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190th out of 1,287 books
—
1,037 voters
Kings of the Earth
by
Jon Clinch (Goodreads Author)
Following up Finn, his much-heralded and prize-winning debut whose voice evoked “the mythic styles of his literary predecessors . . . William Faulkner, Toni Morrison, Cormac McCarthy and Edward P. Jones” (San Francisco Chronicle), Jon Clinch returns with Kings of the Earth, a powerful and haunting story of life, death, and family in rural America.
The edge of civilization i...more
The edge of civilization i...more
Hardcover, 393 pages
Published
July 6th 2010
by Random House
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this book is a little bit of this:
and a lot of this:
okay, so it is much more of the latter than the former, but how often do i get to make x-files references in book reports?? not very often. this basically is a novel version of the events covered in the documentary, minus one brother. three brothers, closer than most and of feral intelligence and an array of undiagnosed conditions both mental and physical. they basically live like beasts - crowded into one bed at night, urinating where they p...more
and a lot of this:
okay, so it is much more of the latter than the former, but how often do i get to make x-files references in book reports?? not very often. this basically is a novel version of the events covered in the documentary, minus one brother. three brothers, closer than most and of feral intelligence and an array of undiagnosed conditions both mental and physical. they basically live like beasts - crowded into one bed at night, urinating where they p...more
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At first I was not sure how I felt about this book. I felt almost like a voyeur, uncomfortable and not enjoying the process of reading about the Proctor family and the apparent squalor of their farm life. As I continued to read, something happened. I found myself getting caught up in their lives and beginning to care about the brothers, to be angry at Tom and his father, upset with the troopers and glad there are good neighbors in this world. I guess Mr Clinch has written an effective novel for...more
This ain't my review, folks. It's from the LA TIMES:
A Faulkneresque story of brotherly love and violence.
Kings of the Earth: A Novel, by Jon Clinch
Murder would seem to be a starkly defined crime. There's the killer, and the victim. The crime and the punishment. But within those relationships exists enough space to weave all manner of morality tales, which is what Jon Clinch has done with subtle brilliance in his novel "Kings of the Earth," which burrows into brotherly love and neighborliness and...more
A Faulkneresque story of brotherly love and violence.
Kings of the Earth: A Novel, by Jon Clinch
Murder would seem to be a starkly defined crime. There's the killer, and the victim. The crime and the punishment. But within those relationships exists enough space to weave all manner of morality tales, which is what Jon Clinch has done with subtle brilliance in his novel "Kings of the Earth," which burrows into brotherly love and neighborliness and...more
This novel is loosely based on a real life incident involving a family of four brothers near Syracuse, New York, one of whom was accused of killing another. The brothers were poor, illiterate dairy farmers who slept in the same bed. They lived lives that we would consider backward and primitive. Their story was previously told in a 1992 documentary, "Brother's Keeper", which focused on how the rural community rallied behind the accused Adelbert Ward, his trial, and its outcome. Even though they...more
Clinch's use of language and ability to evoke emotion from the mundane are unparalleled. He develops each character with compassion, yet distills the essence of their tragic nature with breathtaking clarity, making this this one of the best books I have ever read.
Jun 24, 2010
Loretta Giacoletto
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of FINN and other literary fiction
Recommended to Loretta by:
Backspace Writers Group
As with FINN, in KINGS OF THE EARTH Jon Clinch again proves himself to be a master storyteller, weaving a bizarre tale about three brothers ‘making do’ on their dirt farm in Upstate New York. During the Depression squalor, poverty, and never-ending work robbed the Proctor brothers of their childhood and those same problems continue to plague them as premature old codgers who depend on each other for companionship and survival. For years they’ve been sharing the same urine-soaked bed, that is, un...more
Beginning novelist Jon Clinch without a doubt took a huge risk with his first novel, Finn, published in 2007, in recreating the world of Huckleberry Finn to tell the story of Huck’s drunken, racist, murdering father. The result, in my opinion, is nothing short of brilliant: a book that can stand beside the original.
We learn, among other things, who Huck’s Hannibal, Missouri, forebears are and why they have disowned Finn (and his offspring), who Huck’s mother is, and how Finn meets his death. And...more
We learn, among other things, who Huck’s Hannibal, Missouri, forebears are and why they have disowned Finn (and his offspring), who Huck’s mother is, and how Finn meets his death. And...more
Do you remember the documentary "Brother's Keeper" about the Ward Brothers, elderly dairy farmers of upper New York state? I saw it years ago but still remember the shock of seeing men in America in modern times living in such a state of filth and backwardness. Here, Jon Clinch fictionalizes their story and adds heart to show the bond between brothers. The short, quick changes of narrators and timeframes carried me along like a slow-moving river flowing further into their lives. The author build...more
A few years ago Clinch's Finn was a best book of the year for me so I was really looking forward to Kings of the Earth. I was not disappointed. It’s a marvelous book, beautifully written. Faulkneresque without Faulkner’s opacity, the book shifts back and forth in time and focus, but we’re never confused. Clinch builds his story in bits and pieces until they fit together as beautifully as a dry-stack stone wall.
Finn was mean as a junkyard dog, but there’s not an ounce of meanness in the three Pro...more
Finn was mean as a junkyard dog, but there’s not an ounce of meanness in the three Pro...more
I would have given this five stars except for the ending. Disappointing to say the least. It just kind of ended, sad. Empty. The book itself is excellent - written in short snippets from different points of view, shifts back and forth in time, and yet it all comes together into a coherent and very readable tale about a family of dirt farmers in upstate New York, hilariously funny, poignant, tragic, eyes-burning-with-tears tragedy until you to come to love these filthy, ignorant, loyal, hard work...more
In a book, playing with time is a kind of magic trick.
If it’s done poorly, we don’t believe. We see the dove that’s up the sleeve, the different sizes of playing cards in that deck, the fake feet on the woman who’s cut in half. And we don’t blink or wonder or feel amazed.
But if it’s done well – if it’s done in a way that doesn’t reveal the trickery in the trick – then we see a reality that's different from ours. The rabbit materializes from thin air, the man teleports, the lady does vanish. And...more
If it’s done poorly, we don’t believe. We see the dove that’s up the sleeve, the different sizes of playing cards in that deck, the fake feet on the woman who’s cut in half. And we don’t blink or wonder or feel amazed.
But if it’s done well – if it’s done in a way that doesn’t reveal the trickery in the trick – then we see a reality that's different from ours. The rabbit materializes from thin air, the man teleports, the lady does vanish. And...more
What I loved about this book:
*the way multiple narrators and time periods (19302-1990) painted a multi-dimensional picture of the three brothers who are the primary protagonists
*how some of the speakers told their own version of what happened in first person, and others were told in third person, all stylistically different
*how most of the onlookers (i.e., not the brothers themselves) were compassionate and sought to make sense of the unusual, almost ancient way the brothers lived on their New Y...more
*the way multiple narrators and time periods (19302-1990) painted a multi-dimensional picture of the three brothers who are the primary protagonists
*how some of the speakers told their own version of what happened in first person, and others were told in third person, all stylistically different
*how most of the onlookers (i.e., not the brothers themselves) were compassionate and sought to make sense of the unusual, almost ancient way the brothers lived on their New Y...more
I am always drawn to farm settings, so this richly descriptive literary work that spanned the 1930’s through the 1990s drew me in from the start. The beauty of Clinch’s language, the sensory descriptions and the distinction between various characters’ voices was quite remarkable. For me, the novel was about people who don’t quite fit in – who are misunderstood – but are comfortable in their own environment, their own existence. It’s a story about family ties, bonds to the earth, the comfort of r...more
I finished this book this morning after staying up and down all night reading it. At first I didn't think I liked it but as the day has gone by I can't get the darn think out of my head. I keep thinking about how one part wove into the other and pretty soon I am diving deeper and deeper into my memory of the book and I'll say to myself,"oh, that is why that was in there".
I was captivated to read this after seeing the review in "O" magazine. Normally I don't read a book for that reason but it wa...more
I was captivated to read this after seeing the review in "O" magazine. Normally I don't read a book for that reason but it wa...more
This was another First Reads win for me. Though I've given it three stars, I'd really rate it about 3.5. I enjoyed the story, though the way it was presented was a bit hard to follow (jumping around in time, from character to character, being told sometimes in first person, sometimes third). There also wasn't as much depth to the characters as I had hoped for. I would be interested to read more from this author, but I can't say it was a favorite.
Loved this bit of literature! When I first picked it up I thought that I knew this story...NOT! The voices in this book are great! Characters are many, but well defined.
This is a story about a VERY primative farm and the three brothers that run it. It is a world that I can't even imagine surviving in, but with Jon Clinch leading the reader on you can see/smell the story that he is trying to impart. The three brothers, who are around six decades old, sleep in one bed. They live in a filthy ramsh...more
This is a story about a VERY primative farm and the three brothers that run it. It is a world that I can't even imagine surviving in, but with Jon Clinch leading the reader on you can see/smell the story that he is trying to impart. The three brothers, who are around six decades old, sleep in one bed. They live in a filthy ramsh...more
I loved the opening pages. . .could hardly put it down last night.
Half-way through and I love this book! It is profoundly moving.
Review:
KINGS OF THE EARTH, Jon Clinch's second novel after his award-winning FINN, roars like a tractor in some chapters and swims quietly under the ice like a fish in others. The story is carried by multiple narrators, over the course of sixty years (1930-1990). Poverty and denial and ignorance and will reign supreme on the homestead of the Proctor family. We meet the...more
Half-way through and I love this book! It is profoundly moving.
Review:
KINGS OF THE EARTH, Jon Clinch's second novel after his award-winning FINN, roars like a tractor in some chapters and swims quietly under the ice like a fish in others. The story is carried by multiple narrators, over the course of sixty years (1930-1990). Poverty and denial and ignorance and will reign supreme on the homestead of the Proctor family. We meet the...more
“There’s always some killin’ you got to do around the farm.”
Tom Waits
On a ramshackle dairy farm, in upstate New York, live three brothers. Seasoned bachelors, unkempt and taciturn. One morning, the oldest Proctor brother is found dead, in the same fetid bed that he shared with his siblings. He had been ill, so it wasn’t a surprise, but once the police are called in, suspicions arise.
This dark, atmospheric tale is told through a chorus of voices, spanning over fifty years, following the lives of...more
Tom Waits
On a ramshackle dairy farm, in upstate New York, live three brothers. Seasoned bachelors, unkempt and taciturn. One morning, the oldest Proctor brother is found dead, in the same fetid bed that he shared with his siblings. He had been ill, so it wasn’t a surprise, but once the police are called in, suspicions arise.
This dark, atmospheric tale is told through a chorus of voices, spanning over fifty years, following the lives of...more
This was my first GoodReads first reads giveaway book. I really enjoyed the book although the story is pretty dark with doomed characters. It pulled me in quickly and held my attention. The story is told by means of short chapters with different characters explaining their point of view or experience. The ending is rather depressing but realistic. Extreme poverty and ignorance influences a substantial part of the book.
What impressed me most about Kings of Earth is how fully Clinch lets the reader inhabit the brothers at the heart of the novel, because while they aren't exactly appealing as characters they're deeply human and sympathetic despite being folks many of us would avoid in real life (or at least try to stay upwind of). The narrative's constant movement back and forth in time, and from the POV of one character to another, was a big part of that because it created a strong insistence that a life — part...more
Kings of the Earth is the story of the Proctor family's life, and slow death, on a dying dairy farm, a novelization of the Ward Brothers story. A trip through the rural back roads of upstate New York, when, instead of stopping only at the diner and flea market, the text invites you to become part of the life of the town.
Moreover, this text is so beautifully written you'll want to copy sentences into your journal--even if it means you have to start a journal to do so. Here's one of my favorites:...more
Moreover, this text is so beautifully written you'll want to copy sentences into your journal--even if it means you have to start a journal to do so. Here's one of my favorites:...more
Three brothers in upstate New York live a lonely agrarian life. They live as if from another century, almost as if on the frontier of long ago when people were isolated and had mostly just immediate family to rely on and relate to. Luckily they have a next door neighbor, Preston, who's lived in the world and has some social skills. Most of their story is shown through Preston's eyes. Vernon is the oldest brother followed by Audie and then after gap of 8 or so years there's Creed. They could almo...more
This is Jon Cinch's second novel (Finn, which I haven't yet read, being his first), and for me, he is certainly an author worth watching for. Not that I was 100% taken by Kings of the Earth, but I greatly admire the arabesque structure and three-dimensional characters throughout.
The novel centers on the aging Proctor brothers of rural upstate New York. Reclusive, eccentric, and anachronistic, Vernon, Audie and Creed Proctor diligently maintain the family farm that they all grew up on, and have n...more
The novel centers on the aging Proctor brothers of rural upstate New York. Reclusive, eccentric, and anachronistic, Vernon, Audie and Creed Proctor diligently maintain the family farm that they all grew up on, and have n...more
The three Proctor brothers raise dairy cattle. For decades they have neither laundered nor bathed, and their stench is legendary. When one of them dies suspiciously in the bed they share, the law steps in, so it’s just a matter of time until the marijuana operation their nephew runs gets discovered. This is very Faulknerian, with asynchronous storytelling, multiple points of view, a rural setting, and some degraded, nearly subhuman characters. The story itself is less successful than the telling...more
Sometimes fiction is stranger, and more compelling, than truth--and this decidedly unromantic tale of rural America is just that. With a realism not often present in modern-day fiction, Clinch tells his story with a technique used by William Faulkner and in prose compared to that of Cormac McCarthy; he is eloquent and clear-eyed in everything--from his descriptions of the harsh landscape to the simple brothers' grueling farm life. The short chapters offer unique perspectives from a m
Aw, this is just the best book for me right now. I've been through a rash of sad, the World is ending, I'm drinking myself to death because nothing is worth living for books, and I needed something with bite, character, complex ideas. This book saved my summer.
A person can only read so many simply written books aimed at our young adults before needing, really needing, complex sentences, diverse voices, interesting settings. And this book has me wondering how can one writer come up with so many...more
A person can only read so many simply written books aimed at our young adults before needing, really needing, complex sentences, diverse voices, interesting settings. And this book has me wondering how can one writer come up with so many...more
This book has a rural setting in upstate New York and is the story of three brothers who are dairy farmers. The book has several narrators and the main time period is 1990 with flashbacks to prior years. One of the brothers, Vernon has died and the plot focuses on how he died. Another main character is Tom, the brothers' nephew, who is growing marijuana on their land, lots of marijuana and storing it in the barn and selling it. The brothers' neighbor Preston is also prominent in the book; he is...more
Having lived in a rural area for several years where it wasn't difficult to find similar levels of lifestyle if you went looking, I felt that this story was beautifully written. It's difficult to write a story set in such poverty that manages to maintain such a high level of empathy for and dignity in its characters, but John Clinch more than manages that task. While the main characters are more than interesting, at the same time you are keenly aware that the likelihood is that you'd cross the s...more
This is a book for readers who love language. It's full of memorable sentences that bring you to the heart of rural poverty and the lives of stoic but deeply connected brothers. Some samples of the writing:
- "Picture those three Proctor boys, two sets of coveralls caked with cow manure and one set of U.S. Army khakis pressed sharp. There's your war memorial."
- "You don't go to a funeral for the sake of the dead. You go for the living...."
- "I thought it was the strangest thing, how a person...more
- "Picture those three Proctor boys, two sets of coveralls caked with cow manure and one set of U.S. Army khakis pressed sharp. There's your war memorial."
- "You don't go to a funeral for the sake of the dead. You go for the living...."
- "I thought it was the strangest thing, how a person...more
great character development...i loved each character having a chapter, going back and forth from the 1930's thru 1990 really fleshed out the story...i resisted this book, the description sounded far too angst filled for me, but a great story on how life can be lived in the most simple of ways, how humans just keep going!!! i could have done with a bit more understanding of what the police investigation uncovered, what gave the police the belief they had the circumstances correct...but a wonderfu...more
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| Brother's Keeper | 1 | 15 | Jul 20, 2010 09:01am |
Born and raised in the remote heart of upstate New York, Jon Clinch has been an English teacher, a metalworker, a folksinger, an illustrator, a typeface designer, a housepainter, a copywriter, and an advertising executive.
His latest novel, The Thief of Auschwitz, arrived on January 15, 2013 on his own imprint, unmediated ink. Howard Frank Mosher, author of Walking to Gatlinburg, calls the book "th...more
More about Jon Clinch...
His latest novel, The Thief of Auschwitz, arrived on January 15, 2013 on his own imprint, unmediated ink. Howard Frank Mosher, author of Walking to Gatlinburg, calls the book "th...more
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“There's nothing else in this world the color of a school bus. They call it yellow but it's not quite yellow, and it's not orange either. I'd say it's something somewhere in between margarine and Velveeta. It's not a natural color. Then again I guess if we wanted kids to grow up natural we wouldn't put them on a school bus in the first place.”
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