The Green Age of Asher Witherow

Supplying a quarter of San Francisco's coal, Nortonville of the 1860s-70s is a flourishing empire in small, seeming to promise unending prosperity and a better future. But beneath the vibrant work ethic of its Welch citizens lies an insidious network of superstitions. A missing boy first brings these dark undercurrents to light. Then young Asher Witherow falls under the spell of an unorthodox apprentice minister, stirring a whirlpool of suspicion and outrage. Soon Asher finds himself trapped in a nightmarish crucible, all the more excruciating because he himself could end it if he could only find the strength of will. This is a lesson the missing boy has taught him, and what he understands instinctively from the alluring Anna Flood, new to Nortonville, who with her raw sensuality and independence seems to offer some hope of redemption or even escape. In this powerful debut from a young writer of stunning talent, M. Allen Cunningham takes us into a time and place at once gritty and magical, when the future seems filled with promise but where the day's labor is bone breaking, numbing and always dangerous. Gorgeously written, historically authentic, The Green Age of Asher Witherow is a novel of tested loyalties, of condemnation and redemption. The characters' deep emotional lives are complex and vivid, fluctuating from the doomed to the transcendent. As he unpacks his heart, Asher comes to realize that all his early traumas have somehow bonded him to the land surrounding Mount Diablo and infused his life with an inward wealth--a treasure at which we can only wonder.

Review :
... a remarkable first novel, a feat reminiscent of William Styron's Lie Down in Darkness, likewise published in the author's twenty-sixth year. Not only are the stories of both novels carefully designed, but every sentence in each one is crafted with care.--ForeWord Magazine "Compelling and...artfully told."--The St. Louis Post-Dispatch Gritty and magical, fantastic and authentic. It is one of the best books I've read this year. --Susan Swagler, The Birmingham News "Lyrical...spins a deceptively simple tale from a language as delicate as lace...finely-wrought."--RAIN TAXI Cunningham captures the feel of 19-th century California with rich detail and memorable characters.--The Oregonian "An accomplished first novel from a talented new writer (and presented by an intriguing new publisher), Cunningham's tale is a mix of wild supposition and real-life facts about what happened in Nortonville, the Contra Costa coal- mining town that disappeared from its post at the foot of Mount Diablo in the late 19th century. . . Part legend, part horror story, part Pacific Rim myth, part fact and part metaphor, The Green Age of Asher Witherow is Gothic, yes, but also quite spiritual."--The Santa Cruz Sentinel "Dark and foreboding, vivid in character, grounded in the geography of Northern California, this is an impressive and satisfying debut novel."--The San Jose Mercury News "An amazing first novel."--The Rocky Mountain News A story too terrible to keep reading but too compelling to put down. -The Salt Lake Tribune "With heartfelt characters and stunning descriptions, Cunningham presents a historical glimpse of squalor in the mines that will haunt readers. Highly recommended."--Library Journal, starred The Green Age of Asher Witherow is one of the finest debut novels I've ever read. Cunningham writes with poetic intensity, but this is also a book with enormous narrative drive, memorable characters and relentless drama. And while the author is an artist rather than a scholar, he serves up a wealth of fascinating information about the history of the Golden State. For a twenty-six-year-old novelist to produce this book ought to be impossible, but you hold the shocking evidence in your hands.--Steve Yarbrough, author of THE OXYGEN MAN Rarely does a writer combine a strikingly beautiful prose style with an unerring instinct for storytelling. But this is indeed M. Allen Cunningham's startling accomplishment, in his literary debut, no less. The Green Age of Asher Witherow is an enchanting novel by a lushly talented young writer. Robert Olen Butler, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning A GOOD SCENT FROM A STRANGE MOUNTAIN "The writing in The Green Age of Asher Witherow is beautiful, the details enviable, the landscapes amazing, the characters well-drawn. It=s like this guy is 200 years old, he gets it so right. Cunningham is a writer we'll be hearing a lot more from."--Tom Franklin, author of HELL AT THE BREACH "The early buzz on this debut novel serves up terms like: poetic intensity; strikingly beautiful prose style; unerring instinct for storytelling; a startling accomplishment; and lushly talented. I will state emphatically that Mr. Cunningham's first novel is all that and much more. This is a literary novel in the finest sense of the word, magnetic and seductive from first word to last. ...This is a book to be savored, written by a gifted wordsmith. It has my highest recommendation."-- Laurel Johnson, Midwest Book Review