The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All

A Novel

By: Josh Ritter

Narrated by: Josh Ritter

From singer-songwriter Josh Ritter, a lyrical, sweeping novel about a young boy's coming of age during the last days of the lumberjacks.

In the tiny timber town of Cordelia, Idaho, 99-year-old Weldon Applegate recounts his life in all its glory, filled with tall tales writ large with murder, mayhem, avalanches, and bootlegging. It’s the story of dark pine forests brewing with ancient magic, and Weldon’s struggle as a boy to keep his father’s inherited timber claim, the Lost Lot, from the ravenous clutches of Linden Laughlin.

Ever since young Weldon stepped foot in the deep Cordelia woods as a child, he dreamed of joining the rowdy ranks of his ancestors in their epic axe-swinging adventures. Local legend says their family line boasts some of the greatest lumberjacks to ever roam the American West, but at the beginning of the 20th century, the jacks are dying out, and it’s up to Weldon to defend his family legacy.

Braided with haunting saloon tunes and just the right dose of magic, The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All is a novel bursting with heart, humor, and an utterly transporting adventure that is sure to sweep you away into the beauty of the tall snowy mountain timber.

©2021 Josh Ritter (P)2021 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

Even better than Bright’s Passage

Although one of music’s greatest lyricists I was still pleasantly surprised Josh Ritter could out do Bright’s Passage. However he managed to do it. The Great Glorious Goddamn Of It All stands as his greatest literary achievement to date. I anxiously await his third book.

offbeat story by great songwriter!

This book by a singer-songwriter I love tells the story from the vantage point of the 99 year old narrator, with most of the action having taken place when he was 13, living among lumberjacks. It's a hardscrabble life, and there is a fair amount of grisly action, with some (well, one, really) nasty characters, and several good ones.

Excellent tale

I loved the way the author spins this story and does so in his own voice. I will find any other books he may have written. Highly recommend.

Witty, fun, and raw

Great fun read of tall tales and a wonderful historical perspective of lumber jacking. Higher marks for performance when speaking for the older characters if a much older voice was used.

Raw story - very emotional

Excellent story telling. First rate. Interesting characters. Described the difficult life of loggers before mechanization.

Cursing life and loving the woods!

A hard and wonderful life in a hard and beautiful place through the eyes of a young man inspired my imagination. I regret that the author did not have two voices: one for the young man and one for the old man! Once I had the voice of the young man in my mind it was hard to hear the old man with the same voice. The story was rife with metaphors and symbols of the rough and tumble world of an orphan trying to handle the world on his own.

Love it.

This book is so engaging. I was not familiar with Josh Ritters music but the narrative in his words are so lyrical that it was a joy to listen to it. I kept thinking that the story was written by a song writer. Indeed that’s true. Very creative story and very enjoyable.

Lots of cussing but excellent.

This is an excellent novel situated in an Idaho area I know well. It's an interesting coming of age story.

Some may find the cussing off-putting but it's completely appropriate for the times and the culture of hardworking blue-collar lumber industry.

Terrific Storytelling!

Absolutely love the way that Ritter strings his words together, whether in writing or in song. The poetry and Josh's narration swept me back in time to the Lost Lot and make me want to visit that corner of the universe. I'll be carrying the images with me for a while!

Eloquent Villain; If The Devil Carried an Axe

I am a massive Josh Ritter fan, so my opinion may be biased, but rarely have I so viscerally hated a villain. The everyday tedium and flaw of his characters adds a great realness to them all, and therefore moreso adds to the malice of well spoken Linden Laughlin. Weldon Applegate knows how to keep a ghost on his mountain.