Overview

"Paul Bunyan-legendary larger-than-life American lumberjack-is a man down on his luck. With a load of family debts on his broad back, he ekes out a miserable miner's life in Lump Town, a bleak hamlet controlled by famed industrialist El Boffo. When Bunyan's wife Lucette falls ill with a disease caused by the toxic mineral Lump, he embarks on a quest to save her. His only guide- the Chilali-a mysterious creature who speaks only in questions. Bunyan's path leads to The Windy City-and to John Henry. Henry is not yet the ""steel-drivin'"" man known to folklore, but a fugitive on the run from a rigged, racist prison system. As Bunyan and Henry strive to reunite with the families they love, they must work together to solve riddles, forge weapons, brawl with a behemoth, and confront at every turn the relentless, duplicitous El Boffo. A richly imaginative reinvention of myth, Bunyan and Henry is at once a timeless quest, a fresh origin story, and an urgent modern fable that wrestles with the two sides of the American dream-its wild idealism and cruel underbelly-to inspire the awakening of the folk hero in us all. A large-hearted reimagining of beloved all-American legends, this epic debut novel brings men of myth Paul Bunyan and John Henry alive like never before, teaming up for an adventure quest with deeper interrogations of race, class, and industrialization. Paul Bunyan-legendary larger-than-life American lumberjack-is a man down on his luck. With a load of family debts on his broad back, he ekes out a miserable miner's life in Lump Town, a bleak hamlet controlled by famed industrialist El Boffo. When Bunyan's wife Lucette falls ill with a disease caused by the toxic mineral Lump, he embarks on a quest to save her. His only guide- the Chilali-a mysterious creature who speaks only in questions. Bunyan's path leads to The Windy City-and to John Henry. Henry is not yet the ""steel-drivin'"" man known to folklore, but a fugitive on the run from a rigged, racist prison system. As Bunyan and Henry strive to reunite with the families they love, they must work together to solve riddles, forge weapons, brawl with a behemoth, and confront at every turn the relentless, duplicitous El Boffo. A richly imaginative reinvention of myth, Bunyan and Henry is at once a timeless quest, a fresh origin story, and an urgent modern fable that wrestles with the two sides of the American dream-its wild idealism and cruel underbelly-to inspire the awakening of the folk hero in us all."

Full Product Details

9780593471166

Table of Contents

Reviews

“Mark Cecil takes the Paul Bunyan legend, turns it on its head, and makes it do somersaults.” —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Is This Tomorrow and With or Without You “A quintessentially American story that reflects us in all our generosity and grotesqueness, with unflinching honesty and hope.” —Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us and The Lost Family

Author Information

MARK CECIL is host of The Thoughtful Bro show, for which he conducts interviews with an eclectic roster of award-winning and breakout storytellers. Formerly a journalist for Reuters, he is Head of Strategy for literary social media startup A Mighty Blaze and has taught writing at Grub Street in Boston. This is his first book.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available