Maggie Boylan

by Michael Henson

Set in Appalachian Ohio amid an epidemic of prescription opiate abuse, Michael Henson’s linked collection tells of a woman’s search for her own peculiar kind of redemption, and brings the novel-in-stories form to new heights. Maggie Boylan is an addict, thief, liar, and hustler. But she is also a woman of deep compassion and resilience. The stories follow Maggie as she spirals through her addictive process, through the court system and treatment, and into a shaky new beginning.

In these masterful stories, we rarely occupy Maggie’s perspective, but instead gain a multilayered portrait of a community as we see other people’s lives bump up against hers—and we witness her inserting herself into their spheres, refusing to be rebuffed. The result is a prismatic view of a community fighting to stay upright against the headwinds of a drug epidemic: always on edge, always human.

152 pages, Hardcover

Published March 1, 2018

About the author

Michael Henson is an American poet and novelist. He is a founding member of the Urban Appalachian Council.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rough, misguided, poor decision making characters with some beautiful moments. The book felt originally like a collection of short stories all centered around the character of Maggie. By the end it felt more novel like. First by this author, not sure how I found this book, but highly recommend. Had some similarities to Daniel woodrell and Philipp Meyer’s American Rust.

[Travis Rountree · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible book about substance abuse in Appalachia. Beautifully tragic and truthful.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first time I met the character of Maggie Boylan, I was hooked. She is a complex character, to be sure, and the reality in which she lives is both unfathomable and all-too-familiar in our society. Michael Henson does a wonderful job of depicting people and their stories in a way that shows the rough and the raw without diminishing or glorifying anything in the process. And when stories revolve around addiction and corruption and personal struggle, this is no easy task. Henson writes the way people talk, and offers images that are more polaroid than painting. In this context, that was just the effect I wanted. Brilliant, important work. I highly recommend this book!