Joe Wilkins, a fellow University of Idaho Creative Writing MFA alum, has a new novel, The Entire Sky, coming out July 2nd (which is the day I am publishing this review). Like his memoir, The Mountain and the Fathers, and his first novel, Fall Back Down When I Die (read my review of it here), the new novel features stunning, precise language and a deep evocation of place.
It is the story of Justin, a teenage runaway, Rene Bouchard, an aging rancher mourning the loss of his wife and the growing distance between him and his grown children, and Lianne, Rene’s daughter and a woman struggling to find connection and meaning in her marriage, her work, and her relationship with her father. When Justin’s flight brings him to Rene’s Montana sheep ranch, the three discover an unexpected opportunity to redefine family and home. But Justin can’t outrun his troubled past, and it threatens to destroy the life he’s created with Rene and Lianne and wrest him from the place he’s come to call his own.
When it comes to bringing the contemporary American West to life on the page, Wilkins’ work is some of the best I’ve read. His descriptions of rural Montana, from the plains to the mountains to the tiny, rural town of Delphia to the much larger Billings, sing with specific detail and lyric imagery. Depictions of sheep ranching ring with both grittiness and wonder, reflecting the awe inspired by work that ties people so deeply to the natural world, to birth and death, blood and sky.
Justin’s reactions to these cycles reflect Wilkins’ keen eye and ear for character development and dialogue. A city kid, Justin is amazed but also sometimes appalled as he learns to help Rene with lambing. (A scene that describes the necessity of “jacketing” a bum lamb is especially powerful.) His spoken responses are often inelegant, but beneath the cursing are a tenderness and authenticity that speak to the character’s deepest nature. In another story, an old rancher like Rene, who has distinct ideas about what is right and wrong, might take the boy to task for his language, but in Wilkins’ hands, Rene’s taciturn non-reaction comes through as a form of nurturing. He allows Justin to be who he is while also providing the space and structure for the boy to explore what it means to be responsible to and for other living beings.
Likewise, Lianne and Rene’s relationship is full of complexity and truth. The oldest of four and the only girl, Lianne is also the only one of Rene’s children who lived up to his expectations and hopes for working the ranch. But she left home to attend college, got married, and moved away. Now, in the wake of her mother’s death, she’s trying to understand a pull to return the Montana she once knew even as she wants more from her relationship with her father and can clearly see the hard edges and limits of life in such a place. As she and Rene try to reckon with the legacy of a past family tragedy, the reader aches with all they cannot say and all they manage to convey.
The wholeness of all its characters is perhaps my favorite part of this novel, with the beauty of the language and the descriptions of landscapes tied for a close second. The supporting characters feel real (and if there was ever a better name for a power-hungry land baron than Orley Pinkerton, I’d like to hear it.) Their hopes and troubles add layers and nuance to the community of Delphia, harmonizing with Justin’s, Rene’s, and Lianne’s as they emerge as allies and adversaries.
Ultimately, The Entire Sky takes a hard look at failures in our society that allow so many of us to become wandering, broken survivors, each in our unique way. Through Justin, it asks us to consider what has happened and what will happen to boys who have been left outside the circle of love and family that should support their growth into thoughtful men who can claim their own authenticity rather than being defined by cultural morays of masculinity.
Many novels about the contemporary West lean hard into bitterness and bleakness, perhaps as part of an effort to demythologize the West and challenge oversimplified, romanticized versions of its past and present. Notably here, Wilkins doesn’t shy away from that work or from harsh realities, but his novel also values the beauty of the land and the humanity of the people who live there.
Given the sharp-eyed crafting of Justin’s character and those of the people surrounding him, it would be naive to wrap this story up with a “happily-ever-after.” But without looking away from the likely outcome of Justin’s trajectory, Wilkins offers the possibility of hope, a version of the boy’s future that could, just maybe, be true in a world so filled with violence and beauty.
The Entire Sky is available July 2nd, 2024. Check your local bookstore to buy a copy or order the book online from Third Street Books, a bookstore located in Wilkins’ stomping grounds in Oregon. Also, you can learn more about the book and about Wilkins’ work on his website.