I consider myself a bit more than just a casual reader. I read 70 to 80 books—upwards of 30,000 pages—a year. I read book reviews daily to stay current on new releases and read what others are saying is worth reading and what isn’t. Over time, I think I’ve developed a fairly adequate eye for a good book. Candidly though, most books that I read are just that—good. Not great, but good. Which is why when I read a great book, I get especially excited to share it with others.
Michael B. Sessions’ Stump: Fighting to Provide is a great book. In fact, not only is it easily the best book I have read in 2009, it is quite possibly one of the best books I have read in a very long time. Sessions has written an exemplary piece of historical fiction: interesting time period and setting, compelling story and characters, crisp dialogue, and emotive narrative. What makes his effort all the more remarkable is that Stump is Sessions’ first commercially published work (so far as I know). His talent speaks for itself.
I’m not inclined to relate the story of Stump here in any detail. It’s not my place to rob readers of the pleasure of experiencing a book on their own. But this much I will share: Stump is a fresh telling of a timeless tale—the hope and ardor of youth that is seemingly crushed by an unfortunate event only to be overcome by sheer determination and grit. It is a story of redemption. Perrigrine “PG” Sessions, son of Mormon pioneers who settled in Utah and, incidentally, the author’s grandfather, falls for the love of his life and once married relocates to Southeast Idaho to take a chance on hardscrabble land outside the sleepy town of Rigby. In Rigby, an ill-advised attempt to put food on his family’s table costs PG his left hand, hence the title of the book. Left without means to adequately farm his homestead, PG takes up menial work during the course of which a chance altercation prompts PG to undertake the most improbable means of providing for his family. Every step of the way, PG learns something about himself, his family, and his beliefs.
Pick it up and I guarantee you won’t want to put it down.
Copies of Stump can be obtained from Borderline Publishing at www.borderlinepublishing.com or directly from the author, Michael B. Sessions, 417 Bridlewood Street, Caldwell, Idaho, 83605 or msessions@q.com.
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