In the Country of the Blind

A NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR'S CHOICE

Sixty years after the publication of his first novel, Cat Man, Edward Hogland is publishing his twenty-fifth book at the age of eighty-three. This capstone novel, set in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, introduces Press, a stockbroker going blind. Press has lost his job and his wife and is trying to figure out his next move, holed up in his Vermont cabin surrounded by a hippy commune, drug runners, farmers-gone-bust, blood-thirsty auctioneers, and general ne’er-do-wells. Solace and purpose come from the unlikeliest sources as he learns to navigate his new landscape without sight. Hoagland, himself, is going blind, and through this evocative, unsentimental novel, we experience the world closing in around Press, the rising panic of uncertainty, the isolation of exile, the increasing dependence upon the kindness of strangers, and a whole new appreciation of the world just beyond sight.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Edward Hoagland has written more than two dozen books in sixty years, including the novel Children are Diamonds (Arcade), and his recent short story collection Devil’s Tub (Arcade). He worked in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus while attending Harvard, and he later traveled the world from Yemen to Antarctica to Assam, writing for national magazines. He has received numerous literary awards and taught at ten colleges and universities. A native New Yorker, he divides his time between Martha’s Vineyard and a farmhouse in the mountains of northern Vermont. (Barton, VT).

Praise for In the Country of the Blind :

“Edward Hoagland’s quiet, emotionally complex novel . . . not to mention his creator’s searching and abundant writings over a 60-year career, [is] well worth the ride.”--The New York Times Book Review

"Does anyone write better than Edward Hoagland? I doubt it, and this is one of his best novels--taut, tender, and true." --Phillip Lopate

"His twenty-fifth and best book to date...More than any writer since Thoreau, Edward Hoagland has spent a lifetime celebrating the world we live in for all its tattered glory, and our own." -- Burlington Free Press

“Touching but unsentimental, the narrative evokes the whole of a man with the gentle, thoughtful, and precise words that epitomize Hoagland’s writing. Fine reading and essential for fans of the author’s oeuvre.” --Library Journal

"A treasure on multiple levels, the novel leads us into its protagonist's sensory world with such ease, intimacy, and humor the 83-year-old Hoagland—who is going blind himself—seems to be in our thoughts as much as we are in his. Taking leave of Press is no easy task.The incomparable Hoagland's 25th book is not only one of the most rewarding novels of the year, it's also one of the sexiest." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“Exquisite . . . a masterful work” -- Booklist


Praise for Devil's Tub :

"Edward Hoagland’s collected stories are dazzling. The characters are sometimes in the spotlight (not always; sometimes the light is very dim, indeed): fancy cowboys and competitive motorcycle racers – that light a harsh one, except for the modulations, the perfect pitch, the empathy and real-world-awareness the writer puts on display. I’m not the most likely audience for stories about fighters and men on the run from bears, but you know what? The writer cornered me and dragged me into this glorious, furious, believable, yet incredible mess. I’m on the sidelines, totally involved, eating my heart out with admiration. Every story has its own intrinsic logic, every conclusion its understated and elegant power punch. Read this book, please." --Ann Beattie



Praise for Children Are Diamonds:

“The ferocious lucidity of Hoagland’s language and the depth of his characters as they navigate political complexity, hellish violence, endless fear, persistent desire, and desperate calculations of survival make for a shattering tale of epic suffering, bitter irony, and miraculous flashes of beauty.”—Booklist

“A gritty cinematic story wrapped in brilliant African detail, mesmerizing, from the unforgettable opening scene, on to the end. Quite simply, a masterpiece.”—Garrison Keillor

“Edward Hoagland has long been both a resolute explorer and a preternaturally versatile writer. He’s written more nonfiction than fiction, but what he brings to this terrifying novel—I mean, in addition to his humane vision and exquisite craft—is everything he has learned (as Graham Greene learned) from the world. The range and depth of Hoagland’s travel books, and of his many remarkable essays, are on display in this novel set in Africa, where killing and sexual brutality are juxtaposed with humanitarian care. Hoagland’s aid workers are damaged souls, but they haven’t quit. In a world of unbearable inhumanity, what comes across in this intrepid novel is the power of doing the right thing—even, or especially, in a moral outback.”—John Irving

“Children Are Diamonds is the latest addition to a remarkable collection of books about the war in southern Sudan that evokes the time and place with haunting imagery. Hoagland aptly captures the lives of Western do-gooders and opportunists lured by the adrenaline rush of Africa, evoking the closeness, and the randomness, of death in a war zone.”—New York Times

Praise for Edward Hoagland:
“Hoagland is our wild world’s literary virtuoso.” —Annie Proulx

“One of the very best writers of his generation.” —Saul Bellow