Bunyan and Henry; Or, the Beautiful Destiny

With his outsized debut, Cecil offers a portrait of Paul Bunyan and John Henry before they reached legendary status, racing across a young United States and trying to keep ahead of cultish businessman El Boffo. Bunyan’s dreams of family and financial security are ruined when his employers withhold his bonus—and hide the deadly side effects of the ore they mine. Henry flees an unjust prison system that finds his strong arms too valuable to set free. He seeks to escape across the waters with his brilliant wife and son. Ari Fliakos narrates the majority of the book as Bunyan, with a few chapters going to Tanis Parenteau and JD Jackson. Fliakos often performs the novel with a booming drama appropriate for a tall tale and is never too shy to break into song or onomatopoeia, no matter how silly the situation. Though the story centers on corporate greed trampling innocence and freedom, Fliakos also gives voice to Bunyan’s naive sense of wonder at the world.