Small Animals Caught in Traps - by C B Bernard (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

For readers of Kristin Hannah's The Great Alone and David Vann's Legend of a Suicide, C. B. Bernard's debut novel shows a father and a daughter fighting toward hope through a traumatic past.

In the town of Disappointment, Oregon, washed-up boxer Lewis Yaw makes ends meet as a fishing guide. He's lived a life of violence, but doesn't understand real strength until he meets Janey, who can see good in even the most damaged things--including him. When she gives birth to their daughter, Grayling, Lewis worries that he'll mess her up as badly as his father did him. But he also sees a chance to right the wrongs of the past.

By high school, Gray has become his apprentice guide, his sparring partner, and his pride and joy. Life in their small town is nothing short of challenging--there's a marauding bear roaming the streets, a rival guide trying to kill Lewis, and a poacher littering deer carcasses along the river--but he is closer to happiness than he ever thought possible. When tragedy strikes, Lewis can't break free of his past, leaving Gray to fight to save the only thing she has left: her family.

Review Quotes

"An absolutely gorgeous book about the beauty and terror of bonds, both with the natural world and with our families. As a tortured dad tries to outrun his past and keep it from being a legacy for his adored daughter, she struggles to find her own path, even as tragedy looms. Yes, it's a story about loss, but at its rare beating heart, it's about what really matters: love. And I loved this book."

-- "Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of With or Without You"

"As powerful as a sudden summer storm, Small Animals Caught in Traps sweeps you up with rich, heartbreaking details. Bernard has crafted a world that blurs the line between civilization and wilderness, with a protagonist struggling to find his way between them while mastering his own grim past. With a gritty roster of characters and an unforgettable sense of place, this is a book to savor."

-- "Liz Michalski, author of Evenfall and Darling Girl"

"Bernard paints a haunting picture of an American West where wildness is the last commodity...Small Animals Caught in Traps is a heartbreaker of a domestic novel. In any case, I won't forget it."

-- "Justin Tussing, Oregon Book Award-winning author of The Best People in the World"

"Draws you in and holds you tight through an emotional and educational journey across the wilderness of the wild soul."

-- "Tim Tigner, bestselling author of The Price of Time"

"Reminiscent of Ken Kesey's Sometimes a Great Notion, this novel gives you love and heartache, disappointment and joy in equal measure. Bernard creates a small-town world that sucks you right in. This novel is full of grit and fishermen, broken towns and real animals, a wonderful read to go along with coffee or whiskey, or whiskey in coffee."

-- "Pedro Hoffmeister, author of American Afterlife"

"With precision-tuned character strokes, pitch-perfect dialogue, and devastating plot developments, Bernard transforms these scruffy individuals into the flawed heroes of their own lives. This is a novel of consequence."

-- "Coast Weekend"