Monuments: A Novel (Sandhill Chronicles) - Hardcover

Reynolds, Clay

9780896724334: Monuments: A Novel (Sandhill Chronicles)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0896724336 ISBN 13: 9780896724334

Publisher: Texas Tech University Press, 2000

“This is Reynolds’s fourth novel about the dusty, hot, and sleepy West Texas town of Agatite, a faded stewpot of roiling passions, savage gossip, and crooked politics. . . . This warm and entertaining story is solidly written and vividly atmospheric. Reynolds spins a compelling yarn.” —Publishers Weekly“Although [Reynolds] is not as well known outside of Texas as Larry McMurtry and Cormac McCarthy, he has probed and deciphered the nature of the past at levels deeper than theirs . . . and in his new novel, Monuments, the results of his quest are brought into apposite and poignant focus.” —Bloomsbury Review“Fourteen-year-old Hugh Rudd had his summer planned: mow lawns, practice baseball, buy a new mountain bike, get ready for high school. But the Burlington Northern Railroad’s determination to demolish the Hendershot Grocery Ware-house, a symbol of Hugh’s small Texas home town since the turn of the century . . . makes Hugh re-examine his plans. . . . The final confrontation is both action-packed and satisfying.” —Booklist“Hugh Rudd learns during one summer in his small north Texas town that nothing lasts forever—especially innocence.” —San Antonio Express-News “Secures [Reynolds’s] place among fine Texas and American writers. . . . A wonderfully satisfying reading experience.” —Review of Texas Books“There is no doubt of the author’s keen understanding of what makes a small town tick.” —Denver Post

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About the Author:

Clay Reynolds serves on the faculty of the University of Texas at Dallas.

From Publishers Weekly:

Following Players, this is Reynolds's fourth novel about the dusty, hot and sleepy West Texas town of Agatite, a faded stewpot of roiling passion, savage gossip and crooked politics in the late 1980s. Fourteen-year-old Hugh Rudd wants to mow lawns over the summer to earn enough cash to buy a mountain bike before starting high school, but his plans go way off track when the Burlington Northern railroad tries to destroy the Hendershot Grocery Warehouse, a huge, ugly concrete building that is a town landmark, to make way for a new switching station. Despite having no real historical significance, the building becomes a lightning rod for preservationists, do-gooders and anyone with a grudge against the railroad and corporate greed. Before long, the entire town is in an uproar, tempers flare and the wheels come off this seemingly quiet, peaceful community. And Hugh is right in the middle of the mess. The boy befriends old Jonas Wilson, the town reprobate and "bogeyman," who, contrary to his reputation, has a lot of wisdom to impartAnot least of which concerns the secrets Agatite would like to see buried in the rubble of the old warehouse. The building is really just a cover for a corrupt political power grab that Hugh and Jonas try to expose and prevent, but they face hate, lies, deceit and the destruction of several families before the wrecker is due. This warm and entertaining story is solidly written and vividly atmospheric. Reynolds spins a compelling yarn demonstrating that friendship is the only monument that endures in a world where events can go out of control. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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