The Ancient Minstrel

A collection of novellas from the New York Times-bestselling author--"arguably America's foremost master of the novella . . . A force of nature on the page" (The Washington Post). The Mark Twain Award-winning author of Legends of the Fall delivers three novellas that highlight his phenomenal range as a writer, shot through with his trademark wit and keen insight into the human condition. Harrison has fun with his own reputation in the title novella, about an aging writer in Montana who weathers the slings and arrows of literary success and tries to cope with the sow he buys on a whim and the unplanned litter of piglets that follows soon after. In Eggs, a Montana woman reminisces about collecting eggs at her grandparents' country house. Years later, having never had a child, she attempts to do so. And in The Case of the Howling Buddhas, retired Detective Sunderson--a recurring character from Harrison's New York Times bestseller The Great Leader and The Big Seven--is hired to investigate a bizarre cult that achieves satori by howling along with howler monkeys at the zoo. "Still independent, fierce and feral," The Ancient Minstrel confirms Jim Harrison as one of the most cherished and important writers in modern America (David Gates, The New York Times).

About the Author :
Jim Harrison is the author of four volumes of novellas, seven novels, seven collections of poetry, and a previous collection of nonfiction. The winner of a National Endowment for the Arts grant, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Spirit of the West Award from the Mountains & Plains Booksellers Association, his work has been published in twenty-two languages.

Review :
"No one writes more persuasively about the natural world, the ways of animals both wild and domestic, rural roughneck mores, hunting and fishing . . . The wisdom of age hasn't harmed him a bit." --David Gates, The New York Times Book Review "His tales possess the hypnotic grace and momentum of a long-distance, freestyle swimmer, pages cleaving away like armstrokes . . . At the heart of all beats the essential Jim Harrison: big lives and full fare, start to finish; and at the book's conclusion one hates to see that end." --Rick Bass, The Boston Globe "All three of these novellas traverse Harrison's familiar turf: the human relation to nature, how we live in it and consume it, how we believe we can rise above our natural urges and how often that makes us fools, and how nature's mortal effects on humans always win in the end." --Colette Bancroft, Tampa Bay Times "Harrison's novellas are always on point . . . Written with the skill and tradition of one of the Midwest's best. The man is legend." --Book Riot ("Our Most Anticipated Reads of 2016") "Harrison's prose is gorgeous, illuminating. The simple language slides into your head but resonates there because of its subtle and efficient arrangement . . . Some of his grand, sweeping sentences, in the style of Chekhov or Flaubert, contain entire stories." --The Arts Fuse "An ascended master of the form returns to the novella . . . [Harrison] writes with his customary rough grace and bodhisattva wisdom, whether comically treating sexual improprieties or reflecting deeply on the meaning of life . . . Grand entertainments all and a pleasure." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Harrison at his best . . . [he] clearly retained use of his lyrical powers until the very end . . . The quality of work he's left us is unassailable." --Missoula Independent "One of our Grand Old Writers, Harrison has a way with novellas . . . and these pieces are classic." --Library Journal "A blend of humor (much of it bawdy), sex (ditto) and observations on the human condition that verge on the profound. When reading Mr. Harrison, it's not uncommon to guffaw one minute and go all transcendental the next." --The Washington Times