Reap

By Eric Rickstad

Book Overview

A bold debut novel that combines a coming-of-age story with the gritty lives and desolate beauty of Vermont's Northeast KingdomJessup Burke, a lonely, naive sixteen-year-old, has grown up fatherless in an indifferent, hardscrabble logging town. Out of high school a year early, he now bikes the back roads and roams the woods, fishing and daydreaming of his sweetheart. When he encounters Reg Cumber, a marijuana grower fresh out of prison, and Reg's younger, married sister, Jessup is lured into a world of danger and violence.With sure and supple prose, Rickstad draws readers into the hot, still air of a summer backwoods to witness Jessup's abrupt awakening into adulthood. A bold, unflinching novel about fate, self-knowledge, and family secrets, Reap is charged with Rickstad's keen sense of place and character and is alive with his vividly conjured natural world.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140298371
• ISBN13: 9780140298376
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.7" x 0.6" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

No such thing as Yankee grit lit.

I was disappointed with Reap from the beginning. I realize there are rednecks all over the country. I don't believe the author did his Vermont rednecks justice. The authors timeline was limited. I didn't connect with his characters. To go further might be a spoiler.

Trainspotting for Rural America!

Despite the language being significantly different than that of Trainspotting, (Trainspotting being very phonetic) and the landscape being rural America, REAP still reminded me of the Brit book in its great depth of character and its knowledge of the seedy side of a drug culture (in REAP it's marijuana). It's a romp of a story, the characters are recognizable to anyone who grew up in smalltown USA, whether in the south or northe, or anywhere. At the same time, they are separate from us, their lives desperate and circumstances unforgiving. This book IS violent, and dark, and (I thought) frightening, but it is also compelling. It makes you look, despite not wanting to! It's a beautiful sad first novel.

a different take

Most of the reviews here, though very positive, seem to emphasize the darker and violent side to this book. But what struck me is that it also is very touching and poignant and FUNNY in places. Some scenes had me laughing one moment than nearly crying the next. REAP is a marvel of emotions and suspense. And I agree, very well written.

Finally

Finally! A writer in his/her 30s who can write a novel, a real novel, in 3rd person... I was beginning to think that the only thing a Gen X (Gen Y?) writer could muster for material was old televison scripts and first person angst ridden self referential pablum about how mean their yuppie parents were to them by buying them a used car for high school graduation instead of a new one, or how cruel their hunter boyfriends are, all while product name dropping more than Ann Beattie in the mid eighties.... For a real read, with in your face edgy dialogue great outdoor and inner landscapes, and characters with actual LIVES, though sometimes violent and grim ones, this book does it. The author is a smart enough to get out of the way of his novel, for the betterment of it. Refreshing. Read it.

Gripping coming-of-age story in the backwoods of Vermont

This is an excellent story of a young man growing up the hard way in a dead-end logging town in northeastern Vermont. The book captures the desolation of the surroundings, and I appreciated the genuineness of the characters. Reg Cumber, the pot-smoking, ne'er-do-well race car driver is a character you are unlikely to ever forget! Highly recommended reading.