An Unfinished Life (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An old rancher reluctantly takes in his daughter-in-law and granddaughter in this moving and well-crafted, if rather derivative, second novel by Spragg (The Fruit of Stone). Jean Gilkyson hasn't been back to her hometown of Ishawooa, Wyo., since her husband, Griffin, died in a car accident. Jean was driving, and Griffin's father, Einar, has never forgiven her for his son's death. Ten years and four boyfriends later, Jean has run out of money and options. With her precocious nine-year-old daughter, Griff, she escapes boyfriend number four, a smirking brute named Roy. Einar isn't happy to see mother or daughter, but Griff loves his log house and ranch life. She makes friends right away with Mitch, Einar's old Vietnam War buddy, who's been mauled by a grizzly and is horribly scarred, and gradually wins over her grandfather. Meanwhile, Jean is charming the town sheriff, which comes in handy when Roy tracks her down. Spragg's spare storytelling is rock solid, but he covers well-worn territory in language familiar to readers of Cormac McCarthy and Kent Haruf, never quite striking off on his own.
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From Bookmarks Magazine

An Unfinished Life follows on the heels of Spragg’s memoir about growing up on a Wyoming ranch, Where Rivers Change Direction, and his Western debut, The Fruits of Stone. This latest effort, which raises comparisons to Kent Haruf’s Plainsong and Eventide (*** July/Aug 2004), delves into the world of fractured families. Memorable secondary characters contribute a great deal of spirit to this emotionally charged story of love, loss, betrayal, and reconciliation. Although most critics adored An Unfinished Life for its concise language, fast-paced plotting, and Western feel, a few criticized its predictable romance and untidy ending. And, most mourned its Hollywood qualities—yes, it will soon hit the big screen, with Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, and Jennifer Lopez.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; First Edition edition (August 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400042011
• ISBN-13: 978-1400042012
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #473,571 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hopes and regrets on a ranch in Wyoming . . ., October 20, 2004

By	Ronald Scheer "rockysquirrel" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

One of the finest books written about growing up in the West is Mark Spragg's memoir, "Where Rivers Change Direction." He's also a talented screenwriter whose "Everything That Rises" is a touching film about a rancher father and young son. So I've found myself expecting probably too much from his fiction. "The Fruit of Stone" and "An Unfinished Life" seem to lack the sparkling brilliance and deep truth of his earlier work, and I wish it wasn't so. When Spragg is good, he breaks your heart.

"An Unfinished Life" reads much like a film script. It moves along in the present tense and is largely visual, describing behavior and capturing dialogue, but often staying just on the surface and not getting to the emotional heart of a scene. The characters and situations are often a little too predictable; you feel that you've seen and heard them already somewhere else. Dedicated to author Kent Haruf ("Plainsong"), the book seems rather much inspired by that author's small-town characters of three generations. You keep wishing Spragg would just yield to his own vision, which if his memoir is any indication, has to be deeper, darker, more troubling, and powerful.

Having said all that, I won't discourage readers from enjoying many of the pleasures that are to be found in this novel. A master of quirky dialogue, Spragg writes several scenes, mostly between the two old men at the center of the story, full of quiet verbal sparring that makes their relationship spring to life. The tentative friendship between a young sheriff and a woman on the run from an abusive husband keeps us interested. And his journey into the mind of the husband who stalks her is thoroughly creepy and disturbing.

But for readers who don't know Spragg, I'd point them instead to his memoir, "Where Rivers Change Direction." It's the real thing.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Postmodern thought with flesh upon it, April 22, 2005

By	ROBERT KINGSLEY (Fort Collins, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mark Spragg is an excellent storyteller - he allows you to see the vast land of Wyoming and the emptiness that is in the land and his characters.

This is a well used story that seems to work over and over again. One of loss and pain without meaning. It echoes in our postmodern minds - there isn't any meaning to be found, so just make the best of it. Find some people to attach one's self to and live out a bleak existence.

The life in the story is Griff the child. She still has hope and the others seem to feed off this hope, even though deep down they know it is just an illusion. Luckily the story ends before Griff learns of the futility of her hope and that there really is nothing out there.

If you want to understand the postmodern mind, I would recommend this book. If you are looking for a masterfully crafted story about the emptiness of the human condition, this is a good one. But if you are looking for something noble, something that points that there is a deeper meaning to life than just getting through it, you need to look elsewhere.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The search for the sense of Home and Family, January 27, 2005

By	Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Griff, a precocious 9yo girl who is determined to force Jean, her mother, to grow up and take responsibility for herself, is the main focus of this book that starts with Griff pretty much forcing her mom to drive away from her last abusive boyfriend and head toward California. They only make it to Ishawooa, Wyoming, where Jean grew up and married Griffin, Griff's dad, who died in a car accident before Griff was born.
Einar, Griffin's angry old father (angry cuz he blames Jean for the death of his only son), reluctantly takes them in, and Jean begins working at the local restaurant.
Griff falls in love with the ranch, the old man, his Vietnam War buddy Mitch who's been nearly killed by a grizzly, and with the sense of permanence that she's been lacking all her life - and she's determined not to leave.
Good story-telling, good writing, good characters, good book.