Reviews

Hard Mountain Clay by C.W. Blackwell

raven88's review

5.0

Again from spending time on social media I saw mention of C. W. Blackwell- Hard Mountain Clay, a slim novella:

Siblings Ben and Maisy find they have no one to turn to after witnessing a gruesome hit-and-run that shatters their innocence. Not their mother, a poor waitress with a spiraling drug addiction—and certainly not her new boyfriend, a brutal, meth-smoking tow-truck driver named Lou Holt. When Lou’s cover-up slowly turns their backyard into a makeshift cemetery, they devise plans to escape their chaotic home in the Santa Cruz Mountains, only to see their lives sink to even darker depths. 

As a big fan of authors such as Castle Freeman, Daniel Woodrell, Frank Bill et al, this ticked all the boxes for me. The backwoods American setting, with its grinding poverty was ever present, and the pervasive threat of, and actual perpetration of violence was interweaved throughout the book. Blackwell depicts the moral decay this family experiences at the hands of mom’s boyfriend Lou, who brings nothing but trouble and darkness to their home. It’s also a tale of resilience as we see Ben and Maisy retaliate in their own small ways, whilst being acutely aware of the deterioration of their mom, as she seeks to appease this awful man, at a deep personal cost to her physical self and to her relationship with her kids. It’s a short, grim read but there’s a redemptive message too. Very much recommend this one.

jack_storey's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

3.5

alexcarbonneau's review

5.0

There's beauty in tragedy

A story that is as heartbreaking as it is beautiful. Blackwell put a small cast of characters to life and gave them soul and heart throughout a bleak and gritty tale.

aliseaymcmahon's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

newsguy45's review

5.0

Sat down to start a new read, and boom a couple hours later I finished this gem. @CW_Blackwell grabs you on the first page and doesn't let go. No wasted words in this one. The story is going to stick with me for a bit. Another great one from @ShotgunHoney .

kpetras's review

dark tense

5.0

 Blackwell just keeps getting better.

I am not unfamiliar with Blackwell's writing, having been lucky enough to have received an ARC copy of Song of the Red Squire, and picked up his poetry collection River Street Rhapsody last year.

But Hard Mountain Clay hooked me in and wouldn't let me go. The characters were believable and well thought out, the villains (for there were multiple) incredibly, immensely frustrating, leading to an ending that both spoke to Maisy's ingenuity and the hard truth that sometimes, there may not be a savior coming over the horizon.

My only (slight) critique would be the epilogue seemed a little rushed- I wanted to learn more about how Maisy and Ben got to where they were, but, maybe that's a story for another time. As far as this novella goes, the pacing was well done, and the tension mounted beautifully, leading to a deserved, bittersweet ending. Definitely recommend as a short & sweet(?) read.