Description
Set in a small Nevada town of Italian immigrants, this allegorical tale illustrates the human traits of evil and fear. Laxalt relays his shocking story simply and concisely. Father Savio Lazzaroni is obsessed with a vision of evil. Mayor Manuel Cafferata is only concerned with his own standing in a tiny village peopled with Italian immigrants. Into their isolated town comes Smale Calder, the first outsider to set up business in the tightly knit society. The events that befall these three men and the villagers reveal the chilling ways in which people deal with fear and prejudice. When Calder’s secret passion for rattlesnakes is discovered, the lives of all involved are changed in a dramatic sequence of emotions and events. Laxalt’s quiet buildup of suspense and violence will sneak up on readers and leave them questioning the meaning of good and innocence. One of the best works written in the West, this novella was honored alongside Hemingway and Bellow upon its first release in 1964.

Reviews
“The themes of man versus the serpent, good versus evil, and fear versus compassion could easily unfold as a trite exposition of age-old material; however, Robert Laxalt executes the parable with originality and complexity in this reissue of his 1964 novel. Through vivid characters and with lean, understated language, he exposes the moral dilemmas of a small community in its nadir. A mayor is concerned about his waning authority, and storeowners and a banker fear their diminished livelihood in the dying town. A priest frets about the piety of his flock. Calder, an American loner, buys the local garage and is assigned outsider status until people realize he keeps deadly rattlers in a pen. He enters the pen every Sunday afternoon and lets the snakes crawl all over him. Farmers and townspeople consume the spectacle like Romans at the Coliseum, and the town experiences a brief revival. The priest believes Calder embodies all that is demonic, and what began as a carnival then becomes a catastrophe. The story thus transcends its historical setting and resonates with our own times. It revisits the truth that simplistic concepts of good and evil are fiercely attractive and fiercely dangerous. This exquisite short novel so engaged me that I read it in one sitting. . . . Laxalt’s work is definitely worth seeking out.” —Cynthia Green, Southwest BookViews, Spring 2003

“A Man in the Wheatfield is probably the best Nevada novel ever written (only The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark is a serious challenger for the title), and is among the dozen finest Western novels ever published.” —Martin Naparsteck, The Salt Lake Tribune, January 5, 2003

“Allegory is a difficult art and an almost forgotten taste. But author Laxalt has chiseled out a narrative that is lapidary, unadorned, and original. . . . He succeeds powerfully in creating a novel that leaves in the mind a sense of truth lying in wait, with a dry rustle, coiled to strike.” —Time, November 13, 1964

“A Man in the Wheatfield is a story for everyman, one not lightly put aside nor soon forgotten. It could be called a parable concealing and revealing fear and prejudice which corrupt innocence and separate brothers. Emotionally, this is an intense story, a seething story which commands comparison and commitment from the reader. Technically, this is well done. It is taut and precise without being cold; imagery is controlled and suggestive; characters are clear cut and clearly presented. It is not an affectionate book as was Sweet Promised Land; it has instead the qualities of a sword, of high-grade steel, two-edged.” —Sister Mary William, The College of St. Catherine

“A master of unadorned and understated narrative, description, and characterization, Laxalt demonstrates all these talents in this intriguing western allegory.” —Richard E. Etulain, High Roller, October/December 1987