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A Novel
by Bret Anthony Johnston
An epic novel of star-crossed lovers set in a doomsday cult on the Texas prairie that asks: What would you sacrifice for the person you love?
Waco, Texas, 1993. People from all walks of life have arrived to follow the Lamb's gospel—signing over savings and pensions, selling their homes and shedding marriages. They've come here to worship at the feet of a former landscaper turned prophet who is preparing for the End Times with a staggering cache of weapons. Jaye's mother is one of his newest and most devout followers, though Jaye herself has suspicions about the Lamb's methods—and his motives.
Roy is the youngest son of the local sheriff, a fourteen-year-old boy with a heart of gold and a nose for trouble who falls for Jaye without knowing of her mother's attachment to the man who is currently making his father's life hell. The two teenagers are drawn to each other immediately and completely, but their love may have dire consequences for their families. The Lamb has plans for them all—especially Jaye—and as his preaching and scheming move them closer and closer to unthinkable violence, Roy risks everything to save Jaye.
Based on the true events that unfolded thirty years ago during the siege of the Branch Davidian compound, Bret Anthony Johnston's We Burn Daylight is an unforgettable love story, a heart-pounding literary page turner, and a profound exploration of faith, family, and what it means to truly be saved.
"Even as the bullets fly, a protracted standoff ensues, and the novel moves toward its devastating climax, [Johnston] keeps his deeply sympathetic protagonists clearly in focus. He also gracefully summons images of the rugged Texas countryside that provides the setting for a novel that beautifully evokes 'the hubris, the naivete, the irrationality of love.' An evocative reimagining of the Romeo and Juliet story set amid the catastrophic collapse of a religious cult." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"This gorgeously rendered novel asks many questions about humanity: Who do we follow and why? Who decides what we believe? Johnston allows curious onlookers inside the compound and the hearts of Waco in a perfect marriage of history and art." —Booklist (starred review)
"[G]ripping...Amid the plethora of stories about cults, this stands out." —Publishers Weekly
"Symphonic and suspenseful, We Burn Daylight reimagines events at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco. In an epic act of empathy, Bret Anthony Johnston inhabits every point of view, from doomed devotees to perplexed law enforcement, and even manages to infuse the tragedy with moments of poignant, very human, humor. "—Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March
"I surrendered to this majestic novel—its masterly plot, its unbearably honest gaze upon very recent history, and its characters, as intricately and astonishingly human as can be—and flew through it in two days. It haunts me. A colossal achievement of We Burn Daylight is that it demands to be read in a breathless rush, and afterward, demands deepest and most private reflection." —Megha Majumdar, New York Times bestselling author of A Burning
"With bravery and compassion, Bret Anthony Johnston takes on a watershed moment in American history, cutting through the myth and messiainism to reveal a story that is profoundly—and tragically—human." —Cristina Henriquez, author of The Great Divide
"Fascinating characters and an engaging, authentic style give We Burn Daylight a fine shot at the Great American Novel sweepstakes. Few people can bring Texas to life on the page like Bret Anthony Johnston." —Gary Shteyngart, New York Times bestselling author of Our Country Friends
This information about We Burn Daylight was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Bret Anthony Johnston is the author of the internationally bestselling novel Remember Me Like This and the award-winning Corpus Christi: Stories. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he's the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship, a 5 Under 35 honor from the National Book Foundation, and The Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award. He wrote the documentary film Waiting for Lightning and is the editor of Naming the World and Other Exercises for the Creative Writer. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Esquire, The Paris Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Virginia Quarterly Review, Best American Short Stories, and elsewhere. Born and raised in Texas, Johnston is the director of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas in Austin.
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