A review by caitlin_89
The New Valley: Novellas by Josh Weil

4.0

I picked up this book as a possible for using in my senior seminar paper. I chose not to use it because it's a series of novellas as opposed to short stories, and "short story cycle" was the requirement. However, this fits neatly alongside the books I did choose: Steinbeck's The Pastures of Heaven and Gardner's Someone to Crawl Back To. Rural people facing crushing loneliness, emotionally and mentally stunted, sexually deviant or disappointed, etc.

The landscape is very Steinbeck. The characters echo Faulkner and O'Connor. The style is classic and fresh at the same time. I was highlighting similes all the way through. Well done, Mr. Weil. Very well done.