Small-town Minnesota teenager Basil ‘The Brute’ Thorson—a shy, reluctant wrestling star and ‘special’ tracked into special education classes—vows to make his family whole again in the wake of multiple tragedies, during a year in which his community is roiled by strange religious and mythological events.
Another perceptive and empathetic novel from the author of Indie Next and All Iowa Reads selection Little Wolves, blending myth, history, and religion with a nuanced look at contemporary rural life, perfect for fans of Marilynne Robinson, Richard Russo, and Paul Harding.
When the ashes from an Ash Wednesday service in the prairie town of Andwhen, Minnesota, refuse to wash off, members of a small congregation are left wondering whether they’ve been blessed or cursed. For Basil—a ‘gentle giant’ of a teen reeling from a farming accident that shattered his family and haunted by his mother’s decade-long confinement in a state mental hospital—the ashes become a sign. He embarks on a secret ritual of fasting and prayer, seeking meaning in his unraveling world.
Meanwhile, Basil and his friends, Lukas and Morgan (who self-identify as ‘a gay, a goth, and a giant’), stumble upon what may be the centuries-old remains of a Viking explorer in a local meadow, a find that brings its own complications, as folk history clashes with the agendas of online racists. As Basil’s relentless fasting warps his grip on reality, the danger he poses to himself and his family escalates.
Blending the fragments of a Norse saga with a finely observed portrait of rural Midwestern life at the start of the pandemic, Thomas Maltman delivers a novel of narrative daring and profound empathy—his most inventive and compassionate work yet.
Genre: General Fiction
Another perceptive and empathetic novel from the author of Indie Next and All Iowa Reads selection Little Wolves, blending myth, history, and religion with a nuanced look at contemporary rural life, perfect for fans of Marilynne Robinson, Richard Russo, and Paul Harding.
When the ashes from an Ash Wednesday service in the prairie town of Andwhen, Minnesota, refuse to wash off, members of a small congregation are left wondering whether they’ve been blessed or cursed. For Basil—a ‘gentle giant’ of a teen reeling from a farming accident that shattered his family and haunted by his mother’s decade-long confinement in a state mental hospital—the ashes become a sign. He embarks on a secret ritual of fasting and prayer, seeking meaning in his unraveling world.
Meanwhile, Basil and his friends, Lukas and Morgan (who self-identify as ‘a gay, a goth, and a giant’), stumble upon what may be the centuries-old remains of a Viking explorer in a local meadow, a find that brings its own complications, as folk history clashes with the agendas of online racists. As Basil’s relentless fasting warps his grip on reality, the danger he poses to himself and his family escalates.
Blending the fragments of a Norse saga with a finely observed portrait of rural Midwestern life at the start of the pandemic, Thomas Maltman delivers a novel of narrative daring and profound empathy—his most inventive and compassionate work yet.
Genre: General Fiction
Praise for this book
"Ashes to Ashes is an original, daring, and sensitive novel that spans centuries of time in its search for community, family, and safety. This is a novel for every outsider battling the urge to leave their safe life behind in favor of unknown horizons, and for every intrepid explorer who does. Maltman's book is part small-town bildungsroman and part rollicking Viking epic, but it is absolutely a page-turner and a delight." - Nickolas Butler
"Ashes to Ashes unfolds in a rural small town, but there is nothing insular or quaint in this story of outsiders - a grieving daughter, a misunderstood son, and a stunted boy-giant, all inspired by the spirit of a centuries-old explorer to discover and claim their own lives. Thomas Maltman has written a wise and deeply empathetic novel. As contemporary as an Instagram post and yet resonant with history, this is the best book I have read all year." - Lin Enger
"Thomas Maltman's poignant Ashes to Ashes is far and away the best novel I've read this year. Compassionate and lyrically written, it's a story about mysteries, those of the past and the present, as well as the eternal mysteries of the human heart. I fell in love with this book from the very first page. I guarantee you will too." - William Kent Krueger
"The story of a small town that reads like an epic. I don't know what impressed me most - the superbly crafted prose, the deeply felt characters, or the mythological and religious quest of the reading experience. I'm in awe." - Benjamin Percy
"Ashes to Ashes unfolds in a rural small town, but there is nothing insular or quaint in this story of outsiders - a grieving daughter, a misunderstood son, and a stunted boy-giant, all inspired by the spirit of a centuries-old explorer to discover and claim their own lives. Thomas Maltman has written a wise and deeply empathetic novel. As contemporary as an Instagram post and yet resonant with history, this is the best book I have read all year." - Lin Enger
"Thomas Maltman's poignant Ashes to Ashes is far and away the best novel I've read this year. Compassionate and lyrically written, it's a story about mysteries, those of the past and the present, as well as the eternal mysteries of the human heart. I fell in love with this book from the very first page. I guarantee you will too." - William Kent Krueger
"The story of a small town that reads like an epic. I don't know what impressed me most - the superbly crafted prose, the deeply felt characters, or the mythological and religious quest of the reading experience. I'm in awe." - Benjamin Percy
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