Nan Gage

There is a major difference between the original hardback and other versions of this book: the hardcover was made entirely by the author! Something the author did as a rare treat for several of his books including A Boy from Mold and Simon Snootle. That said, Me’ma and the Great Mountain is a thought-provoking journey about an indigenous girl that uses her ability to communicate with spirits to guide her through fears and darkness to overcome daunting obstacles. I fell in love with Me’ma and her dog Bright Eye, as they met a strange man in a casket and female circus performer that had been split into two. The characters are like something out of a Tim Burton movie. Richards’ a master storyteller who makes you think about the impact of industrialization on the land and its people, and lessons of empathy a child can give to the world.

I got this book, The Goodbye Family and the Great Mountain, after reading the authors first novel Me’ma and the Great Mountain. It is a series and I just couldn't wait to hear the story continue! My sister got me his first book. He created a western genre that is really unique, a ghostly, supernatural world, that is both suspenseful, adventurous and funny in parts. Yes, it reminds of Addams family; and by the end of the book you’ll be hoping it’s not over. The book is about a family of undertakers, named the Goodbyes, and their journey into the underworld called Nothom, but not until they are hard up financially for some unknown reason and find out the Baron has been killed. Orphie is their daughter, and really a main character, for her supernatural strength and curiosity. Otis is the father who stumbles into things and Pyridine is a witch and mother of the bunch. She also is in charge of the funeral business. For those that know the author’s other works, the Goodbye family comics, we get a sense of what Nicklesworth, the town they reside, is all about. Mostly, though the book is in the strange and peculiar underworld that has faded of its gloomy charm and the Goodbyes are set out to find an answer. This book breathes new life in the western genre!