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From the award-winning author of Mad Boy, a richly atmospheric historical Western about a notorious riverman seeking a new life amid the violence and dark promise of the American frontier
In the summer of 1834, the sky over an Ohioan river town darkens—not with storm clouds, but with the thunderous wings of an immense flock of passenger pigeons. Their arrival, known as a passing, is an omen, and for the infamous Henry Phipps it means that a reckoning is near.
A legendary riverman with a violent past and a name whispered along the banks of the Mississippi and Ohio, Henry Phipps is a man caught between myth and memory. A feared and admired figure by many, Henry is seeking to change his life and to shuck off his reputation—unearned, as he sees it. But with a fortune sewn into his saddlebags that is coveted by a gang of demonic children, a vengeful family on his trail, and a town in moral freefall, Henry finds himself at the center of a violent storm.
As Henry searches for an exit strategy, he is drawn back into the lives of those who know him best, including Annette Barney, a sharp, independent woman who, with grit and grace, has made a life for herself in town.
Set against a vividly drawn early American landscape on the cusp of great change, The Passings is a tale of fleeting fortunes, haunted pasts, and lives carved out along the nation’s most mythic waterways. Rich in atmosphere, funny, peopled by a large cast of indelible characters, Arvin’s novel is also a treatise on the price of legend—and the quiet, human truths that endure.
Praise for Nick Arvin
For Mad Boy
“Mad Boy is a great success, a mini-epic in just 238 pages.”—The Denver Post
“Arvin has produced a curious and fanciful historical novel with eccentric characters staged in a rainy and fetid world of unforgiving nature and political circumstance. Occasionally ‘laugh out loud’ funny, this will entertain fans of dark humor, convoluted adventure stories, and historical drama.”—Library Journal
“Arvin’s unusual tale brings warmth to the otherwise horrific drama of wartime.”—Booklist
“The colorful characters make this account of the War of 1812 a rollicking page-turner.”—Publishers Weekly
★ “A wartime coming-of-age story filled with nonstop action and genuine pathos.”—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
“A joyously earthy tale about a fascinating period of American history, Mad Boy combines the luxurious period detail of Wolf Hall with the deadpan comedy of True Grit.”—Sandra Newman, author of The Country of Ice Cream Star
“With its cast of deserters and turncoats, clowns, scoundrels, Mad Boy is a bloody, rollicking picaresque.”—Stewart O’Nan, author of A Prayer for the Dying
"Mad Boy is a terrific achievement. There’s a vicious black humor at work here, underpinning the larger bend of the story in a way that keeps you guessing. As each new character arrives fully formed, like they’ve stepped out of the archive, you wonder how Arvin will keep it all together. The best part is, he does.”—Rohan Wilson, author of To Name Those Lost
“This brilliant musket blast of a novel–in which the lucky reader will encounter falling cows, repurposed pickle barrels, fascinating schemes and fabulous schemers–is alive with humor, heat and heart. Mad Boy is a tremendous accomplishment. Nick Arvin is the real thing.”—Laird Hunt, author of Neverhome
“Humane and brutal but never false, Nick Arvin delivers an illuminating critique of American history and myth.”—Mario Acevedo, author of The Nymphos of Rocky Flats
“Arvin masters his epic story of devastation, conflict, love, and family loyalty, all without a splinter of sentimentality. Mad Boy is a feat of magic.”—Erika Krouse, author of Contenders and Come Up and See Me Sometime
For The Reconstructionist
“Nick Arvin is an immensely gifted writer, and he has given us a thrilling, soulful book.”—David Wroblewski, author of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
“Remarkable.”—The Denver Post
“A masterpiece of modern fiction.”—Cortright McMeel, author of Short
“Nick Arvin has accomplished what only a handful of writers have managed—he has crafted a spare and perfect masterwork.”—Mark Spragg, author of An Unfinished Life
For Articles of War
“A compact, intense first novel.”—New York Times Book Review
“Heartbreaking...powerful...unforgettable.”—Chicago Tribune
“A gem of a book . . . Beautifully written and timely.”—Washington Post
“A textbook example of how clear and precise writing can carry a narrative.”—USA Today