Rilla Askew crafts a mythic cycle of novels and stories set in her native Oklahoma, unsettling conventional views of the American West's settling. Her work delves into the complex history of the region, often exploring themes of racial unrest, immigration, and collective responsibility. Askew's prose is characterized as Faulknerian—disciplined, luxuriant, and muscular—forging a chronicle that is both elemental and humane. She compels readers to confront the entirety of our past, arguing that only by owning this truth can the divisions that separate us begin to heal.
Eine Kain-und-Abel-Geschichte im Amerika des 19. Jahrhunderts: Die Brüder John und Lafayette Lodi, vom Wesen grundverschieden, müssen über Nacht mit ihren Familien westwärts fliehen. Der wie ein Geschwür wachsende Zwist der Brüder eskaliert