NEW! Challenger Park     The Gates of the Alamo      A Natural State     Water and Light     Comanche Midnight     Aransas     Jacob's Well

 

 

Challenger Park

 

Peyton Place in space? A little. But while scandal is afoot in Challenger Park, life is mostly as complicated as it is everywhere else. The moral: There are things worth fighting for and people worth loving.

Lucy Kincheloe is not happy. She's a brilliant young woman who's made the slate as an astronaut and will soon be bound for the outer limits: "She had not yet flown in space, but she lived, had always lived, for the day when her rational, achieving mind would earn her a mystical departure from the earth." Yet she has two young children, one ill; her days are spent shuttling the kids to school and practice, while her husband, a fellow astronaut who's in space as her story begins, might as well be living on Pluto, so withdrawn has he become. What's a space cadet to do? Well, Harrigan (Gates of the Alamo, 2000) posits, an affair might be nice, and so Lucy finds comfort in the arms of mission-control jock Walt Womack, who's been steadily sliding into geezerdom, eating twice a week at Luby's and having less and less contact with his fellow humans. Walt and Lucy are Mars and Venus; they come to love each other, but their romance is doomed. Too bad, too, for they're the most decent people in all of Houston, save, perhaps, for Harrigan's perfectly realized vision of the up-to-date priest who is given to pondering what might have happened to the world had Leslie Nielsen played the part of Messala in Ben-Hur. Everything about the book is decent, too, though its pacing sometimes suggests the slo-mo pinwheeling-space-station longueurs of 2001.

Lacks the manic, macho intensity of other astronaut tales (think Space Cowboys or The Right Stuff), giving it a comparatively staid -- but much more mature -- feel.     Kirkus Reviews

 

The Gates of the Alamo

 

The New York Times Book Review, Robert Houston
A time and a place, a vanished world in which gallant death and honor still held tangible appeal, while merciless slaughter was more likely the rule, are evoked with great skill.

 

A full-dress fictionalization of the historic siege remembered as the Texas holy of holies, from the veteran Texas Monthly contributor and novelist (Jacob's Well,1984, etc.). Harrigan's obviously fully researched reconstruction of the events of 1836, when a band of Texians determined to free their territory from Mexican control succumbed after a 13-day ordeal to the much larger Mexican Army, skillfully mingles together well-known historical figures with vividly realized fictional characters. Prominent among the latter are Terrell Mott, a 91-year-old survivor honored at ceremonies marking the siege's 75th anniversary in 1911, in the novel's moving prologue and epilogue; Terrell's mother, widowed Mary Mott, who courageously enters the very epicenter of the struggle, to be reconciled, and, if necessary, die with her loved ones; and Edmund McGowan, an itinerant botanist (hoping to complete his authoritative Flora Texana) for whom the Texas war of liberation becomes a transformative challenge to his lifelong suppression of his emotions and belief ``in the governing majesty of the mind. Hot-blooded William Travis, infamous ``knife-fighter'' Jim Bowie, Congressman David Crockett from Tennessee, and their supposed confederate Sam Houston (whose troops arrive too late to avert the slaughter) are all memorably delineated, as are Mexico's ``Presidente'' General Santa Anna and two of his officers (both fictional) who grow to both maturity and disillusionment during the long campaign. Harrigan builds slowly and surely toward the storys inevitable, impressive climax, examining in thrilling detail his several protagonists' quests for both freedom and fulfillment, foreshadowing deftly (for example, in a startling description of a tame parrot being swept up into the sky by a marauding hawk), and making us care deeply about the buttoned-up, self-despising Edmund and the heroic, very human woman who he knows in his heart is part of him. An original work of high distinction indeed: as fine a historical novel as any within recent memory, and far and away Harrigan's best book yet. (First printing of 100,000; Book-of-the-Month Club alternate selection/Quality Paperback Book Club selection) — Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

 

The first great novel of the 21st century.... This is storytelling at its finest.— Fort Worth Star-Telegram

 

A picturesque historical saga comparable to Lonesome Dove and The Killer Angels...a new masterpiece in the literature of fact.— Christian Science Monitor

 

"Following the examples of novelists like Cormac McCarthy and Larry McMurtry . . . a genuinely moving epic and, paradoxically, yet another unforgettable Alamo."— Newsweek

 

"Riveting . . . The strength of Harrigan's extraordinarily authentic novel is in its superior storytelling." — The Washington Post

 

"In a large, lush book [Harrigan] eloquently and dramatically recasts the myth that was born on March 6th 1836. . . . [His] gift to us is an artful, intelligent novel that makes the hard work of memory terrifically worthwhile." — Boston Globe

 

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A Natural State

 

“The personal essay at its best.  What Edward Abbey did for the desert Southwest and what E.B. White did for Maine, Harrigan has done for Texas; quite simply, he is just as good.”—The Houston Chronicle

 

“Harrigan defty weaves fact, historical perspective, and personal experience into a tightly interlaced evocative fabric.. . By the end of the book, he brings the vast Texas landscape within grasp of even the most skeptical reader.” —The Denver Post

 

“A very personal view of the vast yet diverse nature of the Texas landscape.  Harrigan’s observations are not those of an academically trained naturalist but rather the fresh outlook of a city-bred tourist rejoicing in the exhilaration of discovery.” —Booklist

 

“Though several of the essays display a strong ecological bent, the author is never shrill.  He is an accomplished prose stylist who combines accurate research with an unerring eye for detail. Highly recommended.” —Science

 

“With remarkable perceptiveness and genuineness Harrigan’s book gives us a close look at one man’s multi-faceted relationship with his environment.  A Natural State is an honest and sensitive work marked by a heartfelt and often lyrical voice.”—Austin American Statesman

 

“The quality that puts Harrigan into the league with the best nature writers. . . lies in his “search for those vibrant moments in which which one can believe that one’s existence belongs authentically to the world of nature.”  Always on the prowl for what he terms “power centers,” Harrigan sometimes uncovers these “vibrant moments,” sometimes not, but his prose remains steady in either case as he leads the willing reader along the path of his quest.” —New Orleans Times Picayune

 

“Harrigan tests the validity of [his] love of place in a series of essays about the Texas that does not appear on the television show “Dallas” or in the pages of the Neiman-Marcus catalogue.  And he finds a place of remarkable natural variety and peculiar beauty.  A place worth loving.  He explores the desert, which is to be expected.  And the zoo, which is not.  In what is perhaps the best essay in a consistently deft book, he spends a day along the surf line of a Gulf Coast beach.  His descriptions of the mix of life there. . . recall the best of Rachel Carson’s forgotten books about the sea. . . If this book is Harrigan’s search for what there is to love about Texas, then he succeeds in convincing not just himself but the skeptical reader as well.”—Outside

 

“While ‘luminous’ is not a word that you would think of in connection with the Lone Star State, that’s what these pieces are. . . They are filled with poetry, wit, and delightfully offbeat observations.”—San Diego Tribune

 

“A Natural State is a welcome addition to the same shelf which contains the works of Texas authors like John Graves and Roy Bedichek.“—San Antonio Light

 

“A Natural State refers to Harrigan’s native state of Texas, and to his peculiar feeling for its often inhospitable terrain.  . . The dispassionate rhythm of the natural order reverberates in these pieces.  It does so with a beguiling modesty.  For a literary man, Harrigan writes with an almost scientific precision.“ —The Raleigh News & Observer

 

“Nothing short of magnificent. . . Harrigan’s clean, crisp prose draws the reader into a crystalline world of detail that is centered in Texas but encompasses the universe.” —Small Press

 

“His observations are always striking and thought-provoking, with the same quality of the essays of John Graves or Larry McMurtry’s ‘In a Narrow Grave’--they grip the reader, they practically demand a second reading and they age very well.  Whether describing a turkey buzzard or a sunrise, Harrigan is painstaking and thorough, and we learn something new and valuable.”—Judyth Rigler

 

“A delightful collection of gracefully written essays.  Harrigan gives us a compassionate sense of a wild and natural Texas that is not always seen or understood.” —The Houston Post

 

“Like our best nature writers, he tells us not only what’s out there, but connects it to our everyday lives.  . . A Natural State is recommended reading not just for Texans but for all who would explore their connections to the natural world.” —The Washington Post

 

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"Mr. Harrigan's voice is light, steady and honest. . . The reader emerges from the book feeling more graceful and fluid--diver-like--and enriched by both passion and knowledge.  Mr. Harrigan cares for the reader as much as he does the coral reefs. Water and Light takes the reader on a quiet, lonely, fulfilling journey."—Rick Bass, The Dallas Morning News

 

"Harrigan. . . captures the peacefulness of being rocked by salty currents, the massive beauty of the reefs, the exhilaration of the sport, and the mental scramble to retain fast-fading memories of sights almost unimaginable on land. Fellow divers will relish his camaraderie, while those who prefer staying topside will feel as though they've taken the plunge themselves."—Booklist

 

"Moving, intelligent and, in the best sense, literary. . . Stephen Harrigan is anchored in reality; he knows that the environment he's describing is in serious jeopardy.  At the same time, he has made this book sparkle with his remarkable ability to discuss the metaphysical and spiritual aspects of underwater exploration without ever sounding saccharine or murky."—Francine Prose, The New York Times Book Review

 

"What makes reading Water and Light so intensely pleasurable is Stephen Harrigan's craftsmanship as a writer. His prose is as confident and beautiful as a tropical sky, and as clear as a sheltered lagoon. The allure to dive into it is irresistible."—The Raleigh News and Observer

 

"There is something wonderful about this strange and fascinating book, about Harrigan's hopeless quest, his unrequited but potent passion. . . and, of course, the magical world he brings so vividly to life."—The San Francisco Chronicle

 

"[Harrigan] tells us about the people who live on Grand Turk, or come there on business, and he is given to reflecting on the subtleties of the underwater experience, but his real virtue as a writer is his ability to convey, in precise, lucid prose, the marvels of the sea bottom."—The New Yorker

 

"Water and Light: A Diver's Journey to a Coral Reef is a very special book. . .  For those of us who inquire into what it is that draws our very hearts under the sea, Harrigan is mighty stimulation."—Undercurrents

 

"Harrigan is an exceptional writer who has given the sea and his search for self a special meaning in Water and Light. Think of him as the most literate dive buddy you ever had."—Rodale's Scuba Diving

 

"Harrigan's subject and style are perfectly married, and his personal compulsion to know the underwater world lifts him and his readers to new levels of awareness."—The Austin American Statesman

 

"Harrigan combines insight and breadth of knowledge with an elegant style, painlessly delivering lessons in marine biology while conveying the otherworldly thrill of an alien environment. . . As a record of one human's response to the most life-filled and possibly most threatened environment on earth, Water and Light stands alone, a poignant testimonial on behalf of the spirit of nature."—Houston Press

 

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"In an age in which reading seems on the decline, it is refreshing to have a collection of literate, intelligent, sensitive, and factually sound essays to help situate ourselves in the past and present."—Southwestern Historical Quarterly

 

"Writing in a state known for its enormity, Harrigan is on the side of the small men who often die victims of a history that too quickly forgets. "—Publishers Weekly

 

"He is able to express an indefinable nostalgia for the magic of the past as well as the realities of the present, arriving at unforgettable depictions of place and character. "—Library Journal

 

"Mr. Harrigan leads the reader on a well-guided tour of the land, past and present, and the people who have graced that land for better or worse with their lives. This is territory of the soul. . . a terrific book. "—The Dallas Morning News

 

"He is fascinated by secrets of the deep, whether they lurk beneath the water, are buried in history or smolder in the human breast. . . Harrigan brings the same dreamy, ephemeral vision to all of humanity’s endeavors, and reading him, you think, that’s right, that’s the way it is. "—San Francisco Chronicle

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ARANSAS

 

"Stephen Harrigan's novel is a subtly told and deeply felt story about our attempts to capture those things we hope can make life meaningful--even while fate waits to flip-flop our plans, baiting and pushing us forward.  And it is comical and touching to see that the real show in Aransas is not a porpoise circus, full of farce and silliness, but the characters' ceaseless efforts to move with half those creatures' grace and mystery."—Ann Beattie

 

"Mysterious, noble, astounding, and quite powerful. . . "—Kirkus Reviews

 

"In this remarkable first novel, Harrigan. . . has a sharp eye for observing man, beast, seashore, and town in a vividly drawn setting."—Publishers' Weekly

 

"What I like most is that Aransas is a book worth thinking about.  Harrigan's themes, unlike those of too many contemporary books, seem to be enhanced rather than diminished by scrutiny."—Houton City Magazine

 

"A sensitive, enormously evocative first novel in a spare but warm prose style that immerses us in atmosphere as insistently as it does the plot. . . Harrigan is a splendid novelist."—Houston Post

 

"Stephen Harrigan has found his own, mature voice, and Aransas is absolutely worth reading."—The Dallas Morning News

 

"Harrigan. . . is literate and clever, and he uses the reader's pop familiarity with the Big Fish genre--from Melville's and Benchley's totemic fish-bites-man tales to thehomey success of the Flipper Films. . . to his savvy advantage. Aransas has several surprises, including dramatic suspense, counterculture revisionism, and what must be considered dolphin revisionism.  More, Harrigan has written an acute American regional novel. . . "—The Village Voice

 

"The American novel may not be dying, but it is ailing. . . Maybe the form will be brought back to health by young novelists like Stephen Harrigan and first novels such as his Aransas. Harrigan has integrity--which, he shows, is not synonymous with dullness.  The final pages of Aransas compel your interest as completely as any thriller and gain from the fact that the conflict involved is at least as much moral as it is physical.  As a novelist, Harrigan doesn't take the easy way, even when it beckons."—The Kansas City Star

 

"The sureness and poise of this first novel are as remarkable as the sharpness, oddity and clarity of its feelings. . . Aransas is an elegant debut."—Newsweek

 

"Harrigan makes an auspicious debut as a powerful and sensitive story-teller."—The Chattanooga Sun Times

 

"Harrigan's eye for locale and its effect is superb, particularly his descriptions of the muddy, littered coast. . ."—The Washington Post Book World

 

"Remarkably free of literary posturing, stylish yet unpretentious, Aransas is a novel of considerable charm and wit."—The Washington Star

 

"At the end of the book, we feel we have lived somewhere, known some people and suffered their quandaries as our own.  It is exactly what good story-telling is all about."—The Philadelphia Enquirer

 

"From the very first page, the reader is aware of a shapeliness and solidity in every sentence Harrigan writes and, what is more rare, in every paragraph.  This is a first novel of unusual distinction. . . Aransas deserves to be widely cherished."—The Flint (Mich.) Journal

 

"Stephen Harrigan has lavished charm, intelligence, and intuitive feeling on what in clumsier hands could have been a mere variation on the stories of boys and their dogs.  Aransas is far better and deeper than that; it is an ardent and elegant book, beautiful in its language, mature in its perceptions, noble in its sentiments. . . "—Ron Hansen, The San Francisco Chronicle

 

"A resonant first novel.  Beneath its genial surface, allusive undercurrents tug."—Michael Malone, The New York Times Book Review

 

"I think Harrigan is fishing in the really 'deep waters,' the places where sometimes you find a white whale.  The nonchalantly exact details of locale are wonderful in themselves, but the real power of the book is in that surging 'behavior' that binds beings to one another. It's really a fine and elegant work."—Max Apple

 

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JACOB'S WELL

 

"Against the backdrop of Austin, Tex., Harrigan, author of the critically praised first novel Aransas, portrays. . .three people, all of them motivated by a need to overcome loneliness and to retrieve their submerged passions. . . At times deeply moving and wise, this novel reveals Harrigan's increasing maturity as a novelist."—Publisher's Weekly

 

"Harrigan has written a book which rings true, one whose principal characters are easy to recognize and never grandstand in their quest for ultimate truths.  Their struggles to find direction for their lives--to death itself, if that is where meaning can be found--are authentic and compelling."—The Houston Post

 

"Harrigan's characters are deftly drawn and his writing is spare and elegant. The result is a short, concise story told with humor, wisdom and considerable literary skill. . . It is a significant work by an author whose talents, like the depths of Jacob's Well itself, seem limitless."—United Press International

 

"The storyline, so quiet at first, builds to the final, harrowing scene with more tension than any number of contrived thrillers.  The structure is seamless, the characters precise. . . Jacob's Well is the definitive Austin novel. It is also one of that handful of truly great Texas novels."—Third Coast

 

"Stephen Harrigan makes every page of his book seem new. . . When Sam, Libby, and Rick make their climactic dive into the well's nether passages, the suspense functions on several levels at once. Will they come out alive?  How is the triangle going to resolve itself?  Can the novelist succeed in fusing his several strands of plot and character with a single blaze of action?

  "My conscience won't let me answer the first two questions in the presence of anyone inclined to read the book, but I have no qualms about the third: yes, indeed."—The Washington Post

 

"The suspense is as pressurized as the atmosphere 150 feet below the surface. Jacob's Well delivers satisfaction from beginning to end.  The action sequences are authentic and taut. The love affairs and the nuances of emotion between the three protagonists ring painfully true."—The St. Louis Globe-Democrat

 

"Not many novelists these days attempt more than a brilliant suface or the evocation of a place and time. Stephen Harrigan takes a chance when he goes yet another layer deeper, but the chance is worth the taking and it is a great pleasure to go with him."—The Dallas Morning News

 

"Stephen Harrigan has taken a big step toward becoming the writer who captures contemporary Texas better than anyone."—The Texas Humanist

 

"Jacob's Well presents a Texas that is authentic but not stylized. It's a Texas of dope dealers and academics, scuba divers and college students. . . This is not a story of Big Texans in a Texas writ large. Instead, at the novel's core is the examined life."—The Texas Observer

 

"Jacob's Well is one of the finest novels to be written in Texas in the last ten years. Exquisitely painful at times, Stephen Harrigan's second novel is also deeply humane--a thoughtful and thought-provoking story of how three individuals make peace with themselves, each other, and the world around them."—The San Antonio Express-News

 

"An emotionally resonant novel"—Newsweek

 

"Harrigan is a fine writer.  He has a clear, distinctive voice, a feel for the rhythms of the Earth and of its creatures, a vision that is broad and deep and full of the hope and the courage to take chances."—San Francisco Chronicle

 

"A passionate and compelling adventure. . . deftly written."—El Paso Herald-Post

 

"Extraordinarily intense. . . It's not only the tone of muscular wistfulness that gives his writing its force. It's the clarity, too. . . you sense the author's buoyance and confidence in every line. . . It's one of those books you press on best friends.  You know that when they're done they'll feel, like you, the rueful strength that was intended."—The Providence Journal

 

"A mystical and evocative story that leads the reader through a labyrinth of hidden passageways and self discoveries.  It encompasses the ideas of falling in and out of love, of self-knowledge and self-growth, of jealousy and loneliness. . . the reader is drawn into an intricately created landscape of earth and body, water and soul."—The Desert Sun