Crux

I wasn’t seeking a novel about the intense platonic friendship between two young rock climbers, but here Crux is, and she’s a beauty * Gabrielle Zevin, author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow *One of the best novels I’ve ever read about friendship between a young man and a young woman … exciting and tension-filled * Stephen King *An adrenalized, heart-stopping, stomach-lurching ride of the highest stakes * Elizabeth Gilbert, author of City of Girls *A breathtaking, thrilling and unforgettable story of friendship, of hopes and dreams against a reality so harsh it broke my heart * Chris Whitaker, author of All the Colours of the Dark *Rowdy, electric … Tallent initiate[s] readers into the subculture of climbing, the teenagers’ consciousnesses and … their tender hearts. * New York Times *Ferocious, poetic … and almost insanely bighearted … its writing is monster-audacious * Washington Post *Profound and stunning … will make you question yourself and every one of your beliefs * Liz Nugent, author of Strange Sally Diamond *Gabriel Tallent’s last name is no misnomer. With CRUX, he has delivered a beautiful novel, with fully realised characters that made my heart soar and fall in equal measure * Kasim Ali, author Who Will Remain *A towering coming-of-age saga packed with muscle and heart * Publishers Weekly *There are books we like well enough to recommend, but there are a very few - To Kill a Mockingbird, Catch-22, The Things They Carried - that we remember forever. To my own shortlist I can now add My Absolute Darling, by Gabriel Tallent The word masterpiece has been cheapened by too many blurbs, but My Absolute Darling absolutely is one * Stephen King, praise for My Absolute Darling *

Gabriel Tallent was born in New Mexico and raised on the Mendocino coast by two mothers. He received his B.A. from Willamette University in 2010, and after graduation spent two seasons leading youth trail crews in the backcountry of the Pacific Northwest. Tallent lives in Salt Lake City with his wife and three children.