{"product_id":"the-night-birds-isbn-9781569475027","title":"The Night Birds","description":"\"We all set our sights on the Great American Novel. . . . [Thomas Maltman] comes impressively close to laying his hands on the grail.\" —\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe intertwining story of three generations of German immigrants to the Midwest—their clashes with slaveholders, the Dakota uprising and its aftermath—is seen through the eyes of young Asa Senger, named for an uncle killed by an Indian friend. It is the unexpected appearance of Asa’s aunt Hazel, institutionalized since shortly after the mass hangings of thirty-eight Dakota warriors in Mankato in 1862, that reveals to him that the past is as close as his own heartbeat.\u003cu\u003e\u003cb\u003ePRAISE FOR \u003ci\u003eTHE NIGHT BIRDS\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn Alex Award Winner\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"We all set our sights on the Great American Novel. . . . [Thomas Maltman] comes impressively close to laying his hands on the grail.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, Madison Smartt Bell\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"Thomas Maltman's debut novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Night Birds\u003c\/i\u003e, soars and sings like a feathered angel.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChicago Sun-Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Maltman’s prose and pacing flow from an expert hand. . . . His gaze is unflinching and balanced. . . . And while there is much loss in the novel, in the end there is salvation.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDenver Post, \u003c\/i\u003eRobin Vidimos\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Maltman’s writing is most lucid when he explores the German folklore, Dakota mysticism, and pioneer spirituality that shape his characters’ understanding of their own harsh world.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[Maltman] excels at giving even his most harrowing scenes an understated realism and at painting characters who are richly, sometimes disturbingly human. The novel sustains its tension right to the moment it ends.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly, \u003c\/i\u003eSTARRED REVIEW\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[A] flawless sense of history marked by its most revealing—and harrowing—details.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cu\u003ePRAISE FOR \u003ci\u003eLITTLE WOLVES\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Here’s one I’ll recommend—Tom Maltman’s written an ambitious mythic thriller that hums with energy and portent. Set under brooding prairie skies, \u003ci\u003eLittle Wolves\u003c\/i\u003e has modern psychoses and generational wickedness, ravening devils and uneasy saints. It shifts and dodges like wind, and it rings with conviction and confidence. What more can a reader ask?\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eLeif Enger\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003ePeace Like a River\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSo Brave, Young, and Handsome\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A masterwork of fiction. Not just a good book that’s interesting on multiple levels, but a great book that will stand the test of time...I was completely spellbound. Add to this the mysteries surrounding the town and characters, and I felt, often, as though I were reading some contemporary version of Dostoyevsky.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003ePeter Geye\u003c\/b\u003e, author of\u003ci\u003e Safe From The Sea\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"A complicated portrait of a prairie town, a meditation on violence, a fantasia of myth and folklore, and a knockout murder mystery, \u003ci\u003eLittle Wolves\u003c\/i\u003e is haunting, at times terrifying, a gothic cousin to Kent Haruf's Plainsong. I loved this book.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eBenjamin Percy\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eRed Moon, The Wilding\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eRefresh, Refresh\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eLittle Wolves\u003c\/i\u003e weaves the lives of a father, a son, a pastor’s wife, and a community in this compelling mystery of murder and secrets. His brilliant use of historical and mythical elements are combined with everyday life in ways that are hair-raising and true. Maltman has a gift for framing unforgettable characters. Everything about this book asks us to examine life more closely.\" \u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eElizabeth Cox\u003c\/b\u003e, Author of \u003ci\u003eThe Slow Moon\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"This novel\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003echurns with the tension of a building prairie thunderstorm. Tom Maltman knows that dark truths can be hidden under open skies, and he knows the secrets of the bloodstained ax in the barn.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eJohn Reimringer\u003c\/b\u003e, author of\u003ci\u003e Vestments\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"The poetry of this prose and the suspense of the plot, along with the intensity of characterization will have many readers comparing Thomas Maltman to Cormac McCarthy—that greatest of compliments—for very good reason. This novel is a work of high art by the real thing.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eLaura Kasischke,\u003c\/b\u003e author of \u003ci\u003eSpace, in Chains\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Life Before Her Eyes\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Absolutely fantastic. Unnerving, gorgeously written.... The writing is \u003cb\u003ehaunting\u003c\/b\u003e.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eCaroline Leavitt\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003ePictures of You\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Took my breath away.... as rich in myth and metaphors as Cormac McCarthy's “The Road.’”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMilwaukee Journal-Sentinel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Part allegory, part mystery and pure poetry, layered with Norse mythology and Anglo Saxon narratives, Maltman's second novel is dark, redemptive and very beautiful.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMinneapolis Star-Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Powerful...skillfully evoked”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Smart thrills.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Maltman makes his leading characters so sensitive that you may shudder at the same revelations that so appall them.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Layered with literary and mythic allusions.... A satisfying and unforgettable read.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—School Library Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“So good, you'll forget about icy sidewalks and a dead battery...Magical story, magical writing.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTwin Cities Pioneer Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Little Wolves is beautifully written, both in the style of prose and pacing of the narrative.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGrand Rapids Herald-Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\"In gorgeous prose, Maltman conjures both the irrational suspicion and the heartwarming connections forged in a small town during times of trauma.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eLittle Wolves\u003c\/i\u003e is reminiscent of Kent Haruf’s Plainsong, but grittier...a great read with loads of literary merit.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—BookSquawk\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Saturated with violence, Anglo-Saxon mythology and parochial pettiness, Maltman's novel is an unsettling work of first-rate fiction.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Shelf-Awareness\u003c\/b\u003eThomas Maltman's essays, poetry, and fiction have been published in many literary journals. He has an MFA from Minnesota State University, Mankato and he lives in the Twin Cities. His first novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Night\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eBirds\u003c\/i\u003e, won several national awards, including an Alex Award, a Spur Award, and the Friends of American Writers Literary Award. In 2009 the American Library Association chose \u003ci\u003eThe Night Birds\u003c\/i\u003e as an \"Outstanding Book for the College Bound.\" His most recent novel, \u003ci\u003eLittle Wolves,\u003c\/i\u003e is also published by Soho.","brand":"Soho Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304817938661,"sku":"NP9781569475027","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781569475027.jpg?v=1767740714","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-night-birds-isbn-9781569475027","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}