Lay Your Armor Down - by Michael Farris Smith (Hardcover)

About the Book

"An old woman, riddled with dementia, walks off into the woods in the middle of the night. A light in the wood draws her to a campfire with two strange, dangerous men, one young and one old, who are there plotting a crime of as-yet-indeterminate purpose. The two men have a job to do. They are hunting something precious but have only been told: you'll know it when you see it. When they arrive at the place, an abandoned church cellar in the burned-out countryside, they find an answer they never could have predicted. Now, the job feels dubious, one that'll surely bring them to ruin. Yet if they're to go against orders, no step can be undone, and nothing can be taken back. In spare, imagistic prose, Lay Your Armor Down reduces the epic to its most elemental. It charts the course of several broken people, all outrunning danger's dark fingers, and all brought together for one last chance at redemption"--

Book Synopsis

One of NPR's Books of the Year

A "prophetic, propulsive" tale of one mysterious, messianic child with untold powers who draws three desperate souls into acts of mercy and mayhem. (Scott Blackburn)

An old woman, riddled with dementia, walks off into the woods in the middle of the night. A light in the wood draws her to a campfire with two strange, dangerous men, one young and one old, who are there plotting a crime of as-yet-indeterminate purpose. The two men have a job to do. They are hunting something precious but have only been told: you'll know it when you see it. When they arrive at the place, an abandoned church cellar in the burned-out countryside, they find an answer they never could have predicted. Now, the job feels dubious, one that'll surely bring them to ruin. Yet if they're to go against orders, no step can be undone, and nothing can be taken back.

In spare, imagistic prose, Lay Your Armor Down reduces the epic to its most elemental. It charts the course of several broken people, all outrunning danger's dark fingers, and all brought together for one last chance at redemption.

Review Quotes

"Every year there is a novel that comes out of left field and sticks with me for a long time. This year, it was Michael Farris Smith's Lay Your Armor Down. A novel that shyly dips its toes into the supernatural while anchored in crime fiction, this story of desperate men caught up in a strange situation with a child who may or may not have special powers is raw and violent. But it's also full of lyrical passages and the kind of sharp prose that has made Smith a household name."
--Gabino Iglesias, NPR.org

"[Michael Farris Smith] continues his exploration of the fluidity of right and wrong, of the constantly shifting boundary between light and dark, in this new novel...Recommended to anyone who appreciates fine writing, but especially to readers of Southern crime novelists like S. A. Cosby and James Lee Burke."--Booklist

"A prophetic, propulsive tale that is sure to leave its lasting mark on the Southern gothic cannon. Smith is at his best in these pages, his signature prose rendering a work as dark and beautiful as a summer storm. This novel is a masterclass in storytelling, with characters that are uniquely unforgettable, and an ending that's well worth the journey."--Literary Hub

"An atmospheric and spare Southern gothic of two unsavory men on a mysterious criminal odyssey and their encounter with a mystical young girl... Smith sustains a feeling of slow-burning dread, shot through with vivid bursts of biblical imagery. This bracing fever dream is worth a look."--Publishers Weekly

"As always, Smith elevates the Southern Gothic genre with rhapsodic descriptions of nature and fluid, muscular prose that defies punctuation and propels the narrative to its inevitable conclusion."--Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Smith keeps solidifying his reputation as a master of Southern fiction. His stories are haunted, lyrical and unmistakably human. 'Lay Your Armor Down' doesn't offer easy answers, but it asks the right questions. And sometimes, that's more than enough."
--Clarion Ledger

"Michael Farris Smith's stories are constructed with the kind of patience and artistry that would be used when making a patchwork quilt. Never too on the nose, his characters leave you yearning to discover what makes them tick. LAY YOUR ARMOR DOWN is the kind of 'edge of your seat' and 'can't put it down' stuff that keeps us reading instead of scrolling."--Charlie Starr, lead singer for Blackberry Smoke

"LAY YOUR ARMOR DOWN, is an exceptional exploration of the existential malaise that drives us to find our paths in a cruel and indifferent world. Not to be missed"--S.A. Cosby, bestselling author of ALL SINNERS BLEED

"Lay Your Armor Down is a prophetic, propulsive tale that is sure to leave its lasting mark on the Southern gothic cannon. Smith is at his best in these pages, his signature prose rendering a work as dark and beautiful as a summer storm. This novel is a masterclass in storytelling, with characters that are uniquely unforgettable, and an ending that's well worth the journey."--Scott Blackburn, author of IT DIES WITH YOU

"Michael Farris Smith's Lay Your Armor Down is a work of divination. The magic sticks with you long after you've read the last page. It's his best one yet."--Mark Westmoreland, author of A VIOLENT GOSPEL

"It's not a surprise that Michael Farris Smith is also the front man for a rock-n-roll bar band. His sentences stalk the stage, flamboyant and visceral and howling, the choral heights of call and response. He possesses a conductor's mastery and a lead singer's swagger, and Lay Your Armor Down demands that you pay attention."
--Wright Thompson, NYT bestselling author of THE BARN and PAPPYLAND

About the Author

Michael Farris Smith is an award-winning writer whose novels have appeared on Best of the Year lists with Esquire, NPR, Southern Living, Garden & Gun, Oprah Magazine, Book Riot, and numerous other outlets, and have been named Indie Next, Barnes & Noble Discover, and Amazon Best of the Month selections. As a screenwriter, he scripted the feature-film adaptations of his novels Desperation Road and The Fighter, titled for the screen as Rumble Through the Dark. With his band MFS & The Smokes, Smith wrote and released the record Lostville, which was produced by Grammy nominee Jimbo Mathus. He lives in Oxford, Mississippi, with his wife and daughters.