Martin Hyatt

In a house trailer in the rural South, a married Vietnam veteran, addicted to drugs and haunted by memories of the past, is on the brink of collapse. Just when he thinks the dream of another life is over, the unspeakable happens. He falls in love with a frail, ghostly younger man who reminds him of youth, beauty, and the possibility of a life beyond the prison he has created for himself. A Scarecrow's Bible is about what happens when love occurs at the most unexpected moment. It is the story of how working-class men and women in a small town adapt to changes that somehow seem impossible. It is a novel of hope and transformation that challenges our ideas about diversity and social change, all the while breaking our hearts.

"Lyrical and anguished, this is a stunning first novel about the despair of addiction and the hope provided by love. The writing is so skillful it's hard to believe that this is a debut. Hallucinated scenes from the past enter into the dreamlike present to create a tapestry of pain and solace. If this is a gay novel it's unlike any other I've ever read."
"The characters in A Scarecrow’s Bible are the kind of people novelists too often discard as insignificant and unworthy of our notice. In Martin Hyatt's compassionate hands they come fully to life in all their haunting despair."
"Martin Hyatt's narrative tour de force takes us deep into the un-chronicled heart of rural working-class gay life in the Deep South. Hyatt is a merciless, merciful storyteller, showing us the people sacrificed to bigotry, and those who snatched themselves, scarred and beautiful, out of its murderous jaws."
"Martin Hyatt knows about love and fear, despair and redemption, joy and guilt, and he tells the truth. He writes like an angel, albeit a sad one. I love A Scarecrow's Bible."

"Shell-shocked survivors find unexpected solace in A Scarecrow’s Bible, an original and riveting work of modern fiction from first-time novelist Martin Hyatt. Vietnam veteran Gary Slope returned from the war a changed man, and the suffering caused by frighteningly vivid flashbacks and torturous hallucinations is made that much worse by a nearly debilitating addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol. With a grown daughter ready to leave the nest and an already-rocky marriage on the verge of collapse he can no longer deny where his true desires lie. And with the help of a much younger man Gary hopes to find much needed relief, if not emotional salvation. A masterfully written page-turnerA Scarecrow’s Bible combines several styles and voices. Gary’s struggles for personal happiness are echoed in those of his surprisingly well-suited soul mate, Zachary, whose own troubled history is revealed in an inventive way. By being unafraid of such literary and social taboos Hyatt tackles issues of homophobia and small town insularity with a brave and refreshingly honest perspective. His characters are both vibrant and true to life, and the readers will be hard pressed to put this spellbinding book down for more than a moment."

-Shawn Revelle
EXP Magazine