“It’s rarely the truth itself that people can’t accept. It’s now they feel about it.”
A modern day Grapes of Wrath, but better or unique?
Summary - A Dust Bowl-era novel set in the fictional town of Uz, Nebraska, that explores themes of memory, community, and the consequences of forgetting history, with a cast of characters including a “Prairie Witch,” a wheat farmer, and a photographer whose camera reveals glimpses through time.
The writing immediately drew me in and the narrators were all picked perfectly for each character as well (thank you @prh for the listening copy). I’d say the only negative was that the middle dragged just a little but really, it was setting the stage for an amazing ending. This book won’t be for everyone, but if you enjoy unique and well-written literary fiction, I highly recommend this one!
Towards the end, a character gives a speech about the Dust Bowl about how maybe it wasn’t just a weather pattern at play…it was so moving that I have to include it: “If the Pawnees had been permitted to stay on their lands–if the Ponca and the Omaha and the Otoe and the Missouria and the Lakota and the Dakota and the Cheyenne and the Arapaho and the dozens of other tribes had not been forced from their homes, “removed " to reservations–then maybe the Dust Bowl would never have happened. What color would the sky be today, if our government had respected treaty rights, instead of handing our parents this “free Indian land”? Drought would come–no doubt–but grass would anchor the sod. Healthy soil would hold rain in the ground. This dust would not be burying houses up to their windows, choking dogs and cows and horses, turning the sun drunken red.”
Do you see why I felt compelled to include this long but timely sentiment? I fear a modern day Dust Bowl is upon us…
Find The Antidote at the publisher →
Toni Rocchetti is a copy editor helping authors strengthen their narratives, deepen character arcs, and find the story that is already in the draft. She reads 80+ books a year across literary fiction, memoir, and nonfiction — and writes about what she is learning along the way. Work with Toni →
