Free Men (Smith) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
With this collage of experiences twisted together and soaked in blood, Smith cuts to the bone of our national character. Then, as now, for all its violence and desperation, it’s noble and inspiring, too.
Washington Post


[A] brilliant, wild ride…. Not only does Smith step boldly into the terrain of the classics of the American canon, her novel feels like one of those classics. Smith has succeeded in writing a novel of American masculinity that deserves comparison with Cormac McCarthy, Jim Harrison and Herman Melville.
Jackson Clarion-Ledger


[G]limpses into a vanished but fully realized world, one which has completely engaged us by [the] novel’s satisfying end.
Minneapolis Star Tribune


We are lucky to be in a position to follow an amazing author at the start of her publishing career…. Smith applies her close attention to historical subjects, a feel for evocative language and the undertone of a woman’s longing and adds to that structured suspense and epic ambition.
Asheville Citizen-Times


Free Men marries exhaustive research into the time period with effortless prose and insight into her characters that makes a story from several centuries ago feel immediate.
Huffington Post


Set in 1788 and drawing from a historical incident, Smith’s searching second novel probes connection and isolation, forgiveness and guilt.... [T]his novel evokes the complexity of a fledgling America in precise, poetic language. Though likely too slow-paced for some readers, it is rich with insights about history and the human heart.
Publishers Weekly


[I]lluminating.... An uncommon story of three men on the run as well as a complex tale about freedom of the individual and justice in society. There's much to ponder after reading the last page. —Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Palisade, CO
Library Journal


Smith deftly evokes the swamp heat, fetid woods, and pitiless inhabitants of a barely settled region of the nascent United States.... Despite crisp, vivid prose, the exciting premise becomes bogged down by the multiple narrators, whose voices blend until they are too similar to distinguish, while their complicated back stories become too crowded.
Kirkus Reviews