FROELICH'S LADDER

Two brothers spend their lives caretaking an immense wooden ladder so their uncle can live safely on its upper rungs, where he tends tiny herb gardens and uses his knuckles for tapping impertinent messages to his nephews below.

When Froelich disappears, astonishing the brothers who have only ever known him as a demanding presence in the sky, this tall tale of a debut novel plunges into the wilderness of nineteenth century Oregon Country, populated with hardscrabble immigrants, Civil War veterans, a wealthy merchant whose strong-willed niece keeps escaping her guarded tower, and an innkeeper s daughter who disguises herself as a boy to protect her family. As the characters set off in search of their individual American dreams, they become unlikely allies in a wet, lush landscape fraught with murderers, shoals of hungry clouds, and the occasional circus menagerie.

Jamie Duclos-Yourdon s impeccably paced debut is a rollicking comedy packed with magic, old-fashioned mayhem, and plenty of heart. This fairytale twist on the American dream explores the conflicts between loyalty and ambition and our need for human connection, even at the highest rungs.

Jamie Duclos-Yourdon, a freelance editor and technical expert, received his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. His short fiction has appeared in the Alaska Quarterly Review, Underneath the Juniper Tree, and Chicago Literati, and he has contributed essays and interviews to Booktrib.