In this debut novel, a ghostwriter of the memoirs of a reclusive folk music icon-part Woody Guthrie, part Bob Dylan-attempts to glean fact from fiction, only to discover the deeper he digs into the musician's past, the more his own past rises to the surface
W. B. Belcher grew up in western Massachusetts and earned his MFA from Goddard College. He lives along the Battenkill River in upstate New York with his wife and two children. Lay Down Your Weary Tune is his first novel.
"An examination of art, fame, and authenticity." --The Boston Globe
"[A] richly textured novel about folk music...Belcher brings the
folk music scene to life, but best of all is his ability to craft a
cast of memorable characters." --Publisher's Weekly
"Appealing...Mingling elements from both literature and the blues,
Belcher has crafted a memorable tale about how the masks and myths
we create can become prisons that ultimately disconnect us from
ourselves." --Library Journal
"This story will pluck countless heartstrings." --Booklist
"Belcher's book [is] wonderfully engrossing and rewarding
reading...In the near-final reckoning of Eli Page, Belcher finds
and reveals something well beyond validating
grief-on-a-gilded-chair rock star self-pity...Until I read [this],
rock critic Lester Bangs's pithy line 'Dylan faked his whole
career' seemed both accurate and insightful, and an odd sort of
compliment from a writer who clearly recognized how real the impact
of Dylan's songs has been on his fans, however fake the shifting
personas of the man who sang them. But Bangs never made me wonder
what remains, 50 years later, of the person who preceded the
personas. W.B. Belcher did." --PASTE
"W. B. Belcher's first novel Lay Down Your Weary Tune is the kind
of book you start reading and don't put down until you reach the
last page. His writing style rings clear; it is lyrical, but at the
same time confrontational...Belcher's command of the language, his
selection and use of words, and his ability to paint clear pictures
of the people and locations make this story worth reading. But his
taking his writing one step further and probing into the soul of
his main character is the real attraction...This is definitely a
page-turner and one that belongs on every reader's library
shelf."--The New York Journal of Books
"W.B. Belcher's debut novel evokes the legend and timelessness of a
true folk song. In the town of Galesville he weaves together a
carefully crafted, mysterious, and epic world of characters whose
stories will keep you guessing until the very end. A folkloric
treasure trove and a great read." --Jocelyn Arem, author of Caffe
Lena: Inside America's Legendary Folk Music Coffeehouse "A
heartening, timeless, and stirring song for the 'perfectly broken.'
Beautifully thrownback. Openhanded. True. W.B. Belcher is my kind
of writer." --Matthew Quick, New York Times bestselling author of
The Silver Linings Playbook and Love May Fail "As beautiful and
artfully constructed as an old guitar, Lay Down Your Weary Tune
feels both familiar and wholly original. William Belcher's debut is
a highly readable wonder." --James Scott, author of The Kept "Like
Russell Banks and Richard Russo, W.B. Belcher's warm, lyrical prose
brings to life the upstate New York I know and love so well, and
even more, he does it with the clarity, compassion, and humor of a
master storyteller. A terrific debut novel." --Chris Millis,
author, screenwriter, and executive producer of Small Apartments
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
