Lay Down Your Weary Tune

“An examination of art, fame, and authenticity.” —The Boston Globe

“[A] richly textured novel about folk music…Belcher brings the folk music scene to life, but best of all is his ability to craft a cast of memorable characters.” —Publisher’s Weekly

“Appealing…Mingling elements from both literature and the blues, Belcher has crafted a memorable tale about how the masks and myths we create can become prisons that ultimately disconnect us from ourselves.” —Library Journal

“This story will pluck countless heartstrings.” —Booklist

“W.B. Belcher’s debut novel evokes the legend and timelessness of a true folk song. In the town of Galesville he weaves together a carefully crafted, mysterious, and epic world of characters whose stories will keep you guessing until the very end. A folkloric treasure trove and a great read.” —Jocelyn Arem, author of Caffe Lena: Inside America’s Legendary Folk Music Coffeehouse

“A heartening, timeless, and stirring song for the ‘perfectly broken.’ Beautifully thrownback. Openhanded. True. W.B. Belcher is my kind of writer.” —Matthew Quick, New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook and Love May Fail

“As beautiful and artfully constructed as an old guitar, Lay Down Your Weary Tune feels both familiar and wholly original. William Belcher’s debut is a highly readable wonder.” —James Scott, author of The Kept 

“Like Russell Banks and Richard Russo, W.B. Belcher’s warm, lyrical prose brings to life the upstate New York I know and love so well, and even more, he does it with the clarity, compassion, and humor of a master storyteller. A terrific debut novel.” —Chris Millis, author, screenwriter, and executive producer of Small Apartments