Novels

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"Love this this sweet, clever, and gritty retelling of the “Dutch Lullaby,” the one about the army deserter opium addict, the lovesick balladeer with a voice like “an ill-fitting oarlock," and the radish-eating narcoleptic—in a boat. Yet it's no joke: Amick’s language is inspired, as transcendent as the inaugural fishing trip in the small craft these unlikely friends build at the edge of the North Sea. Every page is filled with marvelous revelations about the nature of the world and about being human. Amick’s vivid landscape of the 1880s herring-centered world even includes glimpses of Vincent “Cent” Van Gogh. Here, despite the weight of colonialism, war, and financial and family struggles, folks with open hearts can still find magic and goodness, can still live lives “mostly full of awe.” You Shall See the Beautiful Things is a promise delivered."

--Bonnie Jo Campbell, National Book Award nominee

"Wynken, Blynken, and Nod have never been so ingeniously revived as in this rollicking romp of a book! In You Shall See the Beautiful Things, Steve Amick creates a zany world that, ultimately, shows us more about the tenderness of the human heart and the mysteries of this star-filled world."  ― Ellen Bass, Chancellor Emerita, Academy of American Poets

"In a tale fit for a dreamy summer night. . . Amick's new novel waltzes across fantasy and history. . . . There's something in this story about male vulnerability—and maybe about the necessity of becoming more comfortable with feeling unmoored. It was so present in all three [characters].  . . . The story is absolutely gorgeous." -- April Baer, Stateside, Michigan Radio

"Amick presents an innovative retelling of nineteenth-century American poet Eugene Field’s 'Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.' " -- Booklist 

."The last writer to celebrate the charms of rural Michigan with equal panache was probably Ernest Hemingway."--Los Angeles Times

"The Lake, the River & the Other Lake is a comic novel with a dark and thoughtful edge, which is the mark of all good comedy."
--Chicago Tribune

"Few first novels manage to satirize their milieu with as much affection."
--Baltimore Sun

"(a) wonderful novel... You won't find Weneshkeen on any real map, but when you come away from The Lake, the River & the Other Lake , you'll know you've been to the real world all the same."
--The Washington Post...

"...easygoing, rambunctious...New York Times Book Review

."Amick’s greatest strength is his generosity toward his characters."--New York Times Book Review

"Pitch-perfect…Amick gives us something increasingly rare: a love story with heart."--Associated Press"

"Few first novels manage to satirize their milieu with as much affection."
--Baltimore Sun

"Amick’s expertly crafted novel combines an unusual love story with an intriguing, atmospheric peek into the American graphic-art world in the 1940s."--People"

"Steve Amick's new novel is a quirky, touching, and at times refreshingly masculine Valentine.--Julia Glass, National Book Award-winning author of Three Junes