Driftless, by David Rhodes
by Gregory Parker
Driftless is David Rhodes’ first novel in 33 years and the sequel to his last published work, Rock Island Line. Unlike the earlier novel, whose epic narrative focused solely on drifter-cum-farmer July Montgomery, Driftless offers a series of vignettes featuring the many residents of Words, Wisconsin, as they tackle issues of powerlessness, tragedy, and belonging – timeless human questions – in philosophical and heroic ways. What John Gardner praised as “moral style” was evident in Rock Island Line, but it really comes into its own in Driftless.
