A strange piece of historical fiction that uses many stereotypes seemingly unironically. Solid use of language, but very bleak,

The most notable thing about West; it was short. The writing is good, the pacing is okay and our characters are interesting; yet the plot didn’t really feel like enough for me.

The Plot
Set in the early days of Europeans settling in the West of North America, shortly after Lewis & Clark’s expedition, Carys Davies tells us a story of two people. A father and a daughter. One who goes off to find “gigantic creatures” whom he believes may be somewhere alive. And the other only 10 years old and left with an uncaring Aunt and little means to change her lot in life.
So the plot is around him travelling and her waiting. Except I never felt like we were going somewhere. Of course time was moving forward but it didn’t feel like to am ultimate goal. Maybe because we know (it’s really obvious) that these creatures he seeks are dinosaurs and cannot be found alive? Or perhaps because we know the girl is unlikely to fall into good fortune? Either way I just never felt like I was reading for any reason other than to finish the story. Which is not enough for me. I want to care about what happens next.

North American and the Settlers
I don’t think anyone, anywhere in the world needs to be reminded that (for many of us, including me) our ancestors were awful to the Native Americans. This is neither news, nor surprising. It was however very sad to read of the lose/lose situations the Natives were given by the European settlers. I felt a melancholy over this story that can’t not, and should not, go away.
While none of us can ever change the past, and likely no amount of anything will repair the harm done, it is a good reminder that they invaded what is now Canada and USA like a plague. Not because our ancestors didn’t care, but because they saw opportunity or because he were forced out of our own countries. This is no excuse. However, there is nothing any of us can do to change the past. However it is good to be reminded that the Natives were (mostly) kind and just trying to get back; same as everyone else.

Overall
I think the main theme that Davies is going for with West is to speak about hopelessness. As the reader we know that the inevitable overtaking of Native land happens and that there are no living dinosaurs to be discovered or found. And so the stories of our characters are tragic in their own way.
If you wish to know a little more about the terrain and conditions that Lewis and Clark May have encountered on their travels; or want to know how an abandoned 12-year-old girl manages then you may want to read this. Otherwise I’m not sure I see a lot of merit in West; even if it’s well written.
Truly the best thing going for West is that it’s short.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

It doesn't seem difficult for Cy Bellman to leave his 10-year-old daughter, Bess, with his sister, in order to go in search of huge mule bones he has heard talk of. Irregardless, this short novel is so well written, with sensitively portrayed characters and empathy, so much so that the story is compelling and poignant.

I received an advanced copy of this short story from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started this story but I was a bit disappointed. The story is narrated by various characters from their points of view. This gets confusing, especially since I think I may have had an unedited proof, because there was no clear separation where one's character's story ended and then another ran into it that was completely different. I believe this will probably be fixed in the final version.
For the longest time I was also trying to figure out why Bess' father left in the first place. What was it exactly that he was looking for? It's also not the happiest story and is a bit bleak minus a few points.
I didn't hate it but it also didn't really do it for me.

A rich, nuanced epic in miniature of the American west. In 1815 a silly man leaves behind his young daughter in Pennsylvania, and his widower grief, traveling afar in search of live dinosaurs. Davies spins a spare novel out of the essential American threads of idiotic settler maleness, racism, sexual violence, and genocide. Oscar Wilde said “I cannot think otherwise than in stories.“ I say that from here on in I shall be unable to think about America without casting my thoughts back upon this novel.

Thanks to Netgalley for the e-book received in exchange for an honest review.

The above review was on GoodReads (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2375060678) and also on Litsy.

In addition I participated in a lengthy two-part discussion video series about West on BookTube.
Part 1: https://youtu.be/_XkOu5gtLhs
Part 2: https://youtu.be/vGFFCpZb2Y0

A high 4 stars

Carys Davies writes beautifully in simple and precise prose. It was a pleasure to read West for that reason alone. West is very short — barely a novel, really — but it conveys a lot. Set many years back in the US, Cy who is a widower leaves his daughter Bess in the care of his sister to seek out giant mammoth like creatures he has recently read about. It’s a fool’s journey. West feels like an allegory about the unintended consequences of foolish journeys. Heartbreak, missed messages, regrets and, despite everything, the need to carry on. I will definitely read more by Davies. She is quite a writer. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

4.5 stars.
In the early 19th century, a widower named Bellman falls in love with the idea of finding a woolly mammoth. Abandoning his young daughter Bess, he sets off into the American West in quest of his dream. Bess, in the meantime, waits for his promised letters, her head also filled with imaginings of her father's voyage. Bess and Bellman's dreams and sorrows intersect with the grief and hopes of Bellman's guide, "an ill-favored, narrow-shouldered Shawnee boy who bore the unpromising name of Old Woman From A Distance”.

I was wonder-struck at how the author managed to pack so much into this slight, episodic novel. Her characters come alive in a line or two and their individual griefs and quests for meaning resonate deeply. My only quibble with the story was that its setting didn't feel as real to me as did the characters. The landscape of Bellman's harsh journey did not come alive for me in the way I'd hoped. Overall though, a highly recommended read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

A decade or so after the Lewis and Clark expedition, Pennsylvania widower Cy Bellman is captivated by their description of one of their discoveries ‘…monstrous bones…sunk in the salty Kentucky mud’. He becomes obsessed with the idea that the huge creatures that left these bones might still be found somewhere out in the far west and is determined to find them. Despite all the predictions from neighbours and family that he is embarking on a fool’s errand that will surely end in his death, he can only say ‘I have to go. I have to go and see. That’s all I can tell you. I have to’. He leaves his ten-year-old daughter, Bess, in the care of his sister and sets out on a journey that will take him across thousands of miles. Along the way, he hires a guide, a young Shawnee boy and the pair develop a very complex relationship, one that transcends their lack of common language.

When I saw West, the debut novel, by author Carys Davies offered on Netgalley, I will admit it was the cover more than the description that caught my eye. And I will also admit I doubted the story would match the promise of that art but oh, that cover! So did the novel match the promise? In a word, yes. West is a beautifully written often lyrical and completely engrossing story. It is quite short, more novella than novel but it carries quite a punch. It alternates between Bellman’s story and Bess’, a lonely girl who must fend off dangers of her own after her father’s departure. But it is the relationship between Bellman and the Shawnee boy – sort of Don Quixote set in the early 19th c. American west - that kept me glued to the pages.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

Wow. Finishing this novel has at once made me speechless as well as making me want to write an essay because there is so much that I could say about it. This novel is about extinction - of a species, of a people, and of that intangible something that lingers within us and propels us to pursue something greater than ourselves. I loved the pacing and the way that Davies describes the silent beauty of nature and the tender interactions between the characters. There is nothing flowery or sentimental here, just a bare and quiet eloquence and subtle poignancy.


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2179658988?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1