The Road Builder (Blue Hen/Penguin Putnam 2002) is an emotionally rich and epic story of romance and exploration. It was a ‘Borders Original Voices’ selection and won the Western States Book Award in 2002. You won’t find it in many bookstores but you might still be able to get a copy on Amazon. Or maybe it’s in your local library.

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A sampling of what the critics had to say about it:

 

“…a novel that seamlessly and artfully blends a beautifully nuanced, character-driven story with a story of epic scope, one that resonates into the largest issues of our world. The Road Builder … leads us through both the mystery that is Africa and the mystery that is the human heart.”    Robert Olen Butler (Pulitzer Prize winner)

 

“Carefully detailed yet hazily dreamlike.”  Publisher’s Weekly

 

“Hershenow masterfully evokes Africa as the keeper of all secrets… his prose is carefully sculpted, at once contemplative and playful.”    Denver Post

 

“Effortlessly combines dream and reality, history and myth.”    Winston-Salem Journal

 

“Provides old-fashioned pleasures along with a modern sensibility . (Hershenow’s) character sketches are more than matched by his evocation of place.”  San Diego Union-Tribune

 

“Hershenow’s perceptive depiction of modern Africa is both joyous and tragic… the novel is a fascinating exploration of chaos theory in action and how one road can lead to the destruction or salvation of a people.”       Portland Tribune

 

“A warm and wise epic novel… brings together romance without sentimentality, social issues without preaching, and above all, a rare gift for storytelling and characterization.   Bookpage.com

 

"…The Road Builder tackles huge themes – corporate colonialism, racism, paternalism, greed, depair and hope… a novel that is at once profound and a good read."      The Missouri Review

 

“Effusive yet not naive, full of old-fashioned romance and adventure as well as harsh, modern issues, The Road Builder is a memorable first novel."  Elliot Bay Book Company Review

 

“A haunting look at the effects of colonization, Hershenow’s novel perceptively explores race, politics and the social dynamics of one of the world’s most complex continents."  Book Page

 

"An eloquent, sweeping novel of Westerners in Africa."    Worldview

 

"A remarkable accomplishment, marrying politics and romance in the grand, epic tradition of Leo Tolstoy.  Hershenow’s authority in presenting his flawed and endearing characters, not to mention the inarguable authenticity of place (physisal, psychological, spiritual) makes him a rare American writer in contemporary times… utterly engrossing."      Antonya Nelson, author and judge, Western States Book Awards, 2002