Ashes to Ashes

Small-town Minnesota teenager Basil "The Brute" Thorson--a shy, reluctant wrestling star and "special" tracked into special education classes--vows to make his family whole again in the wake of multiple tragedies, during a year in which his community is roiled by strange religious and mythological events.

Another perceptive and empathetic novel from the author of Indie Next and All Iowa Reads selection Little Wolves, blending myth, history, and religion with a nuanced look at contemporary rural life, perfect for fans of Marilynne Robinson, Richard Russo, and Paul Harding.

When the ashes from an Ash Wednesday service in the prairie town of Andwhen, Minnesota, refuse to wash off, members of a small congregation are left wondering whether they've been blessed or cursed. For Basil--a "gentle giant" of a teen reeling from a farming accident that shattered his family and haunted by his mother's decade-long confinement in a state mental hospital--the ashes become a sign. He embarks on a secret ritual of fasting and prayer, seeking meaning in his unraveling world.

Meanwhile, Basil and his friends, Lukas and Morgan (who self-identify as "a gay, a goth, and a giant"), stumble upon what may be the centuries-old remains of a Viking explorer in a local meadow, a find that brings its own complications, as folk history clashes with the agendas of online racists. As Basil's relentless fasting warps his grip on reality, the danger he poses to himself and his family escalates.

Blending the fragments of a Norse saga with a finely observed portrait of rural Midwestern life at the start of the pandemic, Thomas Maltman delivers a novel of narrative daring and profound empathy--his most inventive and compassionate work yet.

Author: Thomas Maltman
Publisher: Soho Press
Published: 07/15/2025
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.01lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.60w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9781641296700


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2025

About the Author
Thomas Maltman is the author of the novels The Night Birds, Little Wolves, and The Land. He has won an Alex Award, a Spur Award, and the Friends of American Writers Literary Award, and his work has been an Indie Next and All Iowa Reads selection. He has an MFA from Minnesota State University, Mankato; teaches at Normandale Community College; and lives in the Twin Cities area.