Overview

A MARCH 2026 INDIE NEXT PICK ★ ""Powerfully poetic...a testament to American virtues--and flaws.""--Kirkus Reviews (starred review) A deeply moving family story unfolding in richly evocative prose during the final decades of the American century, Ashland is a book of metamorphoses--of the dance between permanence and transformation. The story takes place in Ashland, New Hampshire, a former mill town in the lakes region, and is told in six voices, among them Carolyn, a twenty year old writer at a turning point in her life; Gordon, who arrives in Ashland in the twilight of his years; Andy, a local boy; Geoff, Carolyn's writing teacher at Plymouth State; and Edith, Gordon's wife, who is inadvertently Carolyn's spiritual guide and friend. Then there is Jennie, Carolyn's aunt, who seems to offer her a model for how to live. But things aren't always what they seem, and Carolyn must discover her own rules and make her own way. Ashland is a debut novel of great intensity, beautifully told in the voices of many vivid characters and, through them, in the voice of Ashland itself.

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Reviews

★ ""A multilayered and richly evocative portrait of a dying New Hampshire mill town, told through the voices of intertwined families during the 20th century... Powerfully poetic, this novel serves as a cross section of the Granite State, a testament to American virtues--and flaws.""--Kirkus Reviews (starred review) ""In eloquent, restrained prose, Dan Simon tells the story of intersecting lives from small-town New Hampshire. Like a modern Thorton Wilder with a touch of Faulkner, Simon couches the deepest wisdom in the simplest language and hands it to characters whose outer lives appear simple but whose inner lives are immensely rich. With quiet lyricism and deep compassion, Simon brings to life the complexity, melancholy, and hope that are braided into the human spirit.""--Andrew Solomon ""Compelling... A poetic, psychological, original take on the ways we are all affected and connected by how and where we live. The prose is lovely, memorable, also intense. Once read, it stays as if waited for. Beautiful, unique.""--Beverly Gologorsky

""In eloquent, restrained prose, Dan Simon tells the story of intersecting lives from small-town New Hampshire. Like a modern Thorton Wilder with a touch of Faulkner, Simon couches the deepest wisdom in the simplest language and hands it to characters whose outer lives appear simple but whose inner lives are immensely rich. With quiet lyricism and deep compassion, Simon brings to life the complexity, melancholy, and hope that are braided into the human spirit.""--Andrew Solomon ""Compelling... A poetic, psychological, original take on the ways we are all affected and connected by how and where we live. The prose is lovely, memorable, also intense. Once read, it stays as if waited for. Beautiful, unique.""--Beverly Gologorsky

Author Information

Dan Simon is the founder and editor-in-chief of Seven Stories Press. Ashland is his debut novel. He lives in New York and New Hampshire.

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