Pineville Trace is a book you "feel" more than read. It seeps into you like a dream. That's about the best way I can describe it. I didn't connect with the narrator so I downloaded the book as well and read a bit of it before going back to the narrator - I was anxious to finish it and found that even though I didn't connect, the story was so enthralling that, in the end, I didn't care. I'll say this, though - I'll re-read it again myself.

The writing itself is beautiful - sparse and poetic. It's also not for everybody. Like I said, you feel the book more than anything else. It almost seems irrelevant to say that the main character, Frank, escapes from prison by following Buffalo, his cat. They are quite the duo. And off they go, wandering in the world, reflecting, finding solace in each other's company. Truth is, the solid action in this book isn't really the point. It's the unwinding of a life, looking back on what worked, what was honest, and what felt like a lie, all in a kind of ultra-focused, reflective, dream state. You're floating in this read.

I've read other reviews of this book and can honestly say I didn't get much of the back-and-forth between reality and dream, which is another reason I need to re-read it rather than listen to it. It requires a certain amount of concentration—or not—depending on what you take with you at the end. For me, the fact that I won't forget this book in a month is a big deal.

Prineville trace, centered on well-developed characters in richly described settings is a gripping tale about struggle, redemption and the search for new beginning. As the main character, Frank ventures through the wilderness with his cat, Buffalo, their bond brings a touching depth to the story that will stay with me forever.

3.75 ⭐
Pineville Trace by Wes Blake follows Frank Russet, a former preacher and conman, on his journey of redemption. His sole companion on this journey is an adorable cat 'Buffalo'. The unique narrative style; similar to 'stream of consciousness' mode, tells the story in short fragments. The narration at times reminded me of The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker. Blake's prose has this intensity and the imagery is set to leave one in a trance. With an almost philosophical theme, this novella is a compelling exploration of identity and redemption.

3.5 stars rounded down.
Buffalo 5 stars
Themes 3.5 stars
Plot 3 stars
Prose 3.5 stars
Themes 3 stars

Frank is ridden with guilt, but he has Buffalo, the cat.
We get glimpses of Frank’s conscience, his past and present. Immense potential there, but I wanted more. More layers, complexities, details and nuances.

I quite enjoyed the stream of conscious prose and the more atmospheric-led storyline. It's a super reflective read, and I absolutely adored Frank's relationship with Buffalo.

There's a few things I feel were left unfinished, but more of a contemporary mystery that add to the story so I feel the interpretation will suffice just fine. It was perfect as a novella, the pace was amazing, just a meandering retelling that thaws autumn vibes as it progresses.

For fans of young Clint Eastwood, the main character has a similar feel of Jed Cooper from Hand 'Em High. Just go with the flow minimal verbiage, but a foreign world thoughts and lives deep inside.

Whatever is going on on the cover is going on in the book. I was a little confused and it took me a while to fully understand the book. The jumping around between timelines as well as stories that are not fully told was rather confusing at times. I, like almost every review for this book so far, thought the best part of the book was the relationship between Frank and his cat Buffalo. I would have loved to have more stories about his time as a fraudulent revivalist preacher. Glad this one was a short easy read & thanks to Netgally for the ARC.

A nice little poetic novella about a man and his cat going on travels while he contemplates his life. Right? I was a little confused, but I enjoyed this. I loved the cat. Of course.

Given the rich storytelling heritage of Kentucky, it’s a real treat to stumble upon an author finding his way through the literary landscape that’s been shaped by so many stories before. With his upcoming novella, Pineville Trace (releasing September 2024), Wes Blake has taken his rightful place on the paths worn down by dozens of Kentucky authors before him and in doing so has created a memorable and moving story about one man’s journey towards freedom.

This was a different type of read than I was expecting. It felt more like poetry than anything else-- thought the points made were more plainly laid out.
There was something comforting about the writing, and I felt a draw to follow Frank on his journey to self-redemption.
While Frank was purportedly a priest, his notions on faith and confidence and revivals and healing, felt less god-like and more like a kid who found a way to make a future for himself.
The end of part 2, while I knew what was coming, still brought tears to my eyes.
Overall, I enjoyed this read and its calm demeanor.

This was a very atmospheric little read.

This is a short novella that follows Frank, an escaped convict, as he travels across the country with his cat Buffalo. It is a mostly character and internally driven story, rather than plot driven.

I really liked the relationship between Frank and Buffalo. I am a cat lover through and through and think this was probably the most solid part for me.

The writing was quite nice- I felt as if the descriptions of nature and the places Frank was traveling through were very vivid and well written.

Unfortunately, I did not really feel like I connected much with the themes in this. it took me shockingly long to get through this novella despite it being quite short, mostly because I kept finding myself feeling uninterested. I could easily see how some people will really love this book, but I just don’t think it was for me. I would really still recommend giving it a shot though, as you might be someone it connects with!

3/5 stars for an atmospheric yet not particularly engaging novella.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review!

Pineville Trace follows Frank who at the beginning of the novella is escaping from a minimum security prison for fraud. Frank begins his journey north with his savvy cat Buffalo in search of a cabin from his dreams.

This novella is written in vignettes from Frank’s life and there are several time skips throughout. It felt more like a slice of life and reflective memoir than an adventure story which is exactly what I was hoping this would be. I loved following Frank, particularly in relation to his bond with Buffalo. I could have followed the two of them for 100+ more pages! Frank is an interesting character with an engaging back story which kept me entertained throughout. The writing style was beautiful and lyrical.

I’d recommend this to anyone who is interested in a slow paced reflective novella. I’ll be looking out for more works by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Etchings Press for access to this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I just finished reading "Pineville Trace" by Wes Blake, and I have some mixed feelings about it. This novella, at just 140 pages, follows Frank Russet, a former southern revival preacher and confidence man, as he escapes from a minimum-security prison in eastern Kentucky with only his cat, Buffalo, by his side. What drew me in was the idea of a prison break story with a twist—an escape into the wilderness with a cat as a companion.

Let’s start with what I loved: the bond between Frank and Buffalo is undeniably charming. Buffalo, his "little hunting cat," isn’t just a pet but a symbol of the freedom and untamed spirit Frank is searching for. Their relationship adds a sweet and touching element to the story, making it quite endearing.

The book really shines in its descriptive writing. Blake’s prose is so vivid that you can almost feel the breeze through the trees and see the sprawling landscapes Frank traverses. The scenery almost becomes a character itself, and for someone who enjoys visual storytelling, this is a big win.

However, I did have some issues with the pacing and structure of the story. When I first picked up "Pineville Trace," I was expecting a thrilling escape adventure with plenty of tension and maybe some comedic moments with the cat. But the actual escape felt a bit lackluster. Frank didn’t seem to have the urgency one might expect from someone on the run. There were times when the story started to build momentum, but it often dulled out, which was a bit disappointing.

Frank’s lack of interaction with other characters also made the story feel slow at times. His journey is mostly internal, with a lot of introspection and reflection on his past life as a preacher and con man. While this added depth to his character, it didn’t always keep me fully engaged. I found myself wanting more action and dialogue to balance out his internal monologues.

The book jumps between Frank’s past and present, offering glimpses into his former life and the events that led to his imprisonment. This back-and-forth narrative had the potential to add a lot of depth, but it felt somewhat underdeveloped. I would have loved a deeper dive into his fall from grace, his family relationships, and his time in jail before his escape.

Despite these issues, there’s something undeniably appealing about this novella. It’s a quick read and offers a unique, visually rich experience. The charm of Frank’s relationship with Buffalo and the beautifully depicted natural world make it a sweet and contemplative story. It might not have been the thrilling adventure I initially hoped for, but it’s still a lovely, personal slice-of-life tale.

If you’re looking for a simple, beautifully written story with a focus on nature and introspection, "Pineville Trace" is worth a read. Just don’t go in expecting a high-octane prison break thriller. Instead, enjoy it for what it is—a quiet, reflective journey of a man and his cat seeking redemption in the wilderness.

i really enjoyed this! i am a big fan of this type of stream-of-consciousness prose. the writing style reminded me a little bit of death in her hands by ottessa moshfegh, but i liked pineville trace much more.

pineville trace is definitely driven much more by frank's consciousness and mental state more so than any external plot, but there is still a very strong sense of a journey, this very long search with an unknown ending. i liked the sense of unreality that the author plays with and there were a lot of sentence fragments or paragraphs that struck me as very beautiful. i think my favorite thing about this piece was the atmosphere; the mood was palpable in an almost suffocating way, which is something i really enjoy.

"Dusk settles down on the river like an old friend he hadn't seen in years - that he longed to rehash the old story with"

This is a beautiful little novella that rests upon 140 pages as our main character Frank, an escaped criminal from a minimum security prison, travels across lands with his cat called "Buffalo". The key to this tory lays in its captivating and conjuring imagery, the architecture of the land and also his mind. It provides the scenery with the unique opportunity to grow into itself as its own character.

Undeniable, the charm is born through Frank's relationship with his cat Buffalo, who is remarked as his little hunting cat.

I really enjoyed reading this, its was sweet and beautiful and incredibly visual (which is always a win for me) and I would highly recommend anyone seeking a more personal and simple slice of life/coming of age esque novella.

I will give it 2 starts because I recognize what the author was trying to do. But it lost me pretty early on. I found it hard to follow at the beginning, and once I got my footing with the way the story is written I didn't find it compelling enough to keep me focused. I was drifting into thought a couple times throughout. Just wasn't for me.

This is a short story but definitely not a short read. It took way longer that I expected to finish it.
The first chapter are a bit confusing and hard to get through, but once you get to understand what's happening it's more fluid, actually, it's more fluid to continue reading but the writing it's still not fluid enough and confusing at times.
This is a story of a man and his escape, from a prison, from life, from many things in my prospective. This is a story of human emotion through life and death and it's all written in a very lyrical and emphatic style, that makes you really feel for the characters.
But at the same time I feel like it was not enough, it caught my interest and kept me reading, but it didn't capture my full attention.
I think with a more fluid writing it could have been way more powerful and enjoyable.
I want to thank the publishers and NetGalley that gave me the opportunity to read this book in exchange of a sincere review!

This is a book of inner architecture and I really like the literary approach that Wes Blake takes. I also appreciate how much he accomplishes in the novella space — an intriguing travel through geography and through mind, and a recommended literary read.

This was a great read, I felt the story was perfect as a novella and I loved getting to flip between the past and present. Buffalo was definitely one of my favourite characters. The travelling aspect of the story helped it from feeling stale and gave a sense of relatability to the character as he travelled. I fell in-love with the self discovery and poetic nature this book provided.

I always enjoy a good meandering tale of inner turmoil from a MC who has to rediscover their way. fans of silas house’s “Lark Ascending” will enjoy this story, though Pineville Trace’s is more of a metaphorical rather than literal apocalypse. an apocalypse of the soul, if you will.
this is a tale that is wholeheartedly more about the journey than any destination, or long term plot device for that matter.
but any literary character on a journey of self discovery — particularly later in life and after a significant series of life altering changes — will always call to me.
it’s poetic in nature, features a lot of actual nature, and if you love cats as a familiar (or buick lesabres, for that matter) then you will find something to endear you to this book.

This is an E-ARC that I’m reviewing. 2 stars.

The premise of the novella is that a former preacher has escaped from a low security prison and is now on a journey, with his cat, reflecting on his past life.

Let me just say first of all that I’m clearly not the target audience for this book. I didn’t connect with any of the themes, the characters, or the story, and maybe that’s just a me problem and not necessarily a problem with the book.

Still, I found it extremely difficult to get through. I didn’t enjoy the prose, and the story itself wasn’t interesting enough to make up for it. I wasn’t invested in the main character at all - I just didn’t care about him, nor did I understand any of the decisions he made.

All that being said, there were some good moments too. I really liked Frank’s connection with Buffalo. The way he told her stories of their reincarnation as a pine tree and a bird was really sweet.

Overall though, this one wasn’t for me.