This novel of literary fiction is a ribald and adventurous mixture of humor, magical realism, Old West historical fact, and dream-like self-reflection. It’s quite difficult to categorize this book. But author Brian Kindall skillfully unspools a literary tale worth reading. There’s a reason it was selected as a Finalist for Literary Fiction in the 2015 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards.

Didier Rain—the unruly yet kind protagonist—is hired to deliver a baby named Virtue to a Mormon prophet, who has been chosen as his future bride. (!!!) Rain’s proclivities for alcohol and sex are dashed when he is instructed to not partake in these dalliences during the long trip. He is accompanied by two horses—Brownie and Puck—and a helpful goat that remains sadly unnamed. At first, the animals are imagined by Rain to speak, but then are gradually personified into full-blown characters. Virtue miraculously grows into a young woman during the trip, this unusually magical transformation rendered as a normal occurrence. The group enlists an abandoned Native American woman named Turtle Dove and encounter a variety of miscreants and curious onlookers during their trek. Rains exploits are both comical and unexpected. His proclivity to give into his unrelenting carnal desires or poetic indulgences reveals to his thoughtful introspection, which is mined more fruitfully with his backstory.

The narration is pitch-perfect to the period of the 1850s while Rain’s observations, inquisitiveness, and creative indulgences are mesmerizing. He quickly grows close to Virtue the baby while he cares for her on the rough trip as well as to his animal cohorts, which endears him to the reader. I found myself laughing out loud a few times at the predicaments Rain fumbles into and wasn’t surprised at the magical elements that liberally occurred throughout, as Brian Kindall masterfully revealed these elements in the most seemingly natural of ways. As Rain reveals his past to his cohorts as well as to the reader, his cynicism becomes justified. He has an unsavory past, yet his abhorrent history gives way to his loving care for the young woman Virtue as well as the animals under his watch.

Go buy this book right now! You’ll be glad you did. Highly recommended! The sequel to this novel, Fortuna and the Scapegrace, is on my to-read list. ( )