The New Valley (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Weil's debut is a stark and haunting triptych of novellas set in the rusted-out hills straddling the border between the Virginias. In Ridge Weather, Osby, a hardscrabble cattle rancher, finds himself lonely and isolated after his father's suicide. In the aftermath he struggles to make some sort of a personal connection in increasingly desperate attempts to be needed by someone. In Stillman Wing, the elderly Charlie Stillman, afraid of his own mortality, tries to reinvigorate his life by stealing and reconditioning a tractor, all the while maintaining a relationship with his obese, promiscuous daughter and coming to terms with the death of his barnstormer parents. Sarverville Remains, takes the form of a letter from Geoffrey Sarver, a mildly retarded orphan, to an incarcerated man whose wife he has fallen in love with, and takes on the elements of a well-told crime story. All three pieces, despite their somber tones, offer renewal for their protagonists. Taken individually, each novella offers its own tragic pleasures, but together, the works create a deeply human landscape that delivers great beauty. (June)
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From Booklist

A restive nobility binds the sorrowful protagonists of Weil’s stellar debut collection of novellas, each a tender anthem to a starkly unforgiving Virginia countryside and the misguided determination of its most forsaken residents. Whether driven by a persistent yearning for acceptance, a paralyzing sense of loss, or a plaintive slide into oblivion, three solitary men are eventually undone by the abject and overwhelming loneliness that comes when they are abandoned by a loved one. In “Ridge Weather,” an isolated cattle farmer grapples with unfamiliar independence in the aftermath of his father’s suicide, while “Stillman Wing” chronicles the inexorable decline of a once-vital man after his self-destructive daughter leaves home. The searingly poignant “Sarverville Remains” calls forth the mesmerizing voice of a slow-witted young man who is willfully caught in a diabolical love triangle. Throughout, Weil limns a rugged emotional landscape every bit as raw and desolate as the land that inspired it, delivering an eloquent portrait of people who defiantly cling to a fierce independence. --Carol Haggas

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press; First Edition edition (June 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802118917
• ISBN-13: 978-0802118912
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #156,642 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book of the spring, May 8, 2009

By	Grant Barber (scituate, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the satisfying read of the spring. I have stacked next to me the Spivet book, and one about when Thoreau set fire to the woods around Concord, and another about a novelist in Iran in a struggle with his censor. Each is fine, and I'll get through them, plus the stack of other books that are there too, but this collection of novellas is what I was longing for...you just read it and can have a satisfied "yes" response. Have had similar reactions to the first novel I read by Rick Bass, and Jim Harrison, and McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses and Doig's Dancing at Rascal Creek, and Ron Carlson. Take the first novella: images, such as late spring snow, and sunset, a deserted house, cars driving in the distance worked into great, paced story telling. The main character of the novella is revealed as a complex flesh and blood guy, not some mopey sad sack, not some romantic heroic larger than life man-of-solitude, and yet he's more than just his singular life--seems to point to verities of living. Of all the books for this spring, this is the one I'll want to put in other's hands.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A BRILLIANT NEW TALENT, May 8, 2009

By	R. Goolrick (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was lucky enough to read an advance copy of Josh Weil's first book, and it is extraordinary. He is the real deal; a great writer with something to say about the intricate sadness and bravery and hopefulness of the human heart. Set in the hardscrabble country of Southwest Virginia, each of these three novellas is a gem, each different, each moving and involving and stunning in the simplicity and beauty of the language. Josh Weil is The Next Great Thing in American fiction. Don't miss it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Remarkable Debut, May 29, 2009

By	Laura Van Den Berg "Laura" - See all my reviews

The depth and grace of the storytelling, the lyric precision of the language, the richly-rendered setting, and the unforgettable characters make The New Valley a stunning, accomplished debut. Best of all, it's unlike any book I have read before. Weil is an undeniably powerful new voice in contemporary fiction.