{"product_id":"this-vale-of-tears-paperback","title":"This Vale of Tears - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDaren Dean\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the author of \u003ci\u003eFar Beyond the Pale, I'll Still Be Here Long After You're Gone: Stories, \u003c\/i\u003e and\u003ci\u003e The Black Harvest: A Novel of the American Civil War, \u003c\/i\u003ecomes a story of a sprawling cast of incorrigible and sometimes violent characters, each bent on their own quest to uncover meaning and find a place in the world. In a rave review \u003ci\u003eHuffPost\u003c\/i\u003e hailed \u003ci\u003ePale\u003c\/i\u003e, \"Visceral, authentic southern language flows throughout the starkly honest prose, performing a brutal, violent dance that is all at once hard to watch, yet impossible to turn away from.\" Of \u003ci\u003eThe Black Harvest\u003c\/i\u003e, Kirkus Reviews said, \"Dean's writing also offers a striking brew of poetry and punch, combining unflinching realism with delicately woven imagery.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThis Vale of Tears \u003c\/i\u003epaints a searing picture, a clash of the gothic themes of good and evil, in the lives of rural people in the Show Me state. We follow the intertwined lives of Walker Scofield, a man who wonders where he went wrong with his children and grandchildren as his tenuous grip on reality begins to slip; Merle Scofield, Troy's father, an alcoholic, who hopes to find the strength to unite his family; Troy Scofield, haunted by the memory of his mother (a former soap star) who walked out on the family when he was a boy and is determined to confront his wife's lover; Alisha Scofield, Troy's insatiable wife tosses him aside for the arms of another man only to discover she wants him back; Glenny Scofield, a truant who steals a baby in a jar of formaldehyde from the local college museum leading to his transformation as \u003ci\u003eThe Boy of God\u003c\/i\u003e; Theron Beecher, an old man who sometimes hears the voices of the dead imploring him to care for the embattled Scofields; Ruby Phelps, a fierce matriarch determined to exact her revenge on the Scofields; Cyrus Phelps, a sometimes bail bondsman and dog breeder and the brute instrument of Ruby's retribution; Raelyn Phelps, a young woman who finds the strength to escape her family's overbearing confines and follow her heart's own song.\u003cbr\u003e When Troy and Raelyn meet, they form an instant bond that will lead them on a cross country trip through the south to New Orleans in an effort to escape the strangling family ties of the past in the dark heart of the Little Dixie. \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Daren Dean's spectacular, distinct writing in \u003ci\u003eThis Vale of Tears\u003c\/i\u003e brings us into the vivid and memorable worlds of the Scofield and Phelps families. This is a beautiful and affecting novel, and Daren Dean is a unique and powerful storyteller of the American South.\"\u003cbr\u003e-Karen Bender, National Book Award Finalist and author of \u003ci\u003eRefund\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLike Normal People\u003c\/i\u003e, T\u003ci\u003ehe New Order\u003c\/i\u003e, and others\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Dean introduces us to an ensemble of unforgettable characters who hunger for love and vengeance and whose lives are haunted by the places their hearts and guts land them in. From the opening scene, Dean grabs us by the lapels and won't let go. In language that shines with lyricism, grit, and wit, he makes us know the Scofields and Phelpses and feel their hard and troubled lives.\"\u003cbr\u003e-Randolph Thomas, author of \u003ci\u003eDispensations\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"The sentences in Daren Dean's \u003ci\u003eThis Vale of Tears\u003c\/i\u003e bury themselves under your nails and tangle your hair like a dirty southern breeze. If you're reading this blurb, you're wasting valuable time. Daren Dean is a compelling new voice in American fiction.\"\u003cbr\u003e-Chris Tusa, author of \u003ci\u003eDirty Little Angels\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003ci\u003e In the City of Falling Stars\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 384\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.85 x 8.5 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 19, 2021\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52548620484915,"sku":"9798487371959","price":29.93,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/Z2J4cDZmTkVVNWhTY1RKOSttZ0lzdz09.webp?v=1761040721","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/en-ca\/products\/this-vale-of-tears-paperback","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}