In 1920 Lamar Clayton, a well known West Texas rancher, contacts the famous sculptor "Gill" Gilheaney about the possibility of a sculpture of his son who was killed in France during WWI. When the two men meet they don't like each other but the job is offered to Gilheaney and he accepts.

The truth is that both men are searching for more than they admit of this piece of art. Gilheaney recently learned the best of his public sculptures had been damaged beyound repair during a riot. In his sixties, he knows he has limited time to find a suitable subject that can be as meaningful as the sculpture that once defined his career.

Clayton and his son Ben had developed a contentious relationship causing Ben to enlist. Clayton didn't see him off when he boarded the train that would take him to his death nor did he talk to him the night before. Because the opportunity to talk will never come, he wants the piece to convey all that should have been said about and to his boy.

This story is powerful, complex, and emotional with other characters helping explain the weaknesses and behaviors of both men. It isn't always easy to read, particularly those pages telling about Ben's death, and while there is no happy ending tied up with string, the ending is satisfying. The book won both the Spur Award and the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Best Historical Novel of 2012. ( )

Historical fiction about a West Texas rancher who commissions a statue to commemorate his son Ben, killed in France during WWI, in an attempt to heal the guilt he feels over their contentious relationship. The book is a character study, with all the primary characters and a good number of supporting characters fleshed out to a degree where I sensed their desires, motivations, internal conflicts, ambitions, and regrets.

Both the rancher and the sculptor guard hidden secrets from the past, which adversely impact their relationship and respective family dynamics. I selected this book since it features art in a prominent role, and was rewarded by a beautifully detailed description of how to create a bronze sculpture, not only the process but the artistic aspirations.

The plot is wide-ranging in scope, featuring such components as:
• what is was like to be a soldier during WWI on the Western Front
• descriptions of the West Texas ranching life
• an abduction by the Comanche and being assimilated into a tribe
• a daughter living in the shadow of her famous father
• a friend of the dead soldier learning to live with a severe disfigurement
• an artist’s desire to leave a legacy

I appreciated the author including relevant historical elements, such as references to Joske’s department store in San Antonio, or the methods of post-WWI reconstruction of the French countryside. Harrigan’s writing clearly evokes a past time and place.

Highly recommended to readers who appreciate stories of family dynamics, who enjoy historical fiction, who seek out books containing topics related to art, or who favor deeply developed characters. ( )

Read for library fiction book group. This was the 2014 Gulf Coast Reads Winner.

"He had no more responsibility to believe in it than he did to believe in the nightmares of his own childhood." One of the best lines from the whole book and could be about many of the characters in the novel.

Very well written and I will look into the author's other novel.



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An excellent novel on the effects of war as well as a look at how a sculptor works. I started out not particularly liking the book, but it quickly grew on me. I read it in conjunction with Gulf Coast Reads and for my Book Club. I found the characters of Maureen and Arthur particularly sympathetic. I have also known so many men like Lamar Clayton - quiet and reserved and unable to show grief. A beautifully told novel of art, remembrance and World War I. ( )

This is my best read of the year!

Sorry I can't add more stars. Good literary fiction! I couldn't put it down and now I am sorry to have finished it. One of the best novels I've read in some time. ( )