FIVE SKIES by Ron Carlson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A story about three men hired to build a massive ramp by an Idaho river canyon, the project grand and unnecessary but just the thing to get them all out there. Each is running from something in their past, and they slowly reveal themselves to each other as they measure and dig and shape and inhabit the remote land. On paper, it doesn’t sound like much is going on. But that could be anyone’s life when surveyed from afar. It’s only up close and with a patience to listen that we see the tumult underneath.

The meticulous construction lingo was appreciated but something to glance over in favor of authentic dialogue and a shorthand between the men that blossoms from staccato’ed greetings to a genuine bond that will just about reach out and smack you by the end it feels so real. It’s not easy for guys to form relationships. A big dumb job to commiserate and sweat over helps.

This book came out of nowhere for me from an author I’d never heard of, but I’m paying attention now. The prose is direct and affecting, gently drawing you into this rugged landscape until you can picture that green river in your dreams. There’s hurt here, so do beware, but it’s not one that will destroy you. Just enough to erode any doubt that you were invested and then it keeps moving on, like the flowing water that comes and goes forever in that red canyon land.