Description: Calvin Sidey, one of the last of the old cowboys, returns to the small town where he once was a mythic figure, to the very home he once abandoned, to stay with his grandchildren for a week while his estranged son is away. When family problems arise, Calvin solves them the only way he knows how: the Old West way.
Brief description: Raised in Bismarck, North Dakota, Larry Watson is the author of ten critically acclaimed books, including the bestselling Montana 1948. His fiction has been published internationally and has received numerous prizes and awards. His essays and book reviews have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and other periodicals. He and his wife live in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A film adaptation of Watson's novel Let Him Go is currently in production with Kevin Costner and Diane Lane and due to release in 2020.
Review Quotes: "[A] remarkable novel. It is like watching the sunrises over the prairies of Montana about which Watson writes so eloquently. But as with the reward of the lavender- and golden-hued sky to come, the ultimate effect of this novel is well worth the time spent watching." --New York Journal of Books
"A satisfying drama . . . It's typical of this thoughtful novelist that the ending of As Good as Gone is nuanced rather than explosive, and its traces of heroism are found not in violence but in a show of restraint." --The Wall Street Journal "Watson evokes Big Sky Country as well as Montana writing legends like Ivan Doig, Jim Harrison and Norman Maclean. And like those authors, Watson is a naturally gifted storyteller, plainspoken and unpretentious. Watson is excellent at building suspense, and As Good as Gone is frequently exciting in a cinematic sense. (Just try not picturing Sam Elliott as Calvin Sidey.)" --NPR.org "In the virile, enigmatic character of Calvin, Watson both indulges in and reworks the romantic myth of the American cowboy in ways reminiscent of Edward Abbey's The Brave Cowboy or Larry McMurtry's Horseman, Pass By . . . A master of spare, economical storytelling, Watson sweeps us up in a captivating family drama." --The Seattle Times "[Watson] writes evocatively and with great persuasion. This book is vintage Watson: laconic, dramatic, and tough as a dry Montana stream bed." --Minneapolis Star Tribune "[A] stunning novel . . . Having received numerous awards for his fiction, Watson (Montana 1948) is sure to win more praise for his powerful characterizations in the manner of Kent Haruf and Ivan Doig. Readers won't get a novel any better than this." --Library Journal (starred review) "Fine writing in the grand western tradition of William Kittredge and Mark Spragg." --Booklist (starred review) "An excellent family drama . . . This is a very well done novel in which every character faces an individual conflict, resulting in a rich, suspenseful read." --Publishers Weekly "Deserves a Clint Eastwood performance. Watson's powerful characterizations frame large and connected themes: family loyalty, the conflicting capacities of love, and the tenuous connections between humans." --Kirkus Reviews