by Ken Kesey
First published 1977
The Stamper family of Oregon logging country refuses to join a regional strike, setting themselves against both their community and the punishing wilderness. Hank Stamper, a one-armed logger with a ferocious independent streak, leads his clan's stubborn resistance. His half-brother Lee returns home after years away, bringing complicated family tensions and a potential betrayal. As the strike escalates and the Stampers continue harvesting timber, they face mounting external pressures and internal psychological warfare. Floods, familial resentments, and regional hostility threaten to tear apart their precarious existence. This is a story of survival against impossible odds, where individual will battles against collective force.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Oregon
Period: 20th-century
628 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books
Content warnings: violence