Customer Reviews

Land That Moves, Land That Stands Still

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Kent Nelson handles setting about as well as any writer I've ever read. This is the South Dakota Badlands and the main characters raise alfalfa, and other crops. The plot revolves around the accidental death of Matti Remmel's husband and a secret he's been hiding from her the past few years. That plot thread soon runs out of steam, and the book becomes more of a relationship novel: Matti and an archeologist who wants to dig on her land; her daughter Shelley and her former high school English teacher; and Dawn, Mattie's eccentric hired hand, and a Mexican neighbor with a secret of his own. Then there's the runaway Indian boy Mattie takes in. All of them are working on building trust.
Sometimes Nelson spends too much time trying to prove he knows all about alfalfa ranching, as he devotes pages and pages to irrigation, fixing flat bed trucks, and building a new kitchen after Dawn sets fire to the ranch house. Otherwise, he does a bang-up job writing women characters and sex from a woman's perspective.
Nelson throws in a brutal ex-boyfriend for Dawn who is instrumental in moving the novel toward a climax. Dawn is perhaps the most self-sufficient and toughest of the three women. She can fix anything and she adds a bit of humor to an otherwise angst-filled novel.
These characters are so real they make those on the MTV program seem cartoonish.

Kent Nelson's new book is a good read. That is the best thing I can say about a book. It is hard to put down - I want to finish it, but then I am sad when I have finished it because it is the end of the story. Every reader must know this feeling. Kent Nelson does an incredible job of getting into the mind of women. I read this and want to be more like Shelley, more like Dawn - even more like Mattie. Shelley could be my daughter - I remember being that age and some of it is just exactly how it was; there is a braveness in his character of Dawn and a sense of knowing exactly what one wants to do - I always want to be strong like that; but I think the central core of a woman in this story is his character Mattie. His conversations flow in such a way that reading becomes almost like watching a movie - it is that smooth. He is funny and witty and sad in ways that always move me. His love of the land, and his knowledge of the land, comes through. I know this land - I can feel it in my bones just from the way he writes.
I read a lot. I follow a lot of writers closely and read everything they publish. Kent Nelson is the best of them. It is a real treat to have a new book by him because they are very rare. He also writes short stories and has a few collections of these stories published, and they are just as wonderful as his novels. Kent Nelson has a style that gives us, as readers, credit for our own intelligence - he gives us room to think about his stories and even to sometimes think about how and why, or even what, happens.
I go in bookstores and wander around - I am sometimes overwhelmed by the sheer number of books out there. This is a book I so highly recommend. It is a good story, sometimes it reads so smoothly it is almost like poetry. Kent Nelson knows how to tell a story - how to put people in a place and time and show us a part of their lives. And he makes us, as readers, interested. He makes us care.

Kent Nelson's LAND THAT MOVES, LAND THAT STANDS STILL reads like a
grass
fire. Nelson makes it difficult to put down. Master craftsman, he
interweaves each character with the theme, plot, and setting so that
the
reader feels and sees everything in the character's world. From the
first
page the reader cares what happens to these people who make their
livelihood on this beautiful ranch in South Dakota. The reader is well
cared for and always knows where she is in story and place. Nothing is
superfluous and all things work together to support the mysterious
transitory nature of the land and the people who live in relation to
it. No one can control their environment, the only choice becomes to
move
with it.

Mattie is a marvelous creation full of contradictions, puzzlements, and
needs that resonate with the reader. She lives in harmony with the
people
and the land as she struggles to understand those around her and to
make a
go of the ranch on her own. This novel is richly populated with other
characters who help or hinder her, and they, too, are also fully
realized
and each distinct from one another. At no time is one character
confused
with another. The land itself becomes a character as it carries the
theme
and moves the plot forward. It's wonderful how all things and
characters
exist and happen because of this place. Even the vivid, lyrical
language
is an integral player here. LAND THAT MOVES, LAND THAT STANDS STILL is
a
rewarding and satisfying read.

Kent Nelson's new novel is a must read for anyone that likes story telling at it's best. His sense of place is magically woven into the story almost without the reader realizing it. But from the begining you get a feel of the land, and the harshness and beauty of it.
The characters, when its their turn, are introduced with such few words, and so vividly, that several times I stopped and re-read their descriptions to decide how the author had done it.
Here's an example from page 93:
"Still holding a wrench, Hector rolled out from under the corn picker in greasy overalls. His black hair was haloed under a Buffalo Gap Feeds cap. A tattoo, the bottom of something Mattie couldn't see, was hidden by the sleeve of his T-shirt."

The easy flow of the words as the story takes place makes it difficult to put the novel down, and I found myself saddened when I realized I was coming to the end of the story and would no longer be involved in the lives of the characters.
I have been reading Kent Nelson's stories for years, and in my opinion is one of the finest writers writing today.

I found this story of a Dakota widower and her farm challenges and family relationships -- dealing with the 'non-entities' (not) of her deceased husband, and her dead son, in addition to her typically confused and experimental college-age daughter and her emerging family of a wacky, spunky female relationship escapee and young Indian reticent, which comes into focus in the wake of the farming work and environment that presents a main conflict to the story (not to ignore the neighbors-from-hell).

Nelson's particular skills include being able to tell a story that captures your interest (despite plot being rather predictable) and great skill with building reader identification with the characters. The dialogue is skillful - often short and crisp, ironic, and well-on. I could really picture this being a made-for-TV thing. It's entertaining, but I guess I wish I could have felt more in awe of the prose; the writing is effective but doesn't take your breath way, sort of like the difference between viewing a Norman Rockwell vs. a Matisse.

Regardless, I enjoyed the whole book and the characters are remaining with me...

Kent Nelson drops the reader directly onto a South Dakota farm, developing a sense of place that will linger long after you finish this book. Nelson's descriptions of the joys and tedium of farm life are finely detailed, and his characters come across as likeable, everyday people. The novel ranges in scope from water disputes to the futility of attempting to outrun your past to a mother and daughter attempting to deal with the death of the family patriarch and the subsequent painful secret that death reveals to them. Gorgeous work!

This novel entertained me so much that I couldn't put it down. What more can I ask of a book?

Kent Nelson's writing was lovely and unsentimental, crisp and clear headed. I was hanging on the words, dreaming on behalf of the characters and hoping their problems would find happy resolutions. And they did, but not easily - these characters earned their triumphs.

This novel was full of profound and subtle fire. As a reader, my time was richly rewarded.

Another great read from Kent Nelson! He develops his characters so well that we have not just met them, we know them intimately. (It's interesting to know fictional characters better than some of our acquaintances.) Here's an honest story told in pointed detail, great dialogue, graphic descriptions--that's enjoyable to digest, nothing laborious here--and a story not to be forgotten.

Nelson's novel is an engaging account of farm life, particularly the struggles of a group of people to survive after the death of Haney, the co-owner and operator of the land. His widow, Mattie, daughter Shelley, a runaway Indian boy named Elton, and a woman on the run from an abusive relationship all join together to run the farm. In doing so, each character has to contend with past secrets and present troubles: water-stealing neighbors, shaky relationships, and the struggles of running a farm. All of this is anchored by Nelson's detailed prose and naunce of character. An excellent read.

A wonderful novel. Lyrical, suspenseful, and masterfully told, Land That Moves, Land That Stands Still explores the physical and emotional landscapes of its characters deftly and without sentimentality. Mattie, Shelley, Dawn, and Elton are terrific. I couldn't put the book down, and once I finished it, I started reading all over again!