Steve Viragos

A beautifully written novel set against the isolated and bleak coastal shores of early 19th century Newfoundland. The evil nature of humanity is well on display in this tale. Many of the images and events are too gruesome to describe. The debauchery, narrated with period-accurate dialect, provides welcome comic relief from the horrific plot. If there remained any doubt, the unearthing of an unmarked pilgrim’s grave sets the story in motion, toward the greatest adversary of all: the inevitability of death. This book is not for the faint of heart.

A solitary odyssey across the Old West, intersecting with marauding zealots, corrupt lawmen, migrating settlers, and even a dominatrix thrown in to entice the plot. The years of hermitic living may have been condensed for my liking. But overall, a very powerful and moving read.