The Cut of Pride

In his novel The Cut of Pride, Jim Misko does something that is rare in modern literature: he writes about hard, brutal, unpleasant physical labor. And he does so with such vivid detail that the labor itself becomes one of the story’s major entities. His cast of complex, dysfunctional characters—owners and employees of a mink-raising farm in coastal Oregon—is nearly destroyed by the seemingly endless toil. Maintaining a sense of human worth is a constant struggle. The brotherhood of men who work well together, like the brotherhood of fellow soldiers, is shown through the friendship of old West Helner and Jeff Baker, a young hired hand. Slaving alongside each other, both are nearly unmanned by Rose—West’s domineering wife and owner of the mink enterprise. Here is a story with unforgettable characters, whose pride, distrust, and bitterness make for grim yet gripping drama.