Black River (Hulse)

Book Reviews
Mainly the book is about stubborn men who communicate in begrudging fragments, circling one another like moody horses. Ms. Hulse aspires to Kent Haruf territory, and comes close enough to make this a promising debut. The sentimental overtones could be quieted a bit, but the lyrical landscapes and the emotional weather are in place.
John Williams - New York Times


Hulse has positioned this slim novel at the confluence of several extraordinary events that could easily have caused an emotional pileup. In addition to returning his wife’s ashes to Black River at the very moment he must face his old torturer, Wes also becomes reacquainted with his stepson, Dennis, an angry young man he abandoned years earlier after an armed confrontation at the kitchen table. A rape, a train crash, a pair of suicides and some plotted murders hardly lower the story’s temperature.... [A] tough, honest novel by a surprisingly wise young writer.
Ron Charles - Washington Post


Hulse evokes the Montana landscape in lyrical, vivid prose...[she] is a gifted wordsmith with promising dramatic instincts.
Boston Globe


The assured rhythms of the language convey grace, restraint, insights, power, and beauty. Black River transcends its setting and the circumstances of a few people in a small Montana town to say something true and enduring about violence and families, and grief and compassion.
Los Angeles Review of Books


Transcending its genre-fiction setting, Black River is a powerful meditation on faith, family and redemption set in present-day Montana.
Guardian (UK)


(Starred review.) This top-of-the-line modern American Western debut explores the themes of violence, revenge, and forgiveness with a sure hand.... Wes [Carver], ...a man of faith, has a moral struggle over accepting the sincerity of his former tormentor’s religious conversion. Events take a darker, more tragic turn before any hope for a resolution can arise.... Hulse handles his story like a pro.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) Hulse is a smart writer, able to reveal her character's gut-level emotions and trickiest self manipulations. Comparing the author to Annie Proulx, Wallace Stegner, or Kent Haruf is no exaggeration. Her debut is bound to turn readers' hearts inside out and leave them yearning for some sweet, mournful fiddle music. —Keddy Ann Outlaw, Houston
Library Journal


(Starred review.) Hulse clearly loves Montana, and her own fiddle playing and knowledge of horses shine through the novel. She maintains suspense and manages to avoid the clichés of redemption stories in this assured debut.
Booklist


(Starred review.) [A] stark, tender tale about one man's quest for faith and forgiveness.The initial question is whether Wes Carver can forgive Bobby Williams, the inmate who tortured him during a prison riot that left two of his fellow corrections officers dead..... Profound issues addressed with a delicate touch...from a gifted young artist.
Kirkus Reviews