In his rambunctious historical novel THE BUTCHER ON COLFAX, J.T. Tierney offers a sprawling, Dickensian tale of ambition, idealism, and the pursuit of the American Dream in early 20th-century Denver. Tierney interweaves the lives of his fictional characters with the social, cultural, and political upheavals of the era. At the heart of the novel are Irish immigrants Emmett Kelly and Tom Quinn, whose divergent paths—Emmett as a ruthlessly ambitious butcher, Tom as an idealistic labor leader—form the core of the narrative. Unfolding against the backdrop of pivotal events from the era—the Panic of 1893, World War I, the influenza pandemic—the narrative deftly braids the personal and the political. Tierney showcases a knack for vivid historical detail, immersing readers in the sights, smells, and cadences of early Denver. As he writes of young Emmett’s initiation into the bloody trade of butchery: “Six days a week from dawn to dusk, Emmett rasped hair from the cold, hanging carcasses of hogs that trundled past him in a ceaseless procession.”
While expansive in scope, the novel’s true heart lies in the unflinchingly intimate portrayal of its central characters. Emmett emerges as a fascinatingly flawed antihero, his outsized ambition matched only by his capacity for self-delusion. Tierney charts his unraveling with a sharp yet sympathetic eye: “Emmett felt a fight was in order. Always fight when someone’s doing you wrong.” Equally compelling are the women in Emmett and Tom’s orbits (Tom’s wife, Maggie, and Emmett’s wife, Alice) who forge an unlikely bond in tragedy’s wake. In charting Alice’s transformation from reticent housewife to influential activist, Tierney offers a nuanced portrait of female resilience and the shifting gender norms of the era. Thematically, the book grapples with weighty issues—immigration, labor rights, the dark side of ambition—that feel both historically resonant and strikingly contemporary.
Tierney’s ambition, however, sometimes outstrips his execution. The pacing falters under the weight of too many subplots and secondary characters, and the story at times threatens to buckle under the weight of its own sprawl. Still, such flaws feel forgivable in light of the novel’s thematic heft, rich historical context, and complex character studies. Tierney’s depiction of 1880s Denver is immersive, presenting a city on the brink of modernity yet grappling with its lawless roots. Also, the novel’s conclusion challenges the reader to ponder the true cost of ambition and the possibility of redemption in a world that often rewards ruthlessness.
A rollicking and incisive novel that follows in the tradition of Upton Sinclair and E.L. Doctorow, J.T. Tierney’s THE BUTCHER ON COLFAX offers a ripping good yarn, an astute work of social history, and a penetrating exploration of American folklore.
~Edward Sung for IndieReader