Henderson unfurls it, bears its own unalloyed power … It’s ...

An intense, mesmerising book that uses this surprisingly intimate relationship to explore grand themes about American culture ... Devastating and inspiring.

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