Its scope is audacious, its range virtuosic, its gaze steady and true. Fourth of july creek smith henderson, 2014 harpercollins 480 pp. Fourth of july creek by smith henderson librarything. Yet the wonder here, to parrot prescotts assessment of the orchard keeper, is that fourth of july creek is also an impressive book deeply so. This is one of those novels where the setting is as much of a character as any of the individuals featured. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from may until october. The thirdperson narrator channels petes smartassery in the face of craziness.
May 27, 2014 fourth of july creek is an extremely dark book, but hendersons lyrical sentences lend an elegancean importanceto the lives of his fictional children. The spur of the rockies at the northwestern corner of montana is as hard and remote a stretch of country as any in the lower 48, good reason why a person might want to disappear into it. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash. Fourth of july creek s main character, social worker pete snow, is also in transition, both in his job and personal life. Fourth of july creek is an unforgettable, unflinching debut that marks the arrival of a major literary talent. Fourth of july creek, by smith henderson the washington post. Your guide to the fourth of july walnut creek, ca patch. This study guide consists of approximately 54 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of fourth of july creek. This detailed literature summary also contains quotes and a free quiz on fourth of july creek by smith henderson. Its always been interesting to me how our cities and towns and rivers and. At times, i considered keeping a regard tally in the back of the book. The book is split into three sections, including a first one which alternates chapters between the time of ellies disappearance and the present and a second section that begins as laurel and floyd meet. Note that the critic mary gaitskill once tore into a novel by a wellrespected novelist. Sign in or create your guardian account to join the discussion.
Fourth of july lake is an alpine lake in custer county, idaho, united states, located in the white cloud mountains in the sawtooth national recreation area. Fourth of july creek to born lakes idaho alltrails. Of wide open spaces and lives narrowly, desperately lived at the bitter ends of dirt and gravel roads. All of the book club notes have books and reading themes. If you belong to a book club, youll want to take notes about your discussions on literary books.
Cliffsnotes study guides are written by real teachers and professors, so no matter what youre studying, cliffsnotes can ease your homework headaches and help you score high on exams. Fourth of july creek is an important physical location in the book. On a gamble that seems sure to pay off, his publisher is releasing 100,000 copies, and hes working on. The book s deeply persuasive message is that all of life can be understood as casework. The lake is accessed from sawtooth national forest trail 109. Icicle ridge via fourth of july creek washington trails. Dec 10, 2014 to this i will add a sixth, a book which escaped me at the time it was published this past summer. Jun 03, 2014 his first novel, fourth of july creek, is the best book ive read so far this year. Smith hendersons first novel, fourth of july creek, the story of a number of messy and blighted lives set chiefly in montana with punishing side trips to texas, indiana, and washington state. Fourth of july creek wins montana book award books. Fourth creek foods is a purveyor of fine specialty foods.
This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of fourth of july creek by smith henderson. Fourth of july creek has to do with one of his cases that begins with the discovery of a filthy and somewhat wild boy, benjamin pearl, who lives in the wilderness with his father, jeremiah, a paranoid man, suspicious of. This book is beautifully written, but its making me feel dirty all over. The site is on land administered by the forest service at an elevation of about 7,300 ft above sea level. Our waterstones book club choice this week is fourth of july creek, smith hendersons dark and powerful debut novel set in the hardscrabble american heartlands. I exercised a lot of patience with fourth of july creek, but if a storys main plot doesnt start until 100 pages in, somethings wrong. A riveting story written in a seductive and relentlessly authentic rural american vernacular, this is the kind of novel i wish id written. The book centers on pete snow, a social worker in montana. It makes us admire the book and pete, and it infuses the novel with realism. He is a counselor who works for the department of family. Fourth notes crossword clue answer crossword heaven. A free concert in walnut creek, a parade to the south, a parade to the north, a 5k race and boomboom fireworks.
Recommended to book clubs by 2 of 3 members in this shattering and iconic american novel, pen prizewinning writer, smith henderson explores the complexities of freedom, community, grace, suspicion and anarchy, brilliantly depicting our nations disquieting and violent contradictions. Visa, mastercard, american express paypal, diners club and discover. Ive always had this thing for cowboys, maybe because i was born in new jersey, says the narrator in this collections title story. Fourth of july creek trail to icicle ridge washington.
Pete is a social worker for the department of family services, working in tenmile, montana, at the beginning of the 1980s. His first novel, fourth of july creek, is the best book ive read so far this year. Even the book s title is a bit misleading, referring less to a. In the end, fourth of july creek delivers on promised confrontations and revelations, yet they are not the ones you might expect.
Fourth of july creek cannot possibly be smith hendersons first book. The city of goose creeks annual july 4th festival will be held by the pond at the marguerite h. Smith hendersons stunning debut novel, fourth of july creek, explores. Set in rural montana, the novel follows social worker pete snow as he works to gain the trust of survivalist jeremiah pearl. Theres a world of new ideas in every books newsletter. Find sample tests, essay help, and translations of shakespeare. In this shattering and iconic american novel, pen prizewinning writer, smith henderson explores the complexities of freedom, community, grace, suspicion and.
Poverty and its terrible side effectsviolence, drugs, various strains of fanaticismplague his clients. It begins with live music from the right to party band and ending with. Fourth of july creek by smith henderson, paperback barnes. Michael levine my friend derek described this book by saying. Fourth of july creek by smith henderson the new york times. Fourth of july creek by smith henderson simultaneously beautiful and ugly having children makes you no more a parent than having a piano makes you a pianist. Fourth of july creek is a 2011 novel by american author smith henderson. Jan 04, 2015 now comes smith henderson with his debut novel fourth of july creek. And fourth of july creek is about more than fourth of july creek. The study reach is about a 520 ft length of stream about 2. Sparknotes are the most helpful study guides around to literature, math, science, and more.
Fourth of july in the lowcountry goose creek, sc patch. Dec 26, 2014 fourth of july creek is a gritty, disturbing, evocative, and extraordinary debut novel henderson smiths tale of suffering and the hope of rescue in the northern west is on this critics. Were considering expanding this synopsis into a fulllength study guide to deepen your comprehension of the book and why its important. Fourth of july creek delivers three loosely connected storylines each centered around pete snow, a dedicated but troubled social worker in rural montana in the 1980s. If you are looking for a serious, engrossing book with which to start your summer, fourth of july creek is where you should begin. And since the setting is the forests of montana, the book has those qualities that define much of that regions literature. Fourth of july creek is a gritty, disturbing, evocative, and.
Navigating a terrain of loss and danger, pete tries to rescue the children. Jul 10, 2014 in the end, fourth of july creek delivers on promised confrontations and revelations, yet they are not the ones you might expect. Fourth of july creek is a gritty, disturbing, evocative. The summary sounded exciting, and i liked the protagonist, social worker pete snow. In smith hendersons fourth of july creek, pete snow is a social worker in rural northwest montana. Smith henderson explains the title of fourth of july creek the. The story takes place in the early 1980s in a small town so very small, in fact, that it really isnt map worthy the town of tenmile, montana. See more ideas about book club books, teaching reading and literature circles. Fourth of july creek, a novel written by hellgate high school and university of montana graduate smith henderson, has won the 2014 montana book award. In the third section, jewell alternates narrators and moments in time. Excerpt the kid walked bowlegged and with his chest forward like he was breasting his way across a river, observing with badly concealed interest the panoply of animals and plants cut from construction paper and taped to the walls. It is the latter that is of primary concern to snow when he is called to the local school to tend to the needs of an 11yearold boy named benjamin pearl, who has wandered into the building. In this shattering and iconic american novel, pen prizewinning writer, smith henderson explores the complexities of freedom, community, grace, suspicion and anarchy, brilliantly depicting our nations disquieting and violent contradictions. Jun 27, 2014 smith hendersons debut novel, fourth of july creek, follows a social worker in montana in 1980 investigating a survivalists treatment of his son.
Both the intensity and the personal view of life presented in born on the fourth of july are the books essential characteristics. Booklist fourth of july creek is an extremely dark book, but hendersons lyrical sentences lend an elegancean importanceto the lives of his fictional children. Stone offers dance and electrosoul that harkens back to the depths of a club that. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from april until september. May 27, 2014 fourth of july creek by smith henderson, 9780062286444, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Theres cecil, the teenage boy who pete tries to rescue from his abusive mother. Sep 29, 2014 this closing typifies the writing in fourth of july creek. By tenderly portraying horrible family secrets, henderson is able to illuminate the richness and possibility in even the most painful lives. Fourth of july creek general information fourth of july creek is a tributary of the salmon river approximately 14 miles south of stanley, idaho. Fourth of july creek by smith henderson harpercollins 480 pp. Pete snow cares deeply about his work as a social worker. Fourth of july creek smith hendersonsmith henderson. Kovic holds definite views about the war in vietnam, but the.
Washington trails association 705 2nd ave, suite 300 seattle, wa 98104 206 62567. Smith hendersons fourth of july creek the new york times. A sixhundredmile canoe trip in the canadian wilderness is a seventeenyearolds dream adventure, but after he is mauled by a grizzly bear, its all about staying alive. Founded in 1958 by clifton keith hillegass, cliffsnotes is the original company that produced study guides and book summaries ranging from shakespeare to algebra.