I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Fire Exit: A Novel by Morgan Talty Published by Tin House Books, W.W. Norton on June 4, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Indigenous
Pages: 254
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley
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Goodreads
A TIME, The New Yorker, ELLE, NPR, Harper’s Bazaar Best Book of the Year
Finalist 2024 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the 2024 Maya Angelou Book Award
Longlisted for 2025 Joyce Carol Oates Prize, 2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize, and the 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction
“Utterly consuming. . . . Fire Exit absolutely smolders.”—Tommy Orange
From the award-winning author of Night of the Living Rez, comes a masterful and unforgettable story of family, legacy, bloodlines, culture and inheritance, and what, if anything, we owe one another.
From the porch of his home, Charles Lamosway has watched the life he might have had unfold across the river on Maine’s Penobscot Reservation. He caught brief moments of his neighbor Elizabeth’s life—from the day she came home from the hospital to her early twenties. But there’s something deeper and more dangerous than the river that divides him from her and the rest of the tribal community. It’s the secret that Elizabeth is his daughter, a secret Charles is no longer willing to keep.
Now, it’s been weeks since he’s seen Elizabeth, and Charles is worried. As he attempts to hold on to and care for what he can—his home and property; his alcoholic and bighearted friend Bobby; and his mother, Louise, who is slipping deeper into dementia—he becomes increasingly haunted by his past. Forced to confront a lost childhood on the reservation, a love affair cut short, and the death of his beloved stepfather, Fredrick, Charles contends with questions he’s long been afraid to ask. Is his secret about Elizabeth his to share? And would his daughter want to know the truth, even if it could cost her everything she’s ever known?
Review
Some books grab you by the collar and don’t let go. Morgan Talty’s Fire Exit is one of them.
At its heart is Charles Lamosway, a white man with a complicated relationship to home. Raised on a Penobscot reservation but later kicked out for not having tribal blood, Charles carries the weight of belonging nowhere. He’s fighting demons – alcohol, family secrets, and questions about his daughter that won’t let him rest.
Talty, a Penobscot citizen himself, knows this world intimately. But what makes this book special isn’t just its authenticity – it’s how it takes a specific story and makes it universal. Through Charles’s eyes, we confront questions that haunt us all: What makes a place home? Can we truly belong somewhere we weren’t born? And when does blood matter less than the soil that raised us?
The writing hits like a shot of whiskey – clean, sharp, and leaving you a little breathless. Talty takes his time, peeling back layers of truth like old wallpaper, revealing the pain and beauty underneath. Charles isn’t always likable, but he’s real – the kind of character who stays with you long after you close the book.
Sure, the middle sections are sometimes slow to a crawl. But like a long winter in Maine (where the story’s set), the patience pays off. By the end, you understand why Talty needed to take his time. Some truths can’t be rushed.
This isn’t just another identity politics novel. It’s a story about the lies we tell ourselves about who we are, and the painful process of facing the truth. It’s about family – not the Hallmark kind, but the messy, complicated version we actually live with.
For a debut novel, Fire Exit shows remarkable confidence. Talty isn’t just a promising new voice – he’s already a master storyteller. This book will make you think, feel, and maybe even understand yourself a little better.
If you read one new novel this year, make it this one. Just don’t expect to walk away with easy answers – or to stop thinking about it anytime soon.
