Small Animals Caught in Traps, C. B. Bernard
Small Animals Caught in Traps, C. B. Bernard
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
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Small Animals Caught in Traps
A Novel

Author: C. B. Bernard

Narrator: Chris Henry Coffey

Unabridged: 9 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/04/2023

Synopsis

For readers of Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone and David Vann’s Legend of a Suicide, C. B. Bernard’s debut novel shows a father and a daughter fighting toward hope through a traumatic past.In the town of Disappointment, Oregon, washed-up boxer Lewis Yaw makes ends meet as a fishing guide. He’s lived a life of violence, but doesn’t understand real strength until he meets Janey, who can see good in even the most damaged things—including him. When she gives birth to their daughter, Grayling, Lewis worries that he’ll mess her up as badly as his father did him. But he also sees a chance to right the wrongs of the past.By high school, Gray has become his apprentice guide, his sparring partner, and his pride and joy. Life in their small town is nothing short of challenging—there’s a marauding bear roaming the streets, a rival guide trying to kill Lewis, and a poacher littering deer carcasses along the river—but he is closer to happiness than he ever thought possible. When tragedy strikes, Lewis can’t break free of his past, leaving Gray to fight to save the only thing she has left: her family.

About C. B. Bernard

C. B. Bernard is the author of the novel Small Animals Caught in Traps and Chasing Alaska: A Portrait of the Last Frontier Then and Now, a Publishers Weekly and National Geographic top pick and finalist for the Oregon Book Award in nonfiction. His fiction and essays have appeared in Catapult, Gray’s Sporting Journal, and elsewhere. Though he called Alaska and Oregon home for much of his life, he now lives on the coast of Rhode Island’s South County with his wife, Kim, a retriever named Nessie, and the ghosts of a couple of dogs.

About Chris Henry Coffey

Chris Henry Coffey is a film and television actor known for his role in David Schwimmer’s film Trust. He has also had roles on Broadway, including the play Bronx Bombers. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, he divides his time between New York and Los Angeles.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Desiree on August 16, 2024

Wow. Just wow. Atmospheric. Heart-breaking. Beautiful. The story of a girl. Of a man. Of a family. Of tragedies and how to bear up under them. The sweet tale of a man’s love for his only child. The story of a man with a tragic past. A tale of a girl growing up. Interspersed with the background of our......more

Goodreads review by Stacy40pages on March 17, 2023

Small Animals Caught in Traps by CB Bernard. Thanks to @blackstonepublishing for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Lewis broke through a childhood of violence and is now married with his own child. He sees this as his change to right past wrongs. When tragedy strikes, his daughter is the one to fight for family.......more

Goodreads review by BethFishReads on April 15, 2023

Really 4.5 Not a happy book, but an utterly absorbing examination of a man trying to move past a horrible childhood to make a better future. Lewis Yaw moved to a small town in Oregon to get as far away as possible from his abusive father and rough childhood. Before he was even settled, he asked his gi......more

Goodreads review by Thomas on August 29, 2023

Lewis Yaw grew up in the far back east, and his life did not start out well when he lost a mother at a very young age and had to grow up with a who regrets him every day. Lewis's father abuses often even more, so when Lewis witnesses his father at his weakest moments. His father believes that physic......more

Goodreads review by Molly on April 10, 2023

Punchy prose bursting with wit and sarcasm. I truly cared about and felt I knew main characters Lewis, Janey, Gray and Fenwick. Gut-wrenching and ultimately hopeful. Life travels full circle.......more

Quotes

“An absolutely gorgeous book about the beauty and terror of bonds, both with the natural world and with our families. As a tortured dad tries to outrun his past and keep it from being a legacy for his adored daughter, she struggles to find her own path, even as tragedy looms. Yes, it’s a story about loss, but at its rare beating heart, it’s about what really matters: love. And I loved this book.” Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of With or Without You

“Bernard paints a haunting picture of an American West where wildness is the last commodity…Small Animals Caught in Traps is a heartbreaker of a domestic novel. In any case, I won’t forget it.” Justin Tussing, Oregon Book Award–winning author of The Best People in the World

“Draws you in and holds you tight through an emotional and educational journey across the wilderness of the wild soul.” Tim Tigner, bestselling author of The Price of Time

“As powerful as a sudden summer storm, Small Animals Caught in Traps sweeps you up with rich, heartbreaking details. Bernard has crafted a world that blurs the line between civilization and wilderness, with a protagonist struggling to find his way between them while mastering his own grim past. With a gritty roster of characters and an unforgettable sense of place, this is a book to savor.” Liz Michalski, author of Evenfall and Darling Girl

“Reminiscent of Ken Kesey’s Sometimes a Great Notion, this novel gives you love and heartache, disappointment and joy in equal measure. Bernard creates a small-town world that sucks you right in. This novel is full of grit and fishermen, broken towns and real animals, a wonderful read to go along with coffee or whiskey, or whiskey in coffee.” Pedro Hoffmeister, author of American Afterlife

“With precision-tuned character strokes, pitch-perfect dialogue, and devastating plot developments, Bernard transforms these scruffy individuals into the flawed heroes of their own lives. This is a novel of consequence.” Coast Weekend

Awards

  • Masters Review Pick
  • Rhody Reads Pick
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