Buy new:

$10.00

List Price: $25.00

Save: $15.00 (60%)

FREE delivery October 13 - 17. Details

Select delivery location

Only 5 left in stock - order soon

$$10.00 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Payment

Secure transaction

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Ships from

Uplifting Deals

Ships from

Uplifting Deals

Sold by

Uplifting Deals

Sold by

Uplifting Deals

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.

Read full return policy

Details

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$5.99
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: Warriors SG

Added

Not added

$9.99
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: Magnolia A Books

Added

Not added

$16.47
FREE Shipping on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: Amazon.com

Follow the Author

Laura Pritchett

The Blue Hour Hardcover – February 14, 2017

by Laura Pritchett (Author)

3.7 119 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$11.99

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$10.00

$5.99

$4.00

Paperback

"Please retry"

$6.43

$5.87

$1.95

Audio CD, Audiobook, CD, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$4.36

—

Kindle
$11.99 Read with our Free App
Audiobook
$0.00 Free with your Audible trial
Hardcover
$10.00

18 Used from $4.00 6 New from $5.99 2 Collectible from $22.50
Paperback
$6.43

12 Used from $1.95 6 New from $5.87
Audio CD
$4.36

3 New from $4.36

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$10.00","priceAmount":10.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"10","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"UlqWIpEIm0xcprstIh5Y6GS5jiaKf%2FRfZeaau2P2aIOC91AOjYWPEK9NC92Rp66flZFHrqb1N16%2BmRXlX5BlMCI9geBhB6hB%2FH27Ro16dN8iggHXNE0%2FJ245QrOP7I4h9evcpHZNBmGCNTn9nF5MH6P8ObtXUdEdCGpkVORk%2FO206vXS%2Bz5GkA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

WINNER OF THE 2018 COLORADO BOOK AWARD

"Pritchett writes with an evident love for the mountains and the people that call them home." ―Westword, One of Ten Great Books by Colorado Authors in 2017

The residents of Blue Moon Mountain form a tight-knit community of those living off the land, stunned by the beauty and isolation all around them. So when, at the onset of winter, the town veterinarian commits a violent act, the repercussions of that tragedy are felt all across the mountainside, upending their lives and causing their paths to twist and collide in unexpected ways.

The housecleaner rediscovering her sexual appetite, the farrier who must take in his traumatized niece, the grocer and her daughter, the therapist and the teacher, reaching out to the world in new and surprising ways, and the ragged couple trapped in a cycle of addiction and violence. They will all rise and converge upon the blue hour―the l'heure bleu, a time of desire, lust, honesty―and learn to navigate the often confusing paths of mourning and love.

Writing with passion for rural lives and the natural world, Laura Pritchett, who has been called "one of the most accomplished writers of the American West," graces the land of desire in vivid prose, exploring the lengths these characters―some of whom we've met in Pritchett's previous work―will traverse to protect their own.

Print length

256 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Counterpoint
Publication date

February 14, 2017
Dimensions

5.8 x 0.85 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

1619028484
ISBN-13

978-1619028487
See all details

Laura Pritchett
44
Paperback
56 offers from $1.30
Felicia Rose Chavez
305
Paperback
69 offers from $7.29
Tiffany Yates Martin
365
Paperback
27 offers from $5.98
Nan Shepherd
1,744
Paperback
72 offers from $6.34

Editorial Reviews

Review

Winner of the 2018 Colorado Book Award for Literary Fiction

Named One of Ten Great Books by Colorado Authors in 2017 by Westword

"There’s a sexiness to the danger in this town (and this novel). A shocking act of violence is the catalyst to the local population’s sudden need to connect. Some people react by getting too close; some toe lines of fidelity and sanity; all are trying to find something real. And that’s when the tenuous nature of what binds the neighbors in this close community together reveals itself." —Marie Claire

"In this deeply emotional and sensual novel, Pritchett reminds us that we can go on in bleak times and that even in dark moments there are sparks of joy and renewal . . . Pritchett’s book will help you forget the turmoil in the world around us and luxuriate in the glory of what it means to be simply and beautifully human." —PBS NewsHour

“I really think [The Blue Hour] is fabulous . . . It’s one of those interesting books that looks both forward and backward . . . The writing is so, so splendid.” —Nancy Pearl, guest on Libsyn

"PEN USA/High Plains award winner Pritchett links her characters in a seamless tale of uneasy lives poised for change in one Colorado mountain community. A pitch–perfect story from a superb writer." —Library Journal (starred review)

"Within this close–knit community, Pritchett finds the core of the humanity—love, lust, loyalty, compassion, companionship, caring—wondrously bound in the stories of these incandescent characters, who want to survive on their own terms but who also learn that sustenance is only possible when supported by community. A richly sensual, tenderly proffered portrait of the most vulnerable yet appealing aspects of the human condition." —Booklist (starred review)

"Pritchett writes with an evident love for the mountains and the people that call them home." —Westword, One of Ten Great Books by Colorado Authors in 2017

"In delicately balancing concerns about love and sex with the real life—sick animals, dying brothers, work, children, the annual community bird count—Pritchett paints a remarkably realistic portrait of how the erotic and the ordinary constantly intertwine in most human lives. As in her previous work (fans will enjoy cameos by characters from other novels and stories), she also balances the human struggles with nature’s astounding, abundant beauty, so powerful, yet so needful of protection . . . Sex and passion, mental illness and mourning, birds and bears, a couple dozen viewpoint characters—it’s a lot to weave into a smooth, compelling tapestry, but Pritchett pulls it off beautifully." —Daily Camera

"Piercing . . . An original meditation on sex, love, and death." —Kirkus Reviews

"Pritchett is boldly lyrical, whether she is writing about the eyes of archangels or the dawning of a new day, or especially the love lives of her diverse cast of characters, united in both a quest for love and residence around the beautiful Blue Moon Mountain . . . In this elegant book, there’s an appealing verisimilitude in the way the characters are variously, tentatively connected." —Publishers Weekly

"Graced with characters so alive, so full of quirky humanity, you miss them when you’ve finished the book, and written in prose as clear and gorgeous as a mountain afternoon, The Blue Hour isn’t just about the many ways love can end—it’s about how connection jumpstarts when you least expect it, too." —Caroline Leavitt, author of Cruel Beautiful World and the New York Times bestsellers Is This Tomorrow and Pictures of You

"Laura Pritchett’s exquisitely linked novel of short stories—Jhumpa Lahiri comes to mind—manages to be all at once poetic and funny, heartbreaking and true. And the theme of sex—its role as social bonder, marriage breaker—is so beautifully, rarely addressed. This is a snapshot of the new West, as seen from that most breathtaking perspective—the inside out." —Alexandra Fuller, author of Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight and Leaving Before the Rains

"Laura Pritchett has taken on love in all its complexity. Reminiscent of Charles Baxter’s Feast of Love, every chapter of this beautifully linked novel gives us a story of conjugal love, passionate love, unrequited love. Actually there are so many wonderful works that this novel made me think of—Alice Hoffman’s Turtle Moon and the classic Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio—yet Pritchett’s work feels unique in its humor, its exquisite writing on sex, and in just how blue her world manages to be. I loved it in its parts and in its whole. A novel I’ll hold on to in my heart for a long time." —Mary Morris, award–winning author of The Jazz Palace

About the Author

Laura Pritchett is the acclaimed author of Stars Go Blue, Red Lightning, Hell's Bottom, Colorado, and Sky Bridge as well as several books of nonfiction. Her work has garnered several awards, including the PEN USA Award for Fiction, the WILLA, the High Plains Book Award, and others. Learn more at laurapritchett.com

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Counterpoint; First Edition (February 14, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1619028484
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1619028487
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.8 x 0.85 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,787,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #10,914 in Small Town & Rural Fiction (Books)
- #32,209 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
- #98,599 in Parenting & Relationships (Books)

Customer Reviews:
3.7 119 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

Important information

To report an issue with this product, click here.

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Laura Pritchett

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Laura Pritchett's newest book, Making Friends with Death: A Guide to Your Impending Last Breath, has just been released by VIVA Editions, 2017 -- more at www.makingfriendswithdeath.com.

She's also the author of five literary novels: The Blue Hour (Counterpoint, 2017), Red Lightning (Counterpoint, 2015) Stars Go Blue (Counterpoint, 2014), Sky Bridge (Milkweed Editions, 2009), and Hell's Bottom, Colorado (Milkweed Editions, 2001) - more at www.laurapritchett.com.

Awards for these novels include the PEN USA Award, the Milkweed National Fiction Prize, the WILLA Award, the High Plains Book Award for Fiction, the Colorado Book Award, and others.

She is also the author/editor of four books of nonfiction: Great Colorado Bear Stories, Pulse of the River, Home Land, and Going Green: True Tales from Gleaners, Scavengers, and Dumpster Divers.

Pritchett has also published over 200 essays and short stories in numerous magazines, including The New York Times Modern Love, The Sun, O (Oprah’s) Magazine, Orion, High Country News, Writers on the Range, Salon, The Normal School, High Desert Journal, OnEarth, Natural Resources Journal, 5280 (Denver's Magazine), The Pinch, and others. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart on several occasions. She is the recipient of several residencies, including Ucross (Wyoming), Earthskin (New Zealand), and Playa (Oregon), and has been recognized by several organizations for environmental stewardship.

She holds a Ph.D. from Purdue University. When not writing or teaching, she can generally be found outside in Colorado’s mountains.

Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5

119 global ratings

5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all photos

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

David N. Orth

A small town's reaction to tragedy

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2017

Verified Purchase

Wonderfully written, character-driven novel about a small, quirky, Rocky Mountain town's residents' reactions to the suicide of the popular veterinarian. Lots of flawed people, empathetic accounts of their complicated lives. A hopeful and beautiful account of community and survival in harsh circumstances.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

L

This is a beautiful book. Prose that reads like poetry

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2017

Verified Purchase

This is a beautiful book. Prose that reads like poetry. Intimacy, sex and snow, violence and grief, attempted healing. A little wonder.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

PJ

Interesting read

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2017

Verified Purchase

It was a little hard to follow with so many characters, but I still enjoyed it. Might give it a second read

Helpful

mommy of two

An extraordinary and beautiful journey through a small town

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2017

Verified Purchase

I read The Blue Hour about a month ago and then I had to read it again. It's beautiful and tragic and inspiring and haunting. Laura Pritchett's characters have stayed with me like friends you meet along your journey through life. Each chapter is filled with rich imagery and deep emotion that invests you in the Ives of her characters all battling their own challenges and struggling to come to terms with loss. The stories arc so beautifully into hopefulness and joy, leaving you wanting more and more. My copy of the book is flagged with passages that articulate the human experience with such exceptional prose.

I also bought the audio version of the book to hear the stories read to me, adding another layer of dimension. I will return to this book again and again to be reacquainted with my old friends. This is a journey you won't regret taking!

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Wordy girl

One of the most disturbing books I have ever read

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2020

Verified Purchase

I purchased this book on the recommendation of a Professor. I am giving it 2 stars because there were some profound sentences within the pages of brutality, despair, suicide, blah blah. If your into that kind of book then by all means this is a book for you! I think life is rough enough. No thanks.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Jessica

Powerful and deep

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2021

Verified Purchase

Probably one of my favorite books now. I loved the depth and truth the author put down on each page. I bought a few to give to family and friends as well. I definitely will be on the look out for future books by this author.

Helpful

Penny Dobb

I couldn't finish the book... a bit ...

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2017

Verified Purchase

I couldn't finish the book... a bit dark and depressing. Characters well developed; does not lack for graphic sexual escapades :-)

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2022