Heart of the Beast

By Joyce Weatherford

Book Overview

In her remarkable debut, Joyce Weatherford writes with raw power, muscular beauty, and firsthand experience about life in the twentieth-century American West. Twenty-eight-year-old Iris Steele has... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743211790
• ISBN13: 9780743211796
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Scribner
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Kingsolver with an edge

Don't plan on doing anything when you pick this book up because you won't want to put it down until the last beautiful word. It's like a rich tapestry of words. I heard Joyce Weatherford speak at a luncheon about this book. She said her publisher called early one morning and woke her up with the words, "you are one hell of a writer." She was right. The imagery and character development are terrific. The beginning feels almost a little too dark, but hang on. Soon the story will grip you and you will find yourself absorbed in Iris Steele's life. My book club recently read this book. A few members couldn't get past the morose beginning, those of us who finished it, loved it.

The Dark Side of the Frontier Spirit

This book is a psychological thriller based on a pioneering Northwestern family's struggle between owning the land they love and their ability to love each other. The lead character, Iris Steele, is a fifth generation ranch owner who endures family hardship and emotional stress in the intense battle for her father's affection. The question is: will the land destroy Iris, and the pioneer spirit, or will Iris crush the generations of oppression and set herself free?The writing is crisp and powerful, and you feel like you've been transported to a ranch in Oregon. A good read with an ending that will leave you satisfied.

Multiculturalism vs. the Melting Pot

In America today, there is a trend of intermarriage amongst people of differing ethnic heritage especially in the West-even the federal census now allows Americans to acknowledge their multiracial heritage. Given this fact, racial/religious intolerance continues to flourish. In this time of violence comes this first novel, Heart of the Beast. It is a moving book that explores some of the psychological and physical tolls of racism and intolerance, amongst other themes. In her novel, Joyce Weatherford wisely does not give pat answers and miracles to explain human nature. She tells her story and lets the reader decide for themselves why people do what they do. She also raises the question of whether a solution to our contry's racial tensions lies in the birth of a multiracial America(embodied in the character Tansy-a name which appropriately means both unvanquishable and poison), or whether her existence represents just another culturally repressive form of genocide. This book is told in a compelling manner, and is difficult to put down.

Profound, Eloquent, and Beautiful

Joyce Weatherford's gripping drama about ranching, legacy, adversity, love and sacrifice, invites us to the family farm -- a place that is so fundamental to our society, yet so foreign to most of us. Heart of the Beast is profound and eloquent, and challenges each of us to consider our place and impact on our family and society, past and present. It is one of historic relevance, yet written with a contemporary flare with humorous references that help ease the intense pain that you feel about the characters' realities. It is also beautiful, visual and vivid -- a picture book without the pictures.

Home on the Range

This beautifully written book tackles hard family issues of love, acceptance and devotion. Joyce Weatherford brings the Eastern Oregon landscape alive with colorful descriptions and a true understanding of life in the wild west, its hardships and its beauty. Her story of the relationships developed there combined with the area's history is told in a way which keeps you on the edge of your seat. The plot twists and turns as the characters learn more about themselves and each other. As if helping you explore your own roots and personality, Joyce Weatherford develops her characters in a way that makes you feel as if you have not just observed their development, but have grown and matured with them as well. A wonderful read; very inspiring.