Recent Praise for "When The Finch Rises"

Riggs does a remarkable job of making Raybert and Palmer seem capable of any act, violent or tender. He keeps the reader guessing about what might become of the boys…A less talented writer would have let the book end on a one-dimensional note, either sentimental or bleak, but Riggs' writing is much more nuanced. He pulls everything together with honesty and grace, the fate of each character seeming both unexpected and inevitable.

-Ruth Ann Grissomn Special to The Charlotte Observer

 Few authors can capture the world through the eyes of a child without being overly simplistic, but Jack Riggs has hit the nail on the head on his first try. Riggs beautifully captures these young boys’ lives as the tight-rope act from which a fall is not only threatening, but expected.

-Dear Reader, Square Books, Oxford Mississippi

When The Finch Rises is an examination of the sometimes painful nature of life,tempered by moments of classic American pop culture and the icons that culture has produced as highway markers through our recent history.  Raybert’s story is as painful as watching a mother’s love dissolve to near invisibility and it is as joyous as memories of swimming as a child on a perfect summer day. Riggs’ story-telling ability reminds us that there is a balance to be found between the great events of the day and the day-to-day events that are the real moments of life. . .Riggs seems to be saying to his readers: we  must look around the corners of our flaws to find what wonders are next. 

-Bishop Hadley, The Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops

 "When the Finch Rises," Jack Riggs' debut novel is refreshingly different. . . [He] does a remarkable job keep[ing] the reader guessing about what might become of the boys.  A less talented writer would have let the book end on a one-dimensional note, either sentimental or bleak, but Riggs' writing is much more nuanced. He pulls everything together with honesty and grace, the fate of each character seeming both unexpected and inevitable. 

-Charlotte Observer, October 5, 2003

 It's the kind of book you don't see coming, one that saunters up and decks you in the face before there's time to duck. . . Riggs writes with a cool, sometimes abrupt detachment, which makes the rare moments of warmth and clarity all the more manifest. He clearly knows his setting and writes of the gritty Ellenton with an immediacy that can't be faked.

-Creative Loafing, October 16, 2003

 A lyrical debut that conjures up the mysteries of a mill town summer, vividly depicting the lights and shadows of ordinary events and horrors.

-Atlanta Journal Constitution, October 17, 2003

 Riggs's sympathy for his characters is evident, and he conveys a strong visceral sense of their ramshackle physical surroundings and the tense
national political climate.

-Publishers Weekly

 Riggs puts such a wondrous and compelling spin on his material that readers will remain in the grip of this first novel long after they have read the final page. . .[He] has a formidable command of the language, and he effortlessly incorporates stunning moments of magic realism, turning his harsh story into something quite beautiful.

-Booklist

 Jack is lauded as “a wonderful new voice,” “remarkable” and a “great new talent.”

-Lexington Dispatch, October 9, 2003

 Early Reviews—

"Jack Riggs' debut novel completely captures the confusion and wonder of adolescence in a small Southern town during the late 1960's.  I was immediately endeared to the lead character, Raybert, and was mesmerized by his honest, lyrical narration.  Each character is vivid and fully drawn and complex.  Nothing is one-dimensional here.  Riggs has crafted a highly readable novel in which the characters are original and quirky, yet completely universal at the same time.  CRAZY GONE WILD is a hilarious and moving debut from a wonderful new voice." 
-Silas House, author of CLAY'S QUILT and A PARCHMENT OF LEAVES
 

“When the Finch Rises is a bold novel, so rugged with truth it seems hacked from stone. Here are pages that throb with the power of hard life. Riveting.”
-Fred Chappell

“You’ll fall in love with Raybert as I did, in this beautiful, compelling, heartbreaking novel. I was dazzled by its seemingly simple eloquence. These characters will be with me for a long time.”
-Lewis Nordan

“Jack Riggs’s up and coming days are over. He’s here. When the Finch Rises shows great talent.”
-Clyde Edgerton

In When the Finch Rises, Jack Riggs has brought to life two of the most memorable characters I've met in a long while.  Raybert and Palmer, boyhood friends, are forced to confront life's darkest turns and in the process gain a true understanding of love and acceptance and what it takes to survive.  Like a contemporary Tom and Huck, this pair is graced with a keen wit and eye for humor, keeping the reader in that precarious position of not knowing whether to laugh or cry.  Riggs's ability to find and hold that balance is remarkable.  When the Finch Rises is compelling and moving—a stunning debut.
-Jill McCorkle