Whiskey: A Novel - Softcover

"The manic energy and memorable characters in Whiskey aren't far off from those created by Joseph Heller and Ken Kesey in those classics." ―The Inlander

“[A]s cool as a Western and as fundamental as the Bible. Reminiscent of stories by Cormac McCarthy or Annie Proulx . . . Whiskey punches you in the gut, a blow that lands right at your core.” ―BookPage

“Holbert's prose crosses the coal-black comedy of Charles Portis with hallucinogenic Denis Johnson, a slapstick of grim manners above a howling abyss that is always audible.” ―Willamette Week

"Holbert returns with a violent, gruesome, and beautiful tale that . . . is perversely winning . . . The violence in this rangy, brilliant narrative is often grotesque, but this excess is tempered by dry humor, wonderful dialogue, and dark wisdom." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“[An] impressive novel . . . Like Cormac McCarthy, another bard of the modern West’s brutality, Holbert finds beauty and cruelty in the land, in the tease and punch of eloquently elliptical dialogue, and in the way humans struggle for love, self-knowledge, and a grip on life . . . He writes terse prose whittled to essentials and grained with vernacular . . . His characters may well brand a reader’s memory. A gut-punch of a bleak family saga that satisfies on many levels.” ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“[A] bleak yet emotionally authentic chronicle . . . Resplendent descriptions and quick-witted dialogue serve as necessary counterpoint to visceral depictions of violence.” ―Bill Kelly, Booklist