Five Skies.

Carlson, Ron (author).

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Three men, all emotionally damaged in different ways, come together at the edge of a remote chasm in Idaho. Their task is to construct a ramp from which a motorcyclist will launch herself, à la Evel Knievel. Two are naturally taciturn, and their personal pains make them almost mute. The third is a callow 19-year-old; all three are seeking a refuge from their anguish. The ­summer-long project of building the ramp, healing themselves, and helping the young man mature, is the subject of this fine and moving tale. Neither ranch foreman Darwin nor engineer and contractor Arthur Key is the kind of man who can articulate feelings, and young Ronnie Panelli simply doesn’t yet understand his feelings. As a result, their dialogue often glances off what is really gnawing at them, and the effect is initially disconcerting but ultimately affecting. Additionally, the barren high desert and the weather it spawns are so beautifully rendered that it can be seen as a fourth important character. Carlson, critically acclaimed for his short stories, has written a note-perfect novel that will challenge and reward all who care about literary fiction.