Natch

Bol

The Center for Fiction 2025 First Novel Prize, Winner At the age of twenty-nine, tired of trying to get along with members of his crew and tired of the money going into somebody else's pocket, Natch begins working for himself, climbing and cutting down trees in the foothills of north Georgia. He has his truck, ropes, climbing gear, and a rotating selection of secondhand saws he finds at pawn shops and flea markets. He is free to work as he pleases. And he believes he is fine with his life as it is, living alone in an old hunting cabin at the end of a dirt lane, enjoying his habits, exploring his vices, and living, as he puts it, "like some wild thing let loose on the world." Then he meets Asha, an alluring woman who works the nightshift at a convenience store. He finds himself needing her in a way that he has never needed anyone before. Among her charms are her passions for reading and belly dance and her ambition to put herself through school to become a therapist. She believes her studies will cure her of the familial dysfunctions she faced as a child and eventually enable her to help others. >

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Pages: 168, Paperback, University of Iowa Press