Phyllis Barber, author of And the Desert Shall Blossom and six other books, including the recently released Raw Edges: A Memoir says:
"A very playful author with a wicked intellect, Peck has written a memorable page-turner that merits a wide readership, especially if one is drawn to philosophy, existential questions, conjoined twins who argue about the existence of God, a melodramatic nature poet who will never be understood by the superstitious rumor mill of small-town Moab, and a man who would be a scholar if only he had enough time, enough dictionaries, and a more trustworthy ego.
The tongue-in-cheek shenanigans of the main characters are irresistibly funny and poignant at the same time . . .
The Scholar of Moab is truly an outstanding, original book."
The tongue-in-cheek shenanigans of the main characters are irresistibly funny and poignant at the same time . . .
The Scholar of Moab is truly an outstanding, original book."
Margaret Blair Young, author of Standing on the Promises Trilogy and President of the Association for Mormon Letters says:
"Steven Peck is a gift to the literary world, and Scholar of Moab is a delight to all the senses and to the imagination. Peck’s protagonist, Hyrum Thayne (as presented by the anonymous “redactor”), often speaks in Biblical language, periodically waxes poetic on Kant or Dickens, and abruptly interrupts himself to confess a messy reality like, “Man this Diarrhea is doing me in. I’ll be right back.”
Peck’s characters range from this unlikely scholar to conjoined twins (one of whom is gay), to Dora, institutionalized because she won’t deny her horrifying experience with extra-terrestrials, and others who leave journal entries, poetry, grocery lists, and letters.
Peck moves easily from the lyrical to the grotesque, and sets his multi-voiced tale in the ideal place: Moab, Utah–where red rocks and surprising arches provide the ideal backdrop for anything in or out of the world, including space ships and kidnapped babies.
Hyrum Thayne gives the best description of the characters who populate this constantly surprising novel: I know we are a bit Peculiar but largely thats the Lords doing. He told us to be a Peculiar people. We’re just following his Direction."
Peck’s characters range from this unlikely scholar to conjoined twins (one of whom is gay), to Dora, institutionalized because she won’t deny her horrifying experience with extra-terrestrials, and others who leave journal entries, poetry, grocery lists, and letters.
Peck moves easily from the lyrical to the grotesque, and sets his multi-voiced tale in the ideal place: Moab, Utah–where red rocks and surprising arches provide the ideal backdrop for anything in or out of the world, including space ships and kidnapped babies.
Hyrum Thayne gives the best description of the characters who populate this constantly surprising novel: I know we are a bit Peculiar but largely thats the Lords doing. He told us to be a Peculiar people. We’re just following his Direction."
Brooke Williams, author of Halflives: Reconciling Work and Wildness says:
"Steven Peck has imagined a world ever-so-slightly tweaked from this real one, but—well, why wouldn’t conjoined twins have an independent consciousness, bumblebees be more dependent on faith than wings, and Einstein sing German nursery rhymes? The Scholar of Moab explores the otherworld of nature, imagination, and mind."
