From an incredible new literary talent comes a novel of heart-swelling beauty, exploring love, trauma, redemption, and found family.
‘Little Maude Rowe sits in the crick, her pockets heavy with gold, the blood on her palms turned to powdered rust …’
In a remote valley in Idaho in 1981, a man, a woman and three children stop running to wash the blood from their hands and bodies. They are the few survivors of a terrible tragedy. Their only choice now is, somehow, to become a family.
Five years earlier, Opal and her husband James arrive in the small mining community of Silver Valley, drawn by promises of fortune and independence. There they meet Baron Rowe, the charismatic visionary who controls the community with an iron fist. Baron’s son Denny has spent his life trying, and failing, to live up to Baron’s expectations, and to protect his little sister Maude from their father’s excesses.
Soon, a tragic accident will change all their lives. And five years later, change will come again at the barrel of a gun …
(4/5)
At first, I struggled to understand and process what was happening. After going back and reading it again, it started to make sense. And by the end, I found this book to be well written, along with the characters, I felt love, loss, and moving as one. I thoroughly enjoyed the different timelines and could visualise what was happening. Congratulations on your debut novel.
(3/5)
Opal and Denny have created a family. All they want is for their three children to be loved and to feel safe. In order to do this, the couple has to leave their home and start again. It will be difficult; neither has much money, but they are both hard workers and know how to live off the land. While the family of five carries few possessions, the weight of their grief and the terror of the past are the heavy burdens they carry with them.
Denny discovers a small, rundown cabin nestled in the forest, a place they end up calling home. Their neighbour and landlady, Mrs Schweers, becomes their first ray of hope for the future, someone who doesn’t question their past but is there to offer a hand to help when needed.
The highlight of this book is the relationships formed throughout. The love for a friend. The love for a baby. The love and hope for a better life for children who have had so little.
Reading this book is like trying to solve a difficult puzzle. It was a challenging read, but worth digging through to get to the precious story hidden deep below.
(4/5)
Thanks for the opportunity to read this brand new and very original novel.
It wasn’t the easiest fiction I’ve ever read, but it was definitely interesting.
It was a sad story. I would risk the opinion that it was psychological fiction. Definitely beautifully written. The description of psychological trauma in children and adults was very enlightening. It made me feel sad because there are enough real-life stories similar to this fictional one. At the beginning, I was certain it was a story of some cult community in America. Of course, I was hoping this little group of people would succeed and recover from the horrible past. The author managed to build complex characters for most of the major players in the book.
It was not relaxing to read this book, but in some strange way, it was good for the soul.
(3/5)
Dirtpickers by Edie May Hand is a gentle, character‑focused story that leans into the rhythms of rural life. The novel’s greatest strength is its cast: the characters feel textured and believable, and Hand’s careful use of language gives even small moments a sense of emotional weight. There’s a warmth in the way she writes that makes the setting feel lived‑in and the relationships genuine.
The trade‑off is pacing. While the detail enriches the world, it also slows the narrative in places, especially through the middle, where the story lingers a little longer than it needs to. Readers who enjoy a slow, reflective style may appreciate this, but others might find themselves wishing for a bit more movement.
Overall, it’s a thoughtfully written book with memorable characters and lovely prose, even if it unfolds at a leisurely pace.
(4/5)
The writing was vivid and atmospheric, and I found it very easy to picture what was happening as I read. I really liked the way the story moved between different characters’ perspectives and back and forth through time, revealing little pieces of their pasts and helping you understand what made them who they are.
I also really connected with the characters and found myself genuinely hoping they would find a future for themselves. That emotional investment made the story all the more engaging.
I think this would be a great book club read, too, because there are lots of different perspectives and plenty of moments that could be interpreted in different ways, which would make for a good discussion.
Overall, this was a well-written and compelling read!
(4/5)
This book follows five unlikely characters who are learning to live and mend after a tragedy that befell. The story flips between the present and the past, unveiling the events in drips and drabs. Set through a 70s rural mining community, each passing chapter reveals a level of vulgarity experienced by the main characters through the powers of a man willing to overpower and tether anyone down, and a community that cannot escape. The novel toys with topics of physical and emotional abuse, neglect, and some sexual abuse.
For someone who normally reads sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, this book is more of a slower read and can be less engaging, particularly at the beginning, however I felt as if the book became more engaging the further I read. The author writes well; the language and sentences have more complexity. Some of the characters’ actions and viewpoints frustrated and unsettled me enough that I had to close the book a couple of times. Sometimes, I had to discern which character the author was referring to or speaking from. The book feels more adult/general fiction, but may be suitable for experienced young adult readers. Overall, this is a well written book that compels topics of trauma and survival that readers of contemporary fiction can enjoy.
(2/5)
Dirtpickers by Edie May Hand is a story of love, trauma, and found family. Unfortunately, the premise sounds more interesting than the actual story. The blurb introduces us to Maude, with blood on her face, wondering if she would feel anything if she watched coyotes come to eat her family, but this intensity was not reflected through the narrative.
Set mostly through the 70’s and early 80’s, this story moves across time to follow the lives of Opal, Denny, and the tragic circumstances that brought their lives together. Well written and easy to read, Dirtpickers contrasts injustices experienced by the main characters with the love of found family.
Unfortunately, this book was not for me. Slow and, in parts, confusing, there was not enough trauma or tension in this book. It would suit someone who enjoys slow-burning focus on the lives of characters and how people persevere through adversity.
The second half was definitely more interesting than the first half, and I appreciate the inclusion of book club questions at the end. However, overall, I rate Dirtpickers as fine, and I’m sure the right reader would get more out of it.
(2.5/5)
Dirtpickers was a difficult read to start with; I found it hard to get into the story, but I persisted. The characters were well described, but I found the everyday detail over-elaborate. The description depicted the story in too much detail; I found I was reading way too much into sentences that I just couldn’t keep interested in.
As I persisted, I started to understand what was going on in the story. Some of the words were hard to understand, although a highlight was the build-up in the story was great. Some of the words continued to be a bit heavy for me, but I still looked forward to picking it up and reading. The end of the story was great, and the build-up to the ending was the best overall for me.