Fire Exit is a powerful, poignant, and multilayered story that had me utterly captivated. The story alternates between two timelines and examines two cultures. The complex characters in the story had so much depth that by the end of the book, I felt that I knew them all personally. It’s been a week since I finished Fire Exit and I find myself still thinking about the story and its characters.

Fire Exit is truly a remarkable story and I enjoyed it so much that I had to put it on my list of top reads of 2024. This is my third read by Talty (previously read Night of the Living Rez and his short story in Never Whistle at Night), and Fire Exit solidified him as one of my favorite authors.

Fire Exit by Morgan Talty will be available on June 4. A massive thanks to Tin House Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy!

Charles spends his days watching the house across the river from him. Why? His daughter, Elizabeth, has grown up there with her mother and new husband. Her mother chose to live as if she and her new husband are Elizabeth's biological parents so that she would be allowed to live as a Penobscot. While Charles initially agrees to this, he's haunted by the decision his entire life and for most of the novel he is struggling with whether to tell her the truth, because as he puts it, she deserves to know all of her story.

There are a lot of other things going on at the same time. Like real life, Charles' days are messy and full of conflicting obligations. Charles' mother is slipping into dementia, and his friend is struggling with alcohol abuse. Charles juggles these things along with the guilt over his father's death from years ago. Since the novel is told entirely from his point of view, we're right there with him for the entire book. It's heavy going at times but and there are no easy answers, but the characters are written sympathetically even with (and maybe because of) all their flaws. Charles sees in his daughter some of the same signs of depression and despair his mother struggles with, and there is a touching scene in the hospital where the two women interact with each other while both waiting for ECT treatment for their depression, neither knowing who the other is.

The book doesn't make light or neatly tie everything up into a happy ending, but there is hope. I really enjoyed this.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

The plot kept slipping around but had a stronger finish. Overall, an okay read. 2.75☆

I enjoyed Morgan Talty's short story collection Night of the Living Rez, so I was hoping to like Talty's debut novel. I did like some parts of it, but ultimately it wasn't for me.

Fire Exit covers many of the same themes as the stories in Night of the Living Rez: Penobscot identity, life in/near the reservation, alcoholism, dementia, difficult/estranged family relationships. But I didn't find this novel nearly as engaging as Talty's short stories. Fire Exit feels like a thin novelization of a think piece: What if a white man is raised by a Native stepfather and fathers a child with a Native woman, but he isn't allowed to live on the reservation because he isn't Native? What if the white man's daughter thinks a Native man is her biological father because otherwise she won't have enough blood quantum to be an enrolled member of the Penobscot Nation? Now wouldn't that be messed up and complicated? Maybe indigenous identity and community aren't so cut and dry... Who would have thought?

The novel could have explored all of these questions in a more compelling way, I think, if it read as more character-driven or voice-driven. Instead, the main character felt like he grew out of a think piece or thought experiment and didn't fully develop from that point.

Many thanks to Norton, Tin House Books, and Netgalley for providing me an advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Morgan Talty's short story collection, Night of the Living Rez, was one of my favorite books of 2022. When I heard he was going to come out with a full length debut novel, I was beyond excited. Fire Exit does not disappoint. It covers similar themes of his short story collection such as identity and family. In this book Talty shifts his perspective and writes from an outsider named Charles who is looking in at his community, who questions if he has any right to call it his community because he does not share the one defining element of being a member: meeting the Indigenous blood quantum. This is a powerful and poignant story of belonging, dislocation, regret, and legacy. The plot moves as a slow burn, leisurely pace but I didn't mind it at all as I really got a great grasp of who Charlie is- loving, loyal, and determined to do what is right though he doesn't quite understand how his actions might affect others. The book does touch on some heavy topics such as homophobia, physical abuse, and caring for a parent who has dementia but it also does have some levity of humor and love undercutting the darkness.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Plot
Charles grew up on the Penobscot reservation in Maine, but was kicked out at age 18 because he had no blood ties to the Tribe. We follow him years later as he struggles with taking care of his aging mother, and figuring out if he should introduce himself to his daughter who lives across the river, but doesn't know he exists.

There are lots of themes of depression and mental illness, dementia, what it means to be a family, and grief.

What I liked
I really liked Talty's writing style. The dialogue flowed nicely, and it was easy to read. I also value reading about different perspectives and life experiences, so Charles' life and his experiences were valuable to me.

What I both liked and didn't like
This is just a story about a guy. Which sounds boring and mundane, however, I do think that it was a nice change of pace from reading about a chosen one or hero that does amazing things. Sometimes it is nice to just read about a guy living his ordinary life. What I can't decide is if I love the fact that it reminds me of my own mundanity, or if I hate the fact that it reminds me of my own mundanity.

What I didn't like
About 85% of the way into the book a character uses the r slur, which felt completely unnecessary and left a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the book. The character would have been the same, the plot would have been fine, everything would have been the exact same without it.

Fire Exit is a very powerful book and competently weaves the themes of friendship, intimacy, trust and acceptance. It is a poignant story of an outsider who is loving and kind who cannot seem to find his place in the world. I was quickly drawn into the story of a man that has spent the majority of his life searching for acceptance and love. While the story is set on a reservation and made the issue of identity more apparent, it is ultimately a story about the human condition. I highly recommend this book! Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for sharing this advance copy with me.

This book is simple but very disturbing. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would though. The writing felt disjointed and clunky which hampered my reading experience. The story is what saved it for me. I like storylines that are dark and morbid, this one definitely fit that bill. This book is eerie and haunting, but I don't think this book will be memorable for me. I wanted a more emotional ending, and I was left feeling underwhelmed. I think I will enjoy this author's short story collection more. Interesting book but lacked cohesion.

Thank you, Netgalley and Tin House for the digital ARC.

Charles spent his entire life on the outskirt of Maine’s Penobscot community. He lives across the river from Mary, a native woman who birthed his only child, Elizabeth. In order for Elizabeth to be listed on the Penobscot census, Mary forces Charles to deny his paternity and say that she was born to Richard, a native man. This decision haunts Charles his entire life as he watches Elizabeth grow up from across the river. Charles is also kept busy with his friend Bobby, who is perpetually trying to drink less, and his mother, whose memory is failing.

Fire Exit is a complex, layered story that moves between timelines. Talty does an excellent job of simultaneously narrating an individual and family’s histories. He also captures the nuance of two cultures sharing a border and what that could look like for someone who feels perpetually caught in between. However, the plot’s arc didn’t come until the end of the story, leaving little time for character resolution that was alluded to throughout.

Thank you Morgan Talty, Netgalley, and Tin House Books for advance access to Fire Exit!

Fire Exit is a quiet but volatile book--the plot is emotional in nature and reveals so much about human nature and issues of identity, responsibility, and love. The characters feel authentic and complex, and Talty's writing is outstanding. His character Charles reflects familial challenges that are hard to describe in words, yet many can relate to. Although the novel is slowly paced, I felt that worked with the mindset that Charles was working with while facing his situation. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this great novel.

I liked Talty's short story collection so I was excited to get this galley, and I think he made the transition to longer form well. There were some interesting issues raised (blood quantum, what makes family, alcoholism and mental health) but it didn't feel strident. I am always worried when ECT comes up in media but I found his portrayal non-hysterical and accurate.

This was a gorgeously written novel that tenderly explores themes of forgiveness, family, and belonging. While these themes are very broad, this book feels like someone talking to you and sharing their story in a community you exist in. Throughout, Morgan Talty includes these small details from the main character, Charles, that are added in as an aside as if you know the history of the place. I truly recommend Fire Exit.

Thank you to NetGalley and TinHouse for providing a copy of the eBook in exchange for my honest review.

I'm obsessed with this narrator, someone who lives on the fringes of a community, who feels lost and yet part of something. The examination of culture and community, as well as the interpersonal relationships are so well written and deeply intricate. I was a big fan of the style of Morgan Talty's other book, Night of the Living Rez, and the beauty of the world that's described and created. The multiple layers attached to scenes and characters move so lightly that it's such a smooth story.


Thank you for the ARC!

I wanted to really like this story but I had trouble following the storyline. The main character was conflicted because he grew up on a reservation but he is not Native American. The story revolves around his relationship with his elderly mother who slips in and out of dementia. He had grown up with her bouts of severe depression that went untreated, and now deals her violent and aggressive episodes. My own mother is 96 and getting senile and delusional so I can relate to their relationship. He has several unresolved relationships, one with his stepfather who died of a hunting accident and a child that he fathered but is estranged from. The character development is realistic and touching, but it’s his passivity that is difficult to imagine.

I really loved Talty’s short story collection, and hoped that his first novel would delve into equally-compelling characters and relationships; Fire Exit certainly had both.
I didn’t necessarily understand the inclusion of some details (or the lack of clarity with others), but I also know that I’m not necessarily entitled to having all of my questions answered—as I get older, I find myself more drawn to stories where art imitates life in this way, and not everything needs (much less gets) a satisfying conclusion. That said, though, I am looking forward to hearing Talty’s interviews about context/background/writing process as the publication slate draws closer.
I plan to preorder a hard copy of the book, and Talty will definitely be an author I automatically read from here on out.

In this story, Charles is forced to watch his daughter grow up on the reservation across the river. She was raised by a different man, never knowing who her father was because he is white she would be denied her Native American land and rights because of the blood quantum laws. Charles takes care of his elderly mother with dementia and lifelong bouts with depression. He carries guilt over the circumstances of his stepfathers death. All of these elements weave together when his daughter who similarly suffers from depression goes missing. All woven together beautifully with hope and redemption and a stuffed elephant.

Thanks to Tin House Books and NetGalley for this ARC of Morgan Talty's 'Fire Exit.'

This is a wonderful, quiet examination of the complex nature of indigenous identity and the rules that govern who can biologically call themselves native and that exclude those who don't meet the standards in terms of their blood quantum, despite their deep and spiritual connection with their people and upbringing.

Charles, excluded from the reservation when he reached 18 because he was a stepson rather than genetically native, watches the various parts of his family from close up and far away while dealing all the time with the impact of that decision and the road that others took without him having any agency that led to that point and what came thereafter. We're introduced in a deep and emotional way to his ailing mother who blames him for her own tragedy (which is also his), his secret daughter and her mother who does not want the truth revealed, his alcoholic friend, and the life - such as it is - he's made in which, cruelly, he sits across the river from the life that could have been his in difference circumstances and maybe should have been his regardless of those circumstances. His life has effectively stood still for decades until he reaches a point in his mind and because of events outside of his control where it changes relatively suddenly and he's forced to change with it.

The writing is lovely, none of these characters are perfect and they don't claim to be but they're all so well written and believable.

Bravo.

(3.8 stars) The easy answer as to why I read this book is that I had a reading challenge prompt for a story “featuring Indigenous culture”. The reasons I liked this book is a little more complicated. Fire Exit tells the story of a white man (Charles) who fathers a daughter with a Native American woman (Mary). In order for the child (Elizabeth) to live on the Penobscot reservation, the mother marries a Native man (Roger). Charles cannot give up hope that he will someday get to know his daughter, however, and, since his humble cabin is only across a small river from Elizabeth’s home, he spends his days watching and listening from his porch. Kind of creepy if you ask me, but he manages to do his spying covertly.

As the story opens, Charles hasn’t seen Elizabeth or Mary for a couple of weeks. As his tension increases, he decides that it is time for him to go public with the truth about Elizabeth’s paternity. But will she welcome him into her life? As Charles sweats the decision, he is also dealing with a mother with increasing dementia, an alcoholic best friend, and a question from his past that will not let him go – was he to blame in the death of his beloved stepfather?

This is a book of many stories, each compelling and interesting. Most of all, I loved the story of Charles and his mother. The challenges and subtle sensitivities of dementia were very well handled. I got a real feel for the relationship between the two of them and I’m filing it away in the event I am in a similar situation in the future. The titular “fire” only comes about toward the end of the book, but it is a pivotal moment in many regards. While I wouldn’t place this among my favorite reads, it is an enjoyable, well-written book that positively contributes to the spectrum of Indigenous literature.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tin House for providing me with this e-ARC.

This centers on a man raised within the Penobscot reservation, but unable to remain because his family ties are not genetic. When he fathers a child, his existence is erased because to acknowledge him would cost his daughter her membership in that community.
How much do we value the truth and acknowledging each other’s stories vs allowing systems to privilege some only at the expense of others? Does belonging have to be zero sum?
The questions are weighty and Charles’s life has been bleak, but this is somehow more hopeful than dark.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****