Twisted Tree : A Novel

This "beautifully written" novel about a murder in small-town South Dakota explores "a haunted territory of regret, longing and guilt" (Jess Walter). Hayley Jo Zimmerman is gone. Taken. And the people of small-town Twisted Tree must come to terms with this terrible event—their loss, their place in it, and the secrets they all carry. In this brilliantly written novel, one girl's story unfolds through the stories of those who knew her. Among them, a supermarket clerk recalls an encounter with a disturbingly thin Hayley Jo. An ex-priest remembers baptizing Hayley Jo and seeing her with her best friend, Laura, whose mother the priest once loved. And Laura berates herself for all the running they did, how it fed her friend's addiction, and how there were so many secrets she didn't see. And so, Hayley Jo's absence recasts the lives of others and connects them, her death rooting itself into the community in astonishingly violent and tender ways. Solidly in the... This “beautifully written” novel about a murder in small-town South Dakota explores “a haunted territory of regret, longing and guilt” (Jess Walter). Hayley Jo Zimmerman is gone. Taken. And the citizens of the windswept prairie town of Twisted Tree must come to terms with this tragedy—the loss, the repercussions, and the secrets they carry—as one girl’s short life unfolds through the stories of those who knew her. Among them are a supermarket clerk hiding the terrors of her past; an ex-priest who remembers a lost love; an abused caretaker exacting a long-awaited revenge; Hayley Jo’s best friend, who fed her addiction; and her father, channeling his grief in desperate and unexpected ways. As Hayley Jo’s murder recasts and reconnects these left-behind lives, her absence roots itself in the community in astonishingly violent and tender ways. One of the best contemporary writers on the American West, Kent Meyers takes us into the complexity of community regardless of landscape, and offers a tribute to the powerful effect one person’s life can have on everyone she knew. “Meyers’s small masterpiece deserves comparison to the work of Raymond Carver, Joy Williams, and Peter Matthiessen.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “Like Russell Banks in The Sweet Hereafter, Kent Meyers spins out his intimate life stories from the hub of a small town tragedy and takes us into places we never thought we’d go.” —Stewart O’Nan, author of Songs for the Missing This "beautifully written" novel about a murder in small-town South Dakota explores "a haunted territory of regret, longing and guilt" (Jess Walter). Hayley Jo Zimmerman is gone. Taken. And the citizens of the windswept prairie town of Twisted Tree must come to terms with this tragedy-the loss, the repercussions, and the secrets they carry-as one girl's short life unfolds through the stories of those who knew her. Among them are a supermarket clerk hiding terrors of her past; an ex-priest who remembers a lost love; her best friend, who fed Hayley Jo's addiction; an abused caretaker exacting a long-awaited revenge; and Hayley Jo's father, channeling his grief in desperate and unexpected ways. As Hayley Jo's murder recasts and reconnects these left-behind lives, her absence roots itself into the community in astonishingly violent and tender ways. One of the best contemporary writers on the American West, Kent Meyers takes us into the complexity of community regardless of landscape, and offers a tribute to the powerful effect one person's life can have on everyone she knew. "Meyers's small masterpiece deserves comparison to the work of Raymond Carver, Joy Williams, and Peter Matthiessen." - Publishers Weekly, starred review "Like Russell Banks in The Sweet Hereafter , Kent Meyers spins out his intimate life stories from the hub of a small-town tragedy and takes us into places we never thought we'd go." -Stewart O'Nan, author of Songs for the Missing Hayley Jo Zimmerman is gone. Taken. And the people of small-town Twisted Tree must come to terms with this terrible eventtheir loss, their place in it, and the secrets they all carry. In this brilliantly written novel, one girls story unfolds through the stories of those who knew her.A supermarket clerk recalls an encounter with a disturbingly thin Hayley Jo. Sophie, Twisted Trees resident but secretly not-so-altruistic saint, is shaken by a single, passing moment during Hayley Jos adolescence. Dark memories paralyze Richard Mattingly as he as he struggles to help his son, Clay, cope with their new loss. An ex-priest remembers baptizing Hayley Jo and seeing her with her best friend, Laura, whose mother the priest once loved. And Laura berates herself for all the running they did, how it fed her friends withdrawal, and how there were so many secrets she didnt see. And so, Hayley Jos absence recasts the lives of others and connects them, her death rooting itself into the community in astonishingly violent and tender ways. Twisted Tree is a tribute to the powerful effect one person's life can have on everyone she knew.Solidly in the company of Aryn Kyle, Kent Haruf, and Peter Matthiessen, Kent Meyers is one of the best contemporary writers on the American West.Here he also takes us into the complexity of community regardless of landscape. Readers will be entranced by Twisted Tree. Hayley Jo Zimmerman is dead. And the people of small-town Twisted Tree must come to terms with this terrible event--their loss, their place in it, and the secrets they all carry. In this brilliantly written novel, one girl's story unfolds through the stories of those who had known her Hayley Jo Zimmerman is gone. Taken. And the people of small-town Twisted Tree must come to terms with this terrible event - their loss, their place in it, and the secrets they all carry. In this novel, one girl's story unfolds through the stories of those who knew her. The portrait of how a small, South Dakota community is shaped by the disappearance of a young woman, told in chapters that focus on one member at a time