Sallowsfield

by

Cliff Hudder

Intricate and surprising, a multilayered gift!

Wyatt W. Sallows, MBA, a tenure-track professor of business ethics at tiny Taylor State College in East Texas with 19 years under his belt, is at a crossroads. Divorced, his only child gone, a victim of a congenital condition, and he himself pining with unreturned love for a former student, he decides to take a vacation to the English market town of Sallowsfield, which family lore claims is the genesis point and the scene for the past glories of his ancestors. Bolstered with a new wheeled suitcase and wardrobe enough for an 8-day tour and armed with chapbook copies of his award-winning poetry from his baccalaureate days at Texas Tech University, Wyatt embarks on an amazing journey, but not the one he ever imagined. 

Sallowsfield is the new novel by Cliff Hudder, whose awkward yet engaging main character held me hostage from one mishap to another. While Wyatt Sallow may be a different sort, so many little bits of him are familiar and recognizable. With weirdly fascinating observations and oddly random encounters with other characters, the story is an intricately looping surprise that I couldn’t set down. 

Drawn to the small English market town of Sallowsfield in pursuit of a family fable, Wyatt Sallow is underwhelmed by the reality of a place that has existed on a pedestal his entire life. With signs all around him that tease a solid connection, he’s disappointed when no one he encounters offers any knowledge of one. Yet, before Wyatt can even process this, he believes he spots a woman he’s had a one-sided crush on from back home in Texas stepping from the train. He loses sight of her before he can confirm it is indeed her. Despite her restraining order against him, he continues to try to track her down or find “X,” even enlisting the assistance of a local taxi driver. 

Throughout his quest for the woman and an identity connected with the town, Wyatt encounters a variety of locals who bring their own interesting lives to the story. The situations Sallow finds himself in, often the consequences of his own actions, are at times humorous, sometimes unsettling, but always compelling, especially as hidden ties cleverly loop back and form surprising relationships and delightful twists. 

I recommend SALLOWSFIELD to readers of literary fiction. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Lone Star Book Blog Tours.