The Ambassador of Nowhere Texas
Kimberly Willis Holt's The Ambassador of Nowhere, Texas is a stunning post-9/11 companion to the National Book Award-winner When Zachary Beaver Came to Town.
Inspirations
One day I was thinking about the characters in When Zachary Beaver Came to Town and pondering who Toby might have married. When I realized who, I laughed aloud. That combination would have created an interesting child. Then I did the math and realized the child could have been about twelve when 9/11 occurred. I started to get excited because it gave me a chance to write a book with some old and new characters during the aftermath of 9/11, just like the Viet Nam War era was the time period for the original story. And when I began to wonder what happened to Zachary, I picked up my pen and returned to Antler, Texas.
Antler, the setting of When Zachary Beaver Came to Town and The Ambassador of Nowhere Texas was inspired by Claude, Texas.
"In this companion to the author’s memorable When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, 30 years have passed and it’s 2001. Evocatively written (“stiff as burnt bacon”), this is an altogether absorbing and affecting novel. It’s obvious that Holt loves her fully realized characters and their small-town setting, and readers can’t help but feel the same."--Booklist, starred review
