The Signal - Hardcover

Carlson, Ron

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1602855706 ISBN 13: 9781602855700

Publisher: Center Point Pub, 2009

Synopsis

Backpacking into the Wind River Mountains on their tenth annual trip, Mack and his wife, Vonnie, find the magnificent woods and stunning mountains of Wyoming full of ghosts and danger. Mack comes from a long line of ranchers, and his dedication to keeping the family land has led him into penury and a life of crime. Vonnie is a fiercely intelligent and headstrong woman who came west for love, only to have it stolen from her bit by bit. They've made the trip to say goodbye to each other, but as they navigate the trails they know so well, they come to understand the true nature of their wounds. And Mack has one more secret: he is receiving a tracking signal that will allow him to retrieve something that has fallen from the sky. It is a beacon that will leadthem into a wood far darker than any they'd ever imagined.

About this title

Review:

"The Signal takes us into terrain that''s stunning and terrible. In doing so, it becomes both an elegy to a broken marriage and a heart- stopping, suspenseful thriller. It''s a difficult journey, but relax: with Ron Carlson, you really are in expert hands."
-"New York Times Book Review"

"Carlson never drops an extra word or a false phrase, even as "The Signal" accelerates like an avalanche, suspicion rolling into fear and then roaring down with a conclusion that shakes the ground. If men can''t be brought back to fiction by books as fine as this one, it''s their own damn fault."
-"Washington Post"

"Ron Carlson''s new novel is a love story and a wilderness adventure that mounts to a climax of shocking, and satisfying, violence...Carlson paces his tale with craft and care, never hurrying. "The Signal" is about broken innocence and how, for the individual at least, balance might be found again. Carlson''s a romantic --- even when he''s writing about failings, folly and violence. This novel...has a lingering elegance and power. Lives go wrong, "The Signal" says, but they can be repaired too, if we find our centers and attend to what''s around us."
-"Los Angeles Times"

"Read Ron Carlson''s latest THE SIGNAL and you''ll be convinced that the answer to your worries resides in the woods, in getting back to the basics... It''s a sweet, tidy little book about a broken rancher. And yet it won''t just help you pass the time, it will help you out."
-"Esquire"

"Long revered as a master of the short story, Carlson has a talent for describing landscape (both internal and external), and that translates here intact. At fewer than 200 pages, its beach ready, too."
-"GQ"
"The Signal takes us into terrain that's stunning and terrible. In doing so, it becomes both an elegy to a broken marriage and a heart- stopping, suspenseful thriller. It's a difficult journey, but relax: with Ron Carlson, you really are in expert hands."
-New York Times Book Review

"Carlson never drops an extra word or a false phrase, even as "The Signal" accelerates like an avalanche, suspicion rolling into fear and then roaring down with a conclusion that shakes the ground. If men can't be brought back to fiction by books as fine as this one, it's their own damn fault."
-Washington Post

"Ron Carlson's new novel is a love story and a wilderness adventure that mounts to a climax of shocking, and satisfying, violence...Carlson paces his tale with craft and care, never hurrying. "The Signal" is about broken innocence and how, for the individual at least, balance might be found again. Carlson's a romantic --- even when he's writing about failings, folly and violence. This novel...has a lingering elegance and power. Lives go wrong, "The Signal" says, but they can be repaired too, if we find our centers and attend to what's around us."
-Los Angeles Times

"Read Ron Carlson's latest THE SIGNAL and you'll be convinced that the answer to your worries resides in the woods, in getting back to the basics... It's a sweet, tidy little book about a broken rancher. And yet it won't just help you pass the time, it will help you out."
-Esquire

"Long revered as a master of the short story, Carlson has a talent for describing landscape (both internal and external), and that translates here intact. At fewer than 200 pages, its beach ready, too."
-GQ

About the Author:

Ron Carlson is the award-winning author of four story collections and four novels, most recently Five Skies. His fiction has appeared in Harper s, The New Yorker, Playboy, and GQ, and has been featured on NPR s This American Life and Selected Shorts as well as in Best American Short Stories and The O. Henry Prize Stories. His novella, Beanball, was recently selected for Best American Mystery Stories. He is the director of the UC Irvine writing program and lives in Huntington Beach, California.

About this edition

• Publisher: Center Point Pub
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1602855706
• ISBN 13: 9781602855700
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 215