“Andrew Krivak charts a razor-fine line between war and peace, damnation and redemption, estrangement and love, and along the way gives us a gorgeously detailed portrait of an American family. Whether he’s writing about battle, the natural world, or the most private, searing matters of the heart, Krivak brings a rare mastery to the page, a synthesis of language and deep perception that delivers revelation after revelation. Like the Appearance of Horses is a major achievement.”
Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk and Devil Makes Three
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“Krivak’s Homeric novel is at once intimate and sweeping, expanding an epic story set into motion in The Sojourn. Tenderly attentive to all that is given and taken by war, Like the Appearance of Horses is a graceful, heroic accomplishment that speaks to the costs of duty when violence is as constant as the Pennsylvania mountains that anchor and separate this indelible family we’ve come to know so personally.”
Asako Serizawa, author of Inheritors
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“Raises provocative questions about how we perceive and engage with the past and is a further testament to Krivak’s masterful abilities as a storyteller.”
WBUR
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“Forceful and absorbing.”
WOSU
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“Lyrical, moving. . . . While Krivak depicts the violence of war with frightening intimacy, he’s also attuned to the persistence of beauty and grace in nature and in what love endures.”
Fordham Magazine
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“A startling clarity characterizes [Krivak’s] language, which can only be called luminous.”
Washington Independent Review of Books
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“[Krivak’s] prose is spare and exquisite, breathing life into the mountains, the forests, and the foxholes these characters inhabit. A beautifully emotional and delicate novel.”
Historical Novels Review
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“Krivak’s resplendent multigenerational family saga expertly braids the horrors of war with the struggles of those waiting for loved ones to return home.”
Booklist (starred review)
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“Krivak impresses with this layered story of deferred homecomings and the elusive nature of peace.”
Publishers Weekly
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“Compelling and deftly crafted.”
Midwest Book Review
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“Read this! You’ll never be the same again.”
Linda Bond, Auntie’s Bookstore (Spokane, WA)
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“Oh my this novel is so gorgeous and moving. About matters of the heart, about war’s impact on not just nations but individuals over generations. About how families are knitted together and how they survive with heartbreak just around the corner. How solace can be found in nature. . . . This is one of those rare novels that quietly will not leave the reader alone and untouched. Just beautiful.”
Sheryl Cotleur, Copperfield’s Books (Northern California)
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Forthcoming in paperback May 7, 2024—preorder at Bookshop.org
Rooted in the small, mountain town of Dardan, Pennsylvania, where patriarch Jozef Vinich settled after surviving World War I, Like the Appearance of Horses immerses us in the intimate lives of a family whose fierce bonds have been shaped by the great conflicts of the past century. In spare, breathtaking prose, Andrew Krivak delivers a deeply compassionate story about three generations who built a new life in America, participated in the Romani resistance during World War II, survived Vietnamese POW camps, watched their children deploy to Iraq, and did everything they could to heal the wounds of war when the fighting was over.
Library Journal “Best Literary Fiction of the Year” selection
Washington Independent Review of Books “Favorite Books of the Year” selection
Saturday Evening Post “Hot Reads” selection
Shelf Unbound “Recommended Reading” selection
Literary Hub “New Books!” selection
Book Marks “Best Reviewed Books of the Week” selection
BookBrowse “Best Books Publishing This Week” selection
Center for the Book at the New Hampshire State Library “Book of the Week” selection
Denver Public Library “Book Buzz” selection
