Written by Jen Wahlquist and partially read by Marilyn brown.
If a novel’s success hinges on how well the author portrays honest characters in challenging situations, then Robert Goble well deserves the appellation of Novelist, for he has truly depicted the heart and feelings of his protagonist, Jordan Fairchild in Across a Harvested Field. With rare insight into the multi-layered process of grieving, Robert Goble portrays the healing journey of a young man, Jordan Fairchild, whose life has just imploded following the loss of his wife and two young children in a traffic accident.
The novel’s narrative voice is skillfully tuned to reveal multi-layered perceptions, and the main characters (Jordan Fairchild, a high school teacher, and Natalia Antonali, a world-famous pop singer disguised as plain and simple Nattie) represent an unusual blending of modern America’s cultural polarities. As the teacher and the singer merge their solo parts into the occasional disharmonious duet, they find rewarding opportunities to learn, grow, and finally to take control of their lives.
Robert Goble’s abilities to compose colorful descriptions and honest dialogue initially draw in the reader, who then becomes immersed in the taut pacing as complications arise. Jordan, the novel’s protagonist, struggles with his growing attachment to the young woman, seemingly a runaway, to whom he has rented the basement of his house. At first feeling pity for Nattie’s lonely isolation, he invites her to his family’s Thanksgiving dinner in Logan. On the return trip to his home, the following occurs:
The sky rested low and white, as if a giant airbrush had erased the tops of the mountains in one great, fuzzy line. The air had a strange, sharp quality—diffuse, no-shadow light that said a snowstorm was imminent. Jordan drove with a quiet seriousness, every once in a while glancing out his window to see if the clouds were any lower. He dreaded the heavy, dark squall he expected to come into the horizon behind them any minute. Inside, his emotions tangled and danced. He was annoyed that he’d let his mother talk him into staying the night, but every time he thought about last night, he would leap back into himself, to that brief moment in Nattie’s arms. Underneath it all was a steady beat, saying that he shouldn’t have kissed her.
To honor his skill in creating a well-structured novel that leaves readers hoping for a sequel, the Utah Valley University Department of English and Literature is proud to present the Marilyn Brown Unpublished Novel Award for 2010 to Robert Goble for Across a Harvested Field.