It’s rare when a new literary voice stops me in my tracks, but that’s exactly with The Continental Divide did.
There seem to be more debut books than ever these days, and I’m often left wondering how certain people ended up getting voted into the literary field of acceptance. Bob Johnson is a debut author who 100% deserves to be published. His book of short stories is a wonderful example of what great writing can do for you – or, do to you, in the case of some of the more emotional stories it contains.
Why I decided to read The Continental Divide
When Kaye Publicity first approached me about The Continental Divide, I wasn’t sure about it. I don’t always love short stories, and the book description for this collection was rather vague. But, I had promised myself that I’d expand my reading horizons this year, so I asked for an ARC.
The ARC came. I put off reading it for, oh, a few months. Foolishly. STUPIDLY. All the while continuing to lament the fact that there’s nothing fresh and captivating out there these days.
When will I ever learn?? The books that I don’t expect much from are always the ones that surprise me. They’re the ones I end up loving and racing through. The Continental Divide is a book that surprised me in all the right ways.
What’s The Continental Divide about?
The fourteen short stories in The Continental Divide are all about “everyday people” who live in rural northern Indiana – a place I’m really not familiar with. The towns are small, the people seem a little small-minded, and lives overall seem quiet. At first glance, it seems like this is a dull place where nothing much happens.
What follows couldn’t be further from “dull” and “quiet.” Each tale in The Continental Divide is dark, gritty, and intense — a complete contrast to the stereotypically wholesome and innocent image of the American Midwest. Johnson introduces us to complex and disturbing characters that are eerily relatable in unsettling ways.
Here’s a sampling of what you’ll encounter in The Continental Divide: murder, death, and bodily injury. Assault and the intent to harm another human. A surprising amount of sodomy and rape. Incest and miscarriage.
Johnson doesn’t go into the gory details for these situations, but he’s a masterful enough writer that he doesn’t need to. He can give you a very clear and uncomfortable idea of what’s happening without spelling it out for you. Trigger warnings for this book abound, to say the least.
What I loved about The Continental Divide
The first story in The Continental Divide is titled “The Continental Divide.” And it’s a goddamn masterpiece.
“The Continental Divide” is all that I expect a short story to be, and more. It sucked me in from the first few sentences. Even though I had just met main character Edith, her son LT, and her grandson Wallace, I became invested in them immediately. I wanted all the Good Things for them, even though it was pretty clear that a happy ending was not going to be in the cards for this family.
My mouth dropped open in shock at the end of that first story. I closed the book and yelled out “Holy shit.” After assuring my husband that, in reality, all was well, I proceeded to summarize what I had just read. Mr Tart had a similar “holy shit” reaction, though his was much more polite since he doesn’t swear as much as I do.
“The Continental Divide” is gorgeous. It’s poignantly written and darkly humorous, the kind that makes you bark out a caustic little laugh one minute, the go back to biting your fingernails with anxiety the next. The story is also beyond tragic, and it sets the stage for what’s the come with the rest of Johnson’s collection.
My favorite short stories in The Continental Divide
While the other stories in The Continental Divide didn’t pack as much of a punch (for me) as that first one, the whole collection overall is amazing. All of the tales touched some kind of chord in me, but here are my favorites:
- “Please, Mister, Please”
- “Her Precious Things”
- “A Vigorous, Mostly Happy Couple”
- “Wicked Heart”
- “The Devil’s Age”
Many of the stories begin in way where you think, Oh, okay, I can see where this is going. And then Johnson takes a turn that’s even darker than you’d expect.
Should you read The Continental Divide?
This book won’t be for everyone, but The Continental Divide is great for readers who want searing literary fiction, keen insights into human nature, and a much-needed break from all the lackluster stories that feel like regurgitations of one another. I’m so glad I took a chance on this title because it’s one of the best things I’ve read this year.
You may remember from my previous book reviews that my main gripe with short stories is how abruptly and unsatisfyingly so many of them end. All of Johnson’s stories are brilliantly self-contained and completed, and I felt like I read miniature novels within every tale.
What’s the book-inspired recipe?
Check back in for the book-inspired recipe: Roasted Pineapple Milkshakes.
Although I received a complimentary advance copy of The Continental Divide from Kaye Publicity, all opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I was not compensated in any way for this review or for any other promotion/publicity I’ve done related to this book.
