Scavengers - by Kathleen Boland (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A cautious daughter and her eccentric, estranged mother set off into the Wild West in search of buried treasure - and a way back to each other - before they run out of patience, money, and options. Junior commodities analyst Bea Macon prizes security and control over adventure - especially after being raised by free spirit Christy, who has recently been living in Utah on Bea's dime. But when Bea is fired from her job after taking an uncharacteristic risk that backfires spectacularly, she books a one-way flight to Salt Lake City, where she plans to lay low and regroup before returning to Wall Street. Though she's not about to tell Christy exactly what happened back east, Bea quickly realizes that she isn't the only one keeping secrets: Christy has a man. She has a map. She has . . . a username on a forum devoted to unearthing $1 million in buried treasure that an eccentric antiquities dealer claims to have hidden somewhere in the western U.S.? Bea is convinced this is just another one of her mother's wild larks, an elaborate way to refuse, as she has for Bea's entire life, to finally grow up. But Christy believes she's onto something - and she's not the only one. When Bea realizes Christy is planning to rendezvous in a rural town called Mercy with the man she's been obsessively trading theories with online, she refuses to let her go alone. Out in the desert that one woman believes to be a promised land, the other a wasteland, they find themselves barreling toward a more high-stakes, transformative escapade than either of them could have imagined. Populated with unforgettable characters and set against one of the world's most oddly enrapturing landscapes, Scavengers is a funny and heartbreaking novel about old injuries, new beginnings, and the lengths to which we'll go to find, escape, and reinvent ourselves"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

"Wholly original and truly surprising, Scavengers is an ode to revisitation and reinvention, proving that changing your views of other people is the only way to change yourself. This is a desert rose of a debut."
--Courtney Maum, author of Touch and Costalegre

Hacks meets Rebecca Makkai in this rollicking novel about a cautious daughter and her eccentric, estranged mother venturing west in search of buried treasure--and a way back to each other--before they run out of patience, money, and options

After being fired for taking an uncharacteristic risk at her commodities trading job, Bea Macon sublets her New York apartment and books a one-way ticket to stay with her mother, Christy, a free spirit who has been living in Salt Lake City on Bea's dime.

Usually the responsible one, Bea isn't about to admit exactly why she's suddenly decided to visit, but she isn't the only one keeping secrets: Christy has a man. She has a map. She has . . . a username on a forum devoted to unearthing $1 million in buried treasure that an antiquities dealer claims to have hidden somewhere in the western U.S.?

Bea is convinced this is just another one of her mother's wild larks, an elaborate way to refuse, as she has for Bea's entire life, to finally grow up. But Christy believes she's onto something--and she's arranged a rendezvous in a rural town called Mercy with the guy she's been obsessively trading theories with online to prove it. Out in the desert that one woman believes to be a promised land, the other a wasteland, they find themselves barreling toward a more high-stakes, transformative escapade than either of them could have imagined.

Populated with unforgettable characters and set against one of the world's most oddly enrapturing landscapes, Scavengers is a funny and heartbreaking novel about old injuries, new beginnings, and the lengths to which we'll go to find, escape, and reinvent ourselves.

Review Quotes

Advance Praise for Scavengers:

"Wholly original and truly surprising, Scavengers is an ode to revisitation and reinvention, proving that changing your views of other people is the only way to change yourself. This is a desert rose of a debut."
--Courtney Maum, author of Touch and Costalegre

"Scavengers is the moving, madcap mother-daughter adventure I never knew I always wanted, snuggling a deft character study and deep understanding of family dynamics inside an unexpected treasure hunt. From her gorgeous settings to her tender skewering of human foibles, Boland's wonderful novel had me spellbound--laughing, worrying, and wondering until its surprising and beautiful end."
--Lydia Kiesling, author of Mobility

"Smart, electrifying, and utterly consuming, Scavengers crackles with humor and heartbreak. Kathleen Boland's masterful debut novel explores the exhilarating, devastating lengths we'll go to escape and reinvent ourselves. These desperate characters are boldly and fearlessly written, marking Boland as an original and exciting new voice in American fiction."
--Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman and Godshot

About the Author

Kathleen Boland's fiction has appeared in Tin House, Conjunctions, Gulf Coast, and elsewhere, and she has received support from the Tin House Summer Workshop, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and the Vermont Studio Center. The former event director for Catapult/Counterpoint Press/Soft Skull Press, she earned her MFA from Louisiana State University, where she received the Robert Penn Warren Thesis Award.