Murders at Moon Dance - Hardcover

Guthrie Jr., A. B.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803221509 ISBN 13: 9780803221505

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, 1993

Synopsis

At a difficult and sad time in his family life, A. B. Guthrie, Jr., turned for surcease to reading western and whodunit novels. In his autobiography, The Blue Hen's Chick (also a Bison Book), he touches on that moment when he realized he could write as well as or better than the published plot-spinners. "What about a mystery and cow-country myth in combination?" he mused, "So far as I could recall, the two had never been blended. All right. I'd blend them." The result was his first novel, Murders at Moon Dance, appearing in 1943. It was an audacious debut with bold characterizations and a sharply etched, atmospheric setting The dusty town of Moon Dance, smacked down between barren mountains and a badland named the Freezeout, would also be a back-drop for The Big It and Other Stories (1960). In Guthrie's hand, raw vitality replaces the woodenness of much writing in the genre, and unexpected grace notes in the verbal rhythms suggest the author of The Big Sky (1947) and the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Way West (1949).

About this title

Review:

"Everyone who enjoys good writing about the American West should know Murders at Moondance. Guthrie was a master, and his mastery shows in this beginning."--William Kittredge--William Kittredge

Synopsis:

'Everyone who enjoys good writing about the American West should know "Murders at Moon Dance". Guthrie was a master, and his mastery shows in this beginning' - "William Kittredge". At a difficult and sad time in his family life, A. B. Guthrie, Jr., turned for sur-cease to reading western and whodunit novels. In his autobiography, "The Blue Hen's Chick" (also a Bison Book), he touches on that moment when he realized he could write as well as or better than the published plot-spinners. 'What about a mystery and cow-country myth in combination?' he mused, 'So far as I could recall, the two had never been blended. All right. I'd blend them'.The result was his first novel, "Murders at Moon Dance", appearing in 1943.

It was an audacious debut with bold characterizations and a sharply etched, atmospheric setting The dusty town of Moon Dance, smacked down between barren mountains and a badland named the Freezeout, would also be a back-drop for "The Big It and Other Stories" (1960), In Guthrie's hand, raw vitality replaces the woodenness of much writing in the genre, and unexpected grace notes in the verbal rhythms suggest the author of "The Big Sky" (1947) and the Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Way West" (1949). Introducing "Murders at Moon Dance" is the celebrated Montana writer William Kittredge, the author of such books as "We Are Not in This Together" (1984), "Owning It All" (1990), and "Hole in the Sly" (1992).

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0803221509
• ISBN 13: 9780803221505
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 279