Fire in the Canyon
A Novel
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
A New Yorker Best Book of 2023
A new novel from National Book Award nominee Daniel Gumbiner about a California grape-grower, his family, and the climate disaster that upends their quiet lives.
Since his release from prison after serving an eighteen-month sentence for growing cannabis, Ben Hecht’s life has settled into a familiar routine. On his farm in the foothills of California, he stays busy cultivating a dozen acres of grapes and tending to a flock of mistrustful sheep. Meanwhile, from her desk in their old redwood barn, his novelist wife, Ada, continues to work on what may be her most important book yet. When their only son, Yoel, comes home from Los Angeles for a rare visit, Ben is forced to confront their long troubled relationship, which has continued to degrade in recent years. But before the two of them can truly address their past, a wildfire sweeps through the region, forcing the Hecht family to flee to the coast, and setting into motion a chain of events that will transform them all.
This is a story about grape growing and wine, financial and familial struggles, and the peculiar characters and unlikely heroes one will always find in small-town California. Through the experiences of the Hechts and the escalating challenges that face their community, Fire in the Canyon is an intimate look at the lives of those already living through the climate crisis.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gumbiner's suspenseful sophomore novel (after The Boatbuilder) follows the struggles of a California grape-grower and his family during the fire season that shatters their quiet lives. As summer hits, Benjamin Hecht, 65, becomes concerned over the dry conditions on the family's farm in the foothills near the small town of Natoma. Things are tight for Ben, who usually sells grapes to two wineries, and his wife, Ada, a writer, but after she finishes her next book, they plan to pay off the loan on their property. Ben has a strained relationship with his son, Yoel, in part because a decade earlier, Ben served 18 months in prison for growing marijuana. One day, smoke inundates the hills and an evacuation order forces the family to flee. Later, they return to find their farm mostly spared but their outbuildings burnt, along with Ada's manuscript, which she mistakenly left behind. They worry they'll have to sell the farm, but Ben decides to partner with a young winemaker, and they push to harvest the grapes. Gumbiner skillfully builds tension as the Hecht family's hard work in the vineyards plays out, pulling them together, even as they ignore the red-flag fire warnings and face the uncertainty of whether the wine produced will be potentially ruined by smoke taint. Readers will be riveted.
