In the Center of the Nation: A Novel

In the Center of the Nation: A Novel

When a mining company discovers gold near the Badlands, South Dakota bank president Larry Sorenson moves to secure ownership of four cattle ranches that control access to the gold, beginning a feud between ranchers and developers Ranching is not an easy occupation, and the land has exacted a heavy toll on four neighbors trying to eke out a living on a harsh South Dakota bench overlooking the Bad Lands. Each has made the sacrifices necessary to achieve the sense of place that becomes O'Brien's central theme. When a mining company targets the area for exploration and excavation, and the local bank quietly begins trying to acquire the land, the full passion of the ranchers is unleashed. O'Brien ( Rites of Autumn; The Spirit of the Hills, LJ 3/15/88) has created an eloquent novel of the modern American cowboy, analyzing his staunch commitment to the land, his unfailing loyalty to family and friends, his dedication to work, his great congeniality, and his fierce defense when any or all are threatened. A stellar performance. Watch out, Larry McMurtry. Stiff competition lurks just over the northern rise. - Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. at Carbondale Lib. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. Second-novelist O'Brien (The Spirit of the Hills, 1988) offers a high plains melodrama in which finely seen landscape--plus the interaction of character with place--more than makes up for some programmatic plotting. Larry Sorensen, bank president in Harney, South Dakota, is approached by a mining company that discovers gold near the Badlands. Sorensen moves to buy up the four ranches--one owned by Cleve Miller, who, repulsed by the modern, greedy world, has developed a conspiracy theory involving Zionism. The story then fills us in on the lives of the other three ranchers: Ross Brady, in his mid-30s, who deserted the Vietnam-era Army and came to South Dakota for ``the bigness, the stark beauty,'' even though his Jewish wife Linda left him for California. (Brother-in-law Stewart, however, the wild card in the deck, is still around.) Elizabeth Janis, of Dakota lineage, has inherited another ranch from its former owner, now paralyzed; she and Stewart get it on, and Stewart raises Cleve's ire by paying off Janis's mortgage. Tuffy Martinez, the fourth rancher, leases out his land and spends most of his time drunk. Author O'Brien treats us to nicely textured instances of brandings, blizzards, and ranching ups and downs before letting Cleve finish off the plot. Cleve watches Tippy die after an accident, then beats up Stewart and kidnaps him. Sorensen grapples with Cleve, who shoots him, whereupon Ross blows Cleve away. For the most part, then, things work out for the best, with the land being the novel's real protagonist. O'Brien once again goes for the jugular with too much violence, but his love of the land, along with his intimate knowledge of it, makes for a book that belongs on the shelf of every fan of serious western literature. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.