One Eyed Jacks by Author Bob Cherry

One Eyed Jacks

720 page, hardcover
ISBN 978-0-615-26684-8

Awards:

Western Writers of America Spur Awards • 2010 Second Place Finalist in the Long Novel Category

A riveting novel that spans four decades in the lives of a group of raucous Texans in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Charismatic Phineas Farrow enters the dreary lives of Marvin G. Crush and the wealthy local widow, Stella Villard. Marvin has long felt a deep but unrequited love for Stella, but unknown to Marvin, she now seems to be drawn to Phineas instead. The three finally agree to join in an outrageous scheme to bring wealth to their dying little railroad community in far West Texas. But because of deception, and utter failure, some of the characters are propelled beyond the community into a wilderness which tests their mettle, in a struggle for survival itself.

Words of Praise:

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"Portrayed with biting wit reminiscent of McMurtry’s rich sagas, Cherry’s false-tongued, double-minded characters flee the catastrophic consequences of an attempt to transform their bleak existence... like One Eyed Jacks, with faces half-hidden, their own unknowable dark sides draw them into deadly gambles with the cruel environment… Cherry’s brilliant knowing dialogue teases the reader along in a journey into the unfathomable human heart and the universal mystery of the hidden side of a One Eyed Jack."
—Charlotte Hinger, author Come Spring

"With broad strokes, One Eyed Jacks presents a cast of Texas characters with big dreams for making the system work for them. Whether failed by ambition, ideals, or the heart itself, they are forced to travel even more deeply into the West in a desperate attempt to reinvent themselves."
—Mary Ann Barnett, author The Invisible Girl Dresses Herself