Evel Knievel Jumps the Snake River Canyon — Kelly Jones

A new book from the author of THE WOMAN WHO HEARD COLOR. In a sharp departure from the settings of her earlier books -- Paris, Florence, and Munich -- Kelly Jones returns to her hometown of Twin Falls, Idaho, in this delightful novella and short story collection. Set in the summer of 1974, when Evel Knievel announces he'll jump the Snake River Canyon, the title story introduces the reader to ten-year-old Pick Patterson, his bossy Grandma Grace, and his unemployed, easy-going Uncle Buddy. The settings of the other stories range from a Laundromat, the public library, the bank of an Idaho river, and a Catholic grade school in the 60s, to the open road with a duo of unlikely runaways. Idaho author Kathy McIntosh calls the cast of characters “endearing,” and the stories delivered with “gentle humor.” Award-winning short story writer Alan Heathcock says it is, “simply the most charming book I've read in a very long time.”