Burning Fence: A Western Memoir of Fatherhood

By Craig Lesley

Book Overview

In "Burning Fence, " acclaimed novelist Craig Lesley turns his keen eye toward two difficult fathers and an alcohol-damaged Indian foster child, Craig's own "son," Wade. Abandoned by his shell-shocked father, Rudell, Craig grew up with his stepfather, Vern, a tough, controlling railroader. When events turned nasty, Craig, his mother, and his baby sister fled on the night train and arrived at an Indian reservation where his mother found work. Decades later, convinced he would be a better father than Rudell or Vern, Craig takes in the troubled Wade. But desperation over Wade's violent acts motivates Craig to seek out Rudell in remote Monument, Oregon. Craig hopes his father, a reclusive coyote trapper and poacher, will help raise his disturbed grandson. There Craig meets his colorful half-brother, Ormand, a would-be East Coast hit man, now "born again." Skillfully capturing the rural humor, rugged characters, and hardscrabble life of Eastern Oregon, "Burning Fence" presents a searing reflection on fatherhood and offers remarkable insight into the landscape of the Western heart.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312318464
• ISBN13: 9780312318468
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.9" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Another grand work by Craig Lesley.

This is a very honest look at his life. Sometimes a look like this can be very hard but the reader gains an appreciation of such introspection.

Riveting Tale of Two Fatherhoods

When Rudell Lesley told his wife Hazel he had to go out for a while to look for a lost flashlight, he never returned, leaving her to raise their eight-month old son alone. The baby, christened Martin Craig Lesley, emerged with remarkable academic ability that came with a talent for remembering and processing every experience on an unusually deep level. As I read, I marveled that the child didn't suffer a nervous breakdown or withdraw completely into fantasy. Relatives made vague, brief, derogatory comments about his father. Hazel said, "He just didn't give the slightest damn about anything." Rudell was shell-shocked from his fighting in the war. He was a backslider who poached. Trying to three-dimensionalize his father using this information began the stirrings of rage. Also Craig needed a target for his anger because his stepfather Vern was too terrifying to defy openly. Badly injured in an accident at fifteen, Craig finally drew his father's attention. Rudell appeared with his young wife and four half-siblings. From that time until his father's death, Craig takes a spellbinding journey into the lives of his father's family and associates. Rudell, with all his entertaining stories ("stretchers"), fails to say what would have meaning for Craig: why Rudell left, and whether he thought he made the right decision. With all of his hard physical labor as a fence builder, Rudell keeps himself and his family in squalor. Mixed into all this is Craig's adopted handicapped son Wade who burns Rudell's stack of freshly cut fence posts, believing that he's scaring off Big Foot. If you would like to live inside the mind of a man who overcame a harrowing childhood to become a successful writer and university professor, this memoir is for you.

Compelling in a tragic and real sense.

I had read four of Craig's fictional books, before reading his biography, so was familiar with his real-life characters. Like one of the reviews, I was "compelled" to finish this poignant and gut-wrenching story; bringing the book along on a Mexican cruise and visits to the doctor. The one issue I have with this book comes I guess from being a retired Episcopal Priest. I was bothered by Craig's seeming lack of motivation to forgive his father. It seemed at times like he couldn't live without resentment. In the end, though, it's not mine to judge. I know Craig, having taken a three week, five day a week summer course under her excellent tutelege. I must say he is a wonderful, gentle and loving man, in spite of all he has been through. Perhaps he has forgiven his father more than he yet realizes!