Deeply rooted in the primeval hillsides and fields of rural Vermont, Hidden View offers a decidedly realistic glimpse—the hidden views—of the inner lives of the people on a multi-generational farm who live, work, and love the land seemingly to abstraction, if not obsession. In this emotionally riveting and beautifully lyrical novel, Stanciu minutely chronicles the evolving struggles, both marital and economic, that risk irrevocably transforming both the farm and its inhabitants. Hidden View poignantly contrasts the primal struggle of two brothers over land (and over the young, idyllic Fern and her daughter) as each searches for ineffable truths and acceptance while toiling amid the soil and stone of their everyday lives. Hidden View reveals a luminous portrait of individuals attempting to harmonize their inner natures with the stark, raw, detached beauty of the ancient farm.
Praise for Hidden View
“Brett Ann Stanciu offers unsparing portraits of northern New England life well beyond sight of the ski lodges and postcard views, The work the land demands, the blood ties of family to the land, and to each other, the profound solitude that such hard-bitten lives thrusts upon the people, are here in true measure. Hidden View also provides one of the most compelling and honest rural woman’s viewpoint to come along in years. A novel of singular accomplishment.” —Jeffrey Lent
“Brett Ann Stanciu is Vermont through and through. . . Hidden View is set in the milieu of Vermont’s signature agricultural product. Stanciu’s literary maple syrup is flavored with unusual extracts: family drama and complex romantic entanglements.” —SEVEN DAYS
“Stanciu is a Vermonter’s writer. Anyone who loves the landscape and language of Vermont will be drawn into this story, but her writing holds a universal appeal, too, and rings true with the language and landscape of the human heart and mind. . . The characters in Hidden View are people you’re going to think about, and care about, long after the book is read. ”
—Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, author of As Long As There Are Mountains
“Human and engaging, with a great sense of place, and very elegantly written. ”
—Howard Frank Mosher, author of Where the Rivers Flow North
“Brett Stanciu writes with enviable poise and precision. Hidden View is a story that burrows deep and stays put. This is a powerful novel. ”
—Ben Hewitt, author of The Town That Food Saved and Home Grown
“Hidden View is pure authenticity. Every word rings true to this place and its people; I know; I’ve lived here for 45 years.”
―David Budbill, Judevine
REVIEWS
An amazing review for a book that was a true Green Writers Press collaboration! Author: Brett Ann Stanciu ; Development editor: Suzanne D. Kingsbury ; Editors: Dede & Audrey Batchelder ; PR and outreach: Ferne Johansson (intern); and the reviewer is Vermont’s Beth Kanell of Kingdom Books—http://kingdombks.blogspot.com/2016/01/vermont-fiction-with-lifes-painful.html
“Listening to her read [Stanciu], chooses her words carefully and equally important, I think, how well she understands rhythm. Or maybe she doesn’t understand it, maybe she just feels it, the way some people can just feel their way into music or dance.”
—Ben Hewitt, author of The Town that Food Saved
Full story here: http://benhewitt.net/2015/12/04/sometimes-we-all-need-a-little-break/
A wonderful feature about Brett and her first novel in the Sunday Times Argus Magazine!
About the Author
Brett Ann Stanciu studied philosophy and writing at Marlboro College (Vermont) and completed graduate work at Western Washington University. Her writing has appeared in publications such as The Long Story, Iowa Woman, Taproot, and Vermont Literary Review. Brett is a sugarmaker with her family in northern Vermont.
Specs:
5.25 x 8; trade paperback original; 288 pages; $19.95 | 978-0996135702 (pbk)