Cold Storage, Alaska
John Straley
ISBN: 9781616953065
Published: February, 2014
Pricing
Hardcover $26.95
Paperback $15.95
More books by John Straley
Description
Reformed with the dream of opening a bar-slash-church, Clive “The Milkman” McCahon returns to his Alaska hometown of Cold Storage after a 7-year jail stint for dealing coke. He has a lot to make up to his brother, Miles, who has dutifully been taking care of their ailing mother—and, really, all of Cold Storage.
Miles is a Physic...
Reformed with the dream of opening a bar-slash-church, Clive “The Milkman” McCahon returns to his Alaska hometown of Cold Storage after a 7-year jail stint for dealing coke. He has a lot to make up to his brother, Miles, who has dutifully been taking care of their ailing mother—and, really, all of Cold Storage.
Miles is a Physician’s Assistant and the closest thing to a doctor this side of Sitka.
But Clive doesn’t realize the trouble he’s bringing home. His vengeful former business partner is hot on his heels, a stick-in-the-mud State Trooper is dying to bust him for narcotics, and, to complicate everything, Clive might be going a little insane—lately, he’s been hearing animals talking to him.
Will Clive’s arrival breathe new life into the dying town and its hard-drinking, no-nonsense inhabitants? Or will the trouble he brings along be the last nail in Cold Storage’s coffin?
Media
“Lesser writers look to their characters’ poor choices and attempts to rectify them, John Straley loves his characters for just those choices. Hölderlin wrote: “Poetically man dwells on the earth.” Some of us wind up in limericks, some in heroic couplets. But damned near every one of us, sooner or later, ends up in one of Straley’s wise, wayward, wonderfully unhinged novels.”
–James Sallis, author of Drive, on John Straley's Cold Storage, Alaska
“Chandler, Ross Macdonald, James Crumley... Straley proves once again that he is up there with the great ones… His prose is as smooth as a well-tuned cello. He has tremendous feeling for the setting: not only the open waters and frosted countryside outside of Sitka and Juneau, but also the somewhat seedy streets of these cities. ”
—Chicago Tribune
“Superior thriller writing, once again by Straley—an excellent plot against Alaska's gigantic and bizarre backdrop.”
—Janwillem van de Wetering
“Straley's beautifully understated narrative, vivid sense of place and unapologetic, unadorned characters make this a riveting, unpredictable ride. ”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“John Straley’s Cold Storage, Alaska is a snapshot of the USA, with its faults and struggling possibilities. Comic, engrossing, exotic yet familiar, it’s precise to the place and its feel, keen on character and foible, full of lore and history, and rich in little off-to the-side sightings of trees, winds, waves, birds and mammals… Over the top good.”
–Gary Snyder, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Turtle Island
“The cast of eccentric characters, the sharp, witty dialogue, and the chaotic, frenzied pace of the narrative would do Preston Sturges proud… Those who like their crime with a healthy side of humor could hardly do better… Quirky, funny and compulsively readable. ”
—Kirkus
“Like the Coen brothers on literary speed, John Straley is among the very best stylists of his generation. Cold Storage, Alaska is truly stunning, poetic, and smart.”
—Ken Bruen, Shamus Award winning author of The Guard
“What a warm, engaging, profoundly human book this is: its skin crackling, its heart enormous and open. It's a mystery with judicious blasts of violence and dread, but it opens also onto the bigger mysteries—of community, of family, of place. The several lives that intertwine throughout the story reach moments of quiet grace that resonate stealthily but deeply.”
—John Darnielle, The Mountain Goats
“Straley strikes the perfect balance of humor and pathos in this story about the McCahon brothers.”
—New York Times Book Review
“Straley isn’t prolific, but when he does publish a book it’s a gem... The crime aspect of Cold Storage, Alaska is pretty casual. Straley’s mostly interested in his characters and how they interact on a personal level.... It’s always a pleasure to read Straley’s vivid studies of these folksthe slightly cracked, rugged and very funny characters of the Far North.”
—Seattle Times on Cold Storage, Alaska
“Straley reveals his characters with unflinching pride and doesn’t mock or belittle their unique take on life… His description of the human condition as played out by his band of characters ranges from pathetic to amazingly humorous… A joy to read.”
—The Durango Herald on Cold Storage, Alaska
“An in-depth look at small-town life… If you think winter in St. Louis is uncomfortable, try winter in Cold Storage, Alaska.”
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“A story of a town with nothing much to offer but rain, salmon fishing, drink and gossip—but that's plenty for Straley to work with. Cold Storage may be "a town that gloried in [its] bad habits ... clinging to the side of the mountains with no roads, no cars, and virtually no sense of the outer world," but in Straley's hands, it is rich in character, music, humor and compassion.”
—Shelf Awareness on Cold Storage, Alaska
“Poetic ... like so many exceptional works in this genre, Cold Storage, Alaska shows that extreme circumstances can occasionally force people to be stronger and more resilient than they thought possible. Straley accomplishes all of this with a bare minimum of violence and not a serial killer in sight. ”
—J. Kingston Pierce, Kirkus Reviews blog
“A loving, evocative portrait of an Alaskan community full of characters whose various schemes and dreams provide plenty of forward momentum.”
–Reviewing the Evidence
“Kind, smart and deeply moving… ‘Cold Storage, Alaska’ is certainly a wild mystery in the vein of Elmore Leonard's ‘Get Shorty’ years or all of Carl Hiaasen, it is just as much an homage to small towns and the people who fill them. What elevates Straley above so much of the competition is how very much he cares about the people and places he writes about. ”
–Alaska Dispatch
“Surprisingly moving ... Straley’s lean prose and snappy dialogue—not to mention the book’s few scenes of swift, hard-boiled violence—will likely remind many readers of Elmore Leonard’s classic crime novels.”
—Richmond Times-Dispatch on Cold Storage, Alaska
“[Cold Storage, Alaska] is part crime story, part screwball comedy, peopled with characters you long to spend more time with.”
—Daily Mail(UK)
“Thoroughly enjoyable and slightly wacko…. Dashes of magical realism mixed with ironic humor reminiscent of the Coen brothers and violence worthy of Quentin Tarantino make this second series novel a winner. Compelling characters and deft treatment of themes like redemption and the power of community take it to a level beyond.”
—The Boston Globe on Cold Storage, Alaska
“Speaking of literary miracles, read John Straley's new novel ‘Cold Storage, Alaska.’ It is so good. A comedy, a love story, a true-to-life small-town Alaska tale, plus there's a great dog in it. I loved it. I wish I wrote that book. ”