Jericho River

"I so enjoyed Jericho River. Speth's book pulses with a double heartbeat: inspection and affection. Spotlighting a recurring cast of doughty Vermont types, this harvest of small-town stories manages to be as bedrock solid as the channel of the White River and as evanescent as daily life in any state. I read it with unflagging engagement. And the ending is a delight."

Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked

"Despite his wide experience of the world, Gus Speth has never lost his faith in humankind. Here, in beautifully drawn stories of a small town, he brings alive his vision of how we might live together in harmony with one another and the green hills. This is a book to lift the downhearted, an essential read for a pivotal time."

Kathleen Dean Moore, author of A Pond Dreams of Singing: On Restoration and Renewal

"Gus Speth's gentle, insightful novel follows the lives that make up a small town - all the hopes, dreams and tragedies - and explores how trust is tended, how resilience is built, and out of those individual threads weaves a pattern of community, underpinned by the love and kindness that recovers and nourishes the human spirit. "

Paul Winter, composer and musician

"Full of wisdom and hope, Jericho River is a must read for these times. The stories of a small town's residents vividly unfold in Clare Pascal's journals spanning two decades. But as a community, these memorable characters prove that goodness can prevail. Speth has given us more than a hint of something deep by writing this insightful book."

Abigail Cutter, author of What the Trees Remember

"Jericho River vividly brings to life not only a place but a turbulent period in U.S. history. Speth deftly combines the insights of social realism with wise reflections on the human condition. This novel has much to teach us about what sustains community in the face of serious challenges such as the political ones we face today. I hope younger readers especially will read it."

Betsy Hartmann, author of Last Place Called Home

"Speth envelops the reader in a heart-felt rural community full of drama, happenings that live on long after the last page."

E.B. Moore, author of An Unseemly Wife

"Readers of Wendell Berry and Sarah Orne Jewett will find much to love in Speth's pages."

Megan Mayhew Bergman, author of How Strange a Season