The Weight of Dreams

by Jonis Agee

Ty Bonte attempts to escape a life of violence by moving from Nebraska to Kansas and reinventing himself, but the return of a man from his past forces him to confront brutality once more. Reader's Guide included. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

448 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1999

About the author

Jonis owns twenty pairs of cowboy boots, some of them works of art, loves the open road, and believes that ecstasy and hard work are the basic ingredients of life and writing.

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she grew up in Nebraska and Missouri, places where many of her stories and novels are set. She was educated at The University of Iowa (BA) and The State University of New York at Binghamton (MA, PhD). She is Adele Hall Professor of English at The University of Nebraska — Lincoln, where she teaches creative writing and twentieth-century fiction.

Awards include three books chosen as New York Times Notable Books, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Nebraska Book Award, Nebraska Arts Council Merit Award, Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship in Fiction, Loft McKnight Award of Distinction, and Editor's Choice Award from Foreword Magazine.

Reviews

[Sallie Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This story is set in the Nebraska Sandhills, an area in the Midwest that’s full of ranches, cattle, horses, small towns and a couple Indian reservations. To be more specific, there’s also an alcoholic father, a teenage son (Ty Bonte), and a mother living in town because she can’t stand the ranch life or her alcoholic husband. The story opens when Ty is 17 years old and getting into trouble with his good buddy Harney Rivers when he’s not doing the work of a full grown man and being brutally abused by his dad. After a night out drinking with his buddy, the two of them pick up a couple of Indian kids from the reservation and proceed to inflict a lot of bodily harm just because they can. Then the story flashes forward 20 years . . . .

What I liked about this story was lots of information about the horse business, including the sometimes unscrupulous behaviors of trainers, riders and dealers. Also some beautiful lyrical descriptions of the endless rolling prairie. Also the bad boy grown up meets the right woman and gets his life straightened out. Definitely a fairytale ending when I was in the mood for one!


ATY Goodreads Challenge - 2022
#1 - a book with a main character whose name starts with A, T, or Y

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live in the Midwest, but I really enjoy reading about the modern west and this dark, family drama fits the bill. It follows seventeen year old Ty Bonte as he works on his father's Nebraska Sandhills ranch. He was abandoned by his mother, at an early age and has been forced to survive under the cruel dominance of his violent, alcoholic father. Ty also gets into some serious trouble, during a teenage drinking binge and a couple of local Native Americans are viciously beaten. Ty is forced to flee the state and takes up residence in western Kansas, working as a horse trader. Some years later, he is drawn back to Nebraska to face his father and the rest of his bloody past.
The writing here is solid. Agee knows her craft and the author has a deep knowledge and respect for horses and ranch life.
This novel is also not for the faint of heart. Explosions of violence occur, along with moments of animal cruelty, so be forewarned. This was my first foray into her writing and I am looking forward to reading more of her work.

[Kristen Lund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having just spent a week with my brother in the Sandhills of western Nebraska, where he lives, I was thrilled to find this book from my mother's library on my bookshelf. It's a moving story of a struggling young man who returns to the family ranch in the Sandhills after several years of wandering and trying to forget his difficult childhood and youth. The plot rings true. I learned a lot I didn't know about cattle ranching and raising and training horses. But what I really loved about the book was the author's ability to make the reader see the beauty of this part of the county and offer insight into the people - both white and Indian (Rosebud Sioux) - who live there and are shaped by the severe beauty and climate of this land. Jonis Agee grew up in the Sandhills and her writing about their natural history is breathtaking (at least to me.)

[Carmen Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author does not disappoint with this book. I was riveted from page one and hated to put the book down for sleep. I do want to warn about a graphic, sickening scene involving an animal, that I wish I hadn't read. Other than that, excellent read!

[Bamboozlepig · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got halfway through this before quitting it. Agee's work is always a slow starter for me and it takes me several chapters to get into her stuff. And normally I enjoy reading darker-themed books but this one was so violent and depressing that I had to stop reading it.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Jonis Agee book!

[Trenton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh wanted so much more from the book, went into it thinking it was going to be so good but it was just kind of meh, it had so much potential but just kind of fell flat and was hard to get through

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me staying up more than a couple nights way past my bedtime, unable to put it down. It's really several books wrapped into one. On different levels it is a crime fiction story leading to a courtroom drama, a bitter family melodrama, an unsettling look into the shady side of horse shows, a detailed account of cattle ranching through a storm-driven winter, a tale of guilt and personal salvation, a passionate and sensual love story, a travelogue portraying the stark beauty of the Nebraska Sandhills, an examination of race relations (white and Native American), and a story of hanging onto a family ranch on the edge of bankruptcy.

The author sustains all these threads by interconnecting them with considerable suspense and tension. It's like film noir - dark, brooding, always on the verge of violence or mischance. And under that interplay of tensions is a moral vision that seems often at the point of being lost completely.

Agee populates her novel with a large cast of characters, using shifting points of view to explore their unfolding relationships and internal lives. With the focus of a short-story writer, she introduces and opens up incidents that seem to bring the narrative almost to a stop, while we wait to learn how these scenes take their place in the larger picture embracing all of them. While some readers may find the pace of the novel somewhat slow because of this, I was fascinated by the richness of detail and would have been happy for even more, especially exploring the resolution of the central conflict of the narrative - between its protagonist, Ty Bonte, and his nemesis, Harney Rivers.

I'm happy to recommend this book. Like other reviewers familiar with the terrain and seasons of the Nebraska Sandhills, I was pleased to see this rolling region of the Great Plains and its people represented so faithfully and in an engaging story told by a gifted writer.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved reading this book - it's quite the page turner. Lots of action, but real emotions and big stuff at stake. Tons of talk about horses and you can get a sense that the horses are actual characters, with whom the human characters create strong, meaningful bonds. I'm in a horse-focused mood, so the book was a good fit. The book isn't one I was in awe of (thus only 4 stars), but it's like comfort food - solid, warm, and reliable.

* Spoiler Alert *

Only problem was, you can't reflect on a book like this, because then you'll realize how ridiculous some of the situations are. For instance, when Ty is stabbed with a pitchfork through the lung, he's back in action just months later, with no real lingering after-effects, except pain when his girlfriend elbows him in the ribs. Not only that, but he keeps looking for trouble! Does this man actually feel pain? And okay, the ending? Come on. Really. I think Agee was like, "oh crap, I only have two pages and I have to get them to live happily ever after!" Harney was believable (mostly) up until that point. And there were so many cases when (despite the warrant) Ty could have gone after Harney via the law. I mean, he freaking tried to kill him! I'm also curious whether all this violence is actually that common in the real Sandhills, or if Agee was just bored and wanted to beat up a bunch of characters.

So in that last paragraph I probably sound like I didn't like the book, but actually I did. If you don't mind a few typos and all that stuff above, or if you're willing to let a good story override it's flaws, then you'll probably enjoy this book. I did - a lot.

[Jinny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book...it was one of those you can settle into and look forward to picking up at the end of a workday or on the weekend. It gave an evocative sense of place that made me eager to visit the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas. Great 'medicine' for those of us who live in cities and suburbs or need a change of human/situational/geographic scenery. I was fond of the characters, who were complex but maintained integrity. Would recommend this to anyone who likes to get lost in a good story and enjoys heartland/Western motifs.

[Janel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book at the library, it caught my attention because it is set in the Nebraska Sandhills and since I am from western Nebraska I felt that I should read it. It caught my attention from the start. The author writes well and her characters drew me in right away. It felt like I was right there with them and I couldn't wait to find out what happens on the next page. I really enjoyed the book and was sad when I reached the end, not because of the ending, just because it was over. I will be looking for other books from this author.

[Ashley]

#
NC
Own in paperback.

FS: "Ty Bonte kept his eyes fixed on his hands folded in front of him, the knuckles white as he tried to control his rage at being treated like a kid."

LS: "Ty nodded and for a moment he could hear his brother in the cool darkness of the barn, brushing the air free of what clung to him."

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have trouble reading or watching cruelty to animals. There is a horrific scene in full detail near the beginning of this book that I just couldn't get past. I did read about half, but I did leave it at the library tonight, unfinished. I very much like the author.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish so much I could finish this book, but I just can't. The language is WAY too thick. I'll have to come up with my own ending or just skip to the end. I really don't EVER do that, but I'll have to make an exception this time. The title is appropriate. It is a heavy topic.

[Shannon Dykes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a hard story to get into and over all a sad one. Since I now live around where the story takes place it gave me a new out look on NE. The story stuck with me for a long time and felt the need to read something happy after.

[Laura Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book. The characters were so real. The relationships in the book were complex and difficult. The desolate nature of the sandhills of North Dakota provided the perfect background for the story of a young man and the life he lives.

[Chick's With Books]

This Book is for the month of March!

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

A modern western set in Nebraska & Kansas. Very well written and extreamly depressing.

[Stephanie Scelza]

great title, but it didn't live up