We Burn Daylight

Praise

“A magnificent portrait of how even as the rivets of our republic are popping loose, plumes of beauty still rise from the soil upon which so much wrong continues to repeat. I read We Burn Daylight in a sitting, devoured it in a breath. It’s an amazement.”—Rick Bass, author of For a Little While and Why I Came West
 
“This gorgeously rendered novel asks many questions about humanity: Who do we follow and why? Who decides what we believe? Johnston allows curious onlookers inside the compound and the hearts of Waco in a perfect marriage of history and art.”—Booklist, starred review
 
“Amid the plethora of stories about cults, this stands out.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“A moving and epic tale. I would expect no less from Johnston.”—CrimeReads
 
“Symphonic and suspenseful, We Burn Daylight reimagines events at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco. In an epic act of empathy, Bret Anthony Johnston inhabits every point of view, from doomed devotees to perplexed law enforcement, and even manages to infuse the tragedy with moments of poignant, very human, humor.”—Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March

“A colossal achievement of We Burn Daylight is that it demands to be read in a breathless rush, and afterward, demands deepest and most private reflection.”—Megha Majumdar, New York Times bestselling author of A Burning

“With bravery and compassion, Bret Anthony Johnston takes on a watershed moment in American history, cutting through the myth and messiainism to reveal a story that is profoundly—and tragically—human.”—Cristina Henriquez, author of The Great Divide

“Fascinating characters and an engaging, authentic style give We Burn Daylight a fine shot at the Great American Novel sweepstakes. Few people can bring Texas to life on the page like Bret Anthony Johnston.”—Gary Shteyngart, New York Times bestselling author of Our Country Friends

“Yes, it is spellbinding. Yes, it is explosive. Yes, it is a must-read book. An ineffable work of fiction, We Burn Daylight is full of characters grappling with the ways loss and language and space and desire make it so hard to speak not to the loss but to each other.”—Morgan Talty, bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez and Fire Exit: A Novel

“A magnificent portrait of how even as the rivets of our Republic are popping loose, plumes of beauty still rise from the soil upon which so much wrong continues to repeat. I read We Burn Daylight in a sitting, devoured it in a breath. It’s an amazement.”—Rick Bass, author of For a Little While and Why I Came West
 
“Fast-moving and emotionally sophisticated . . . Johnston adeptly shifts between mundane moments and episodes of vivid drama. . . . An evocative reimagining of the Romeo and Juliet story set amid the catastrophic collapse of a religious cult.”—Kirkus Review, starred review