- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Mariner Books; None edition (July 16 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0618257497
- ISBN-13: 978-0618257492
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 13.2 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 327 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
An unexpected, passionate relationship between two lonely people from strikingly different backgrounds is at the heart of Jones's luminous first novel. In 1919, 17-year-old Virginia Price is a sophisticated New York debutante. Her father's recent death has left her shaken and unmoored, feelings exacerbated when she is raped and impregnated by her louche boyfriend, Charlie Stroud. Virginia and her aunt are dispatched to Frank Mohr's Wyoming ranch to await the baby's birth. Ranch life is a vivid contrast to her life in the city; she is unaccustomed to the reticence of these Westerners Frank's abused wife, Rose, and cowboys Dewey and Adze among them and to her new status as a fallen woman and a local curiosity. She's puzzled by Frank's son, Henry: at 24, he exists in a state of ennui, brought on by a vague restlessness, abuse by his father and what he observed during his war years in France. He and Virginia begin a clandestine relationship. Then Charlie appears at the ranch, determined to marry Virginia and begin their new life in Boston. Henry remains resolute in his love for Virginia, while Virginia is openly contemptuous of Charlie. Inevitably, tensions escalate and are released in a series of suspenseful and dramatic events. Both Henry's and Virginia's thoughts unfold in graceful prose, broken into short chapters full of small moments freighted with significance. Reminiscent of Plainsong in its evocation of Western atmosphere and daily rhythms, the novel should make the reader impatient for Jones's next effort. 6-city author tour. (Oct. 22) Forecast: Western readers familiar with the periodical Big Sky Journal, which Jones edited until recently, will gravitate to this impressive novel first; good regional sales and word of mouth should bring critical attention.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
In 1924, New York debutante Virginia Price, only 17 and pregnant after a rape by her boyfriend, is sent by her embarrassed mother to a remote Wyoming ranch to have her baby and give it up for adoption. Henry Mohr, the half-Native American stepson of the ranch's owner, is a World War I veteran haunted by his war experiences and a childhood filled with racism and physical abuse. Virginia misses her New York world of parties and speakeasies; Henry is happiest trapping wild animals alone in the mountains. Although they have nothing in common, these outsiders are drawn together by loneliness into a tentative, secret love affair. When Virginia's former boyfriend arrives, wanting to "do the right thing" and marry her, Henry pulls away and retreats to the mountains. Virginia must find the courage to decide her own fate, and that of her baby, as pressure grows for her to marry her abuser. The unconventional love story at the heart of this first novel is touching and unpredictable, the wild landscapes are indelibly described, and the characters are vividly drawn. Highly recommended. Karen Anderson, Quarles & Brady/Streich Lang, Phoenix, AZ
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
This year's downer,
By Cookie "Eyestrain" (Streetsboro, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Last Year's River (Library Binding)
I enjoyed this book, but expected more from it than I got. The characters were well developed but seem to sleep walk through the story. There was no real heat between the main characters, they seemed to seek each other out for warmth and comfort not because they truly cared about each other, which is OK, I guess, if you're into that sort of thing. Some of the scenes in the book were brutal, like the West is (was) back then. But the characters seemed to hold back their emotions from everyone, including us.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Last Year's River: A+,
By A Customer
This review is from: Last Year's River (Library Binding)
Last Year's River contains an excellent use of contemporary thoughts blended with an honest and accurate representation of yesterday's 'pioneer' culture. Like Shakespeare's best works, this novel's base is one of love, drama, spite and hate and will warmly accomidate the interests of male and female readers alike. A real page turner based on feelings of personal involvement and attachment, by the reader, to the characters. This no doubt stems from excellent writing and an obvious concern for detail. The overall structure of the novel is meticulously broad-based that allows the reader to mentally expand and explore beyond the book's cover. A very fluid novel that I recommend to other readers looking for a change from the standard 'stamped and printed' novel. I am looking foreward to this new writer's next novel.
3.0 out of 5 stars
If You Enjoyed "All The Pretty Horses" Then Read This Book!,
By
This review is from: Last Year's River (Library Binding)
Well.I heard this was a good book. You heard that? You heard about Allen Morris Jones? I heard. And you think I should read it? You think it's worth my time? I say it is. Well. Cough. All right then. Does this writing style remind you of anyone? How about Cormac McCarthy, Kent Haruf, or Annie Proulx? "Last Year's River" is an impressive debut novel and one that will appeal to a large audience. It is full of amazing passages about the West (specifically Wyoming and the fringes of Yellowstone), dialogue that leaves you wanting (to throttle the various characters at one time or another), and thankful to live in present times (versus back when an out-of-wedlock pregnancy meant social death). My only criticism (and reason for the three-star rating) is that the plot is somewhat predictable -- especially with the flashbacks told in Virginia's voice at the beginning of the chapters. That said, this is a hugely readable story -- gritty, closely observed, and vivid. Add Allen Morris Jones to your list of serious western novelists!
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