Indies Today
By K.C. Finn
Star Rating: 5/5
Arkansas Black by Alexander Blevens is a Southern Gothic tale of fractured kinship, rural identity, and generational survival. The story opens in a Northwest Arkansas orchard, with a devastating spring frost that wipes out the Fitch family’s apple crop. This initial disaster spells devastation for the central focus and livelihood of the family, and Jesse Fitch prepares to abandon their ancestral land with his wife and son. Meanwhile, his identical twin brother, Silas, digs in. He’s attached to the land, the heritage, and what it would mean emotionally to abandon this place, and is determined to fight for their legacy at all costs. But before these brothers can part ways with their differing views, a second tragedy unearths a long-buried secret, forcing Jesse and Silas into a spiraling conflict that tests the limits of blood, loyalty, and sanity. Suddenly, so much more than the orchard is on the line. As the brothers struggle to define home and family in the face of ruin, the story evolves into a gripping portrait of men driven to extremes by land, pride, and truth.
Author Alexander Blevens really knows how to capture a moment in time, and he writes with a raw, lyrical intensity that evokes the Southern landscape in all its beauty and brutality. The location has a rough and rugged feel to it that immediately evokes the masculine ideas that Jesse and Silas bring to the forefront of readers’ minds. What’s really clever about the way this story develops is, much like nature, the beauty and fragility of these two men is revealed for those willing to stop and take a closer look at them. Between the sense of masculine vulnerability and rural stoicism, the dialogue always remains grounded, natural, and regionally authentic, with a twin dynamic that is powerfully developed, showcasing deep psychological contrast in every facet of how these men think, speak, and act. That commitment to characterization keeps you totally invested, and it is hard to choose between the very different paths these brothers seem set on, with a moral ambiguity that gives the story emotional weight and realism, and attentive pacing that allows tension to simmer and boil over organically at just the right moments. Overall, Arkansas Black is an unforgettable portrayal of familial inheritance, both emotional and material, and a masterful work of storytelling that brings noir and nuance to the family saga genre.
Kirkus
Aug 8, 2025
Awards & Accolades: 
Secrets, lies, and failing crops are tearing a family, and their farm, apart in Blevens’ historical novel.
It’s 1927 in Benton County, Arkansas, and 30-year-old Jesse Fitch lives on his family farm with his 27-year-old wife, Marybeth, and their son Levi, who’s 7. His twin brother, Silas, is also there, as are Silas’ wife and daughters, and the siblings’ father, known as “Paps.” The land has been in their family for several generations, but it’s not producing like it used to do. A late frost, too much rain, and continued pest infestations have kept the trees from growing fruit, which means no money’s coming in for the family. Jesse is sure that the answer is to give up the farm and head west, but Silas and Paps are dead set against the idea, believing that the trees will fruit again next year. Jesse, however, knows the score: The Fitches owe more to the bank than the land is worth, but Silas swears everything will be fine. However, as determined as Silas is to stay on the land, he knows they need cash to stave off eviction, so he starts working with some locals who need an out-of-the-way farm to hide and smuggle illegal liquor. Jesse wants nothing to do with this arrangement, but Silas is willing to lie, cheat, or worse if it means staying on the land. Over the course of this historical novel, Blevens presents a compelling tale of hardship. Although the brothers are twins, they effectively act as foils to each other, and as they go about protecting their families in different ways, they manage to work with and against each other, by turns. There are vivid descriptions of the land (“He passed a cottonwood trunk, three feet in diameter with furrowed gray-brown bark, leaning over the river where the erosive wandering of the channel had robbed the tree of its tenuous clutch on the sandy bank”) and the Fitches’ hardships, making this work a journey into the past that readers can inhabit, and they’ll feel the family’s pain and loss as they experience it.
A vivid and often touching novel of the fragility of family bonds.
BookLife
Editor’s Pick 
Absorbing tale of twin brothers and hard choices in Prohibition-era Arkansas.
Blevens’ absorbing second novel follows twin brothers Jesse and Silas Fitch as they navigate personal tragedy amidst the decline of their family’s Arkansas Black apple orchard. After facing bankruptcy, Jesse plans to leave their land with his wife, Marybeth, and their son, and he wants Silas’ family to come with them. But Silas has other plans—he is confident that he can repay their debt transporting illegal liquor, and he stubbornly vows to stay. The situation gets even more complicated when Silas’ wife, Anna Lee, dies giving birth to her sixth daughter, and the twins’ father-in-law, Mr. Suggs, makes Marybeth an offer she cannot refuse.
Narrated in clean, straightforward prose and told mostly from Jesse’s perspective, the novel captures the delights and challenges of the farmers’ lives in early 20th century Arkansas. The descriptions of the orchard are particularly stunning, immersing readers in a landscape that is both beautiful and unforgiving. Though identical in looks, Jesse and Silas could not be more different from each other. Masculine and rough, Silas has garnered their father’s approval and backing, while sensitive, perceptive Jesse wrestles with feelings of abandonment. Throughout, the brothers’ disparate personalities create tension, particularly when a devastating secret threatens to tear the family apart. Readers will also enjoy the character of Mr. Suggs, whose cold, calculating mischievousness steals every scene.
At times the story struggles with pacing, particularly when the plot is derailed by repetitive descriptions of each brother’s plans to resolve their problems. But the proceedings gather momentum following the death of Anna Lee, with the looming uncertainty and difficult choices facing the brothers making this book a powerful and engaging read. Ultimately the brothers’ volatile emotional dynamic, the power struggle between them, and the potent family secret lurking in the background like a ticking time bomb make this story riveting.
NetGalley
By Christine Boos
Star Rating: 4/5
A great novel depicting a historical area of the USA I did not know about! This was highly interesting as well as captivating. Through the lives of a family, the reader gets an insight into what land means to this family when they are about to lose it. Different personalities, different reactions lead to fundamental disagreements, putting the concept of family at risk. Some secrets and tragedies don’t help make decisions either…. The characters were believable, and I could relate to (most of) them. A great historical novel, with a hooking storyline and a well-researched background.
By Dani Smith
Star Rating: 4/5
As someone from Arkansas, when I see a book set here, I want to read it. I was hooked from the beginning. Silas and Jesse are twin brothers with a rocky relationship and are as different as night and day. Historical fiction isn’t a genre I normally pick up, but I was invested in how the brothers were going to save their apple orchard. Each brother had their own ideas on how to save their land and did what they thought best for their family. Overall, I enjoyed the story, and I learned something new about my home state (I never knew we had successful apple orchards in the state at one time).
By Kaethley Pinney Brown
Star Rating: 4/5
I picked up this book because I have family in Northwest Arkansas and was looking forward to reading something set in the region. I enjoyed this story and learned a lot (I had never heard about the apple industry in Arkansas before). The writing and characters were also strong. Not only were the main characters interesting, but I also appreciated the attention given to the side characters. For example, despite not being in most of the book, I found Lars really compelling. The flashback scenes were also some of my favorites. Part of me wishes this book was longer and followed the family and the brothers throughout their entire lives, East of Eden style. I wanted to see more of the brothers’ relationship in their younger years, as well as their relationships with Paps, Anna Lee, and Marybeth. The book did feel a little repetitive in the middle when Jesse and Silas continued to go back and forth about what they were going to do with the farm. I can see the use of having this back and forth to emphasize how tough this situation and decision are for the brothers, but for me, it started to feel stagnant. Overall, a good read. Strong setting, complex characters, and a focus on a unique period of history (I appreciated the author’s note at the end with more information as well). Now I want to try and find an Arkansas Black to try!
By Tessa Pacilli
Star Rating: 5/5
Set in the hardscrabble hills of Northwest Arkansas, Arkansas Black spins a family saga that starts in the early 1900s and never quite loosens its grip on the reader. I found it to be a dark and compelling page-turner. A touch of the Southern Gothic, but add some John Steinbeck and some fruit!
The title nods to the region’s jet‑skinned apple and to the bruises—literal and psychic—that mark the MCs: the Fitch clan, especially estranged brothers Jesse and Silas. The Fitch family apple farm faces bankruptcy. While Jesse Fitch wants to abandon their home, his identical twin brother, Silas, chooses to stay. Before the families can split, an unexpected tragedy uncovers a secret that binds the twins together.
Characters are the heart of this novel, and Blevens does fine work with them. They come across like real people. Lots of lovely period details too. Jesse lugs around a veteran’s survivor’s guilt, while Silas channels pure Cain‑and‑Abel resentment; their sister Marybeth has a quiet strength that I loved, fighting to keep the farm—and maybe their souls—intact. The push‑pull of loyalty and betrayal feels earned.
By Doug Yonce
Star Rating: 4/5
Excellent slice of history, as we get a glimpse of the end of the 1920s and the once-important apple-growing orchards of Northwest Arkansas. Twin brothers and their family provide the characters around whom the story revolves. Their struggles with nature, neighbors, the bank, and each other bring what might have otherwise been just a note in a history book to life.
Reedsy
By Patti Kidd
Must read 🏆 5 Stars
A point exists where self-preservation takes precedence over family loyalty.
Although Jessie and Silas are identical twins on the outside, they cannot be more different: one sensible but indecisive and one an adventurous, spontaneous risk-taker. In Arkansas Black, by Alexander Blevens, the brothers farm 80 acres of Arkansas Black apple trees on land passed down from their grandfather, J.R., but a late spring freeze destroys the buds, preventing a harvest in the fall. “They knew no other life” (17) but cannot borrow more money. Jessie believes “upending his family and forsaking his ancestral land” (13) and moving to Washington State resolves the problem; Silas perceives a different plan, “wildcatting liquor” (78), and he has a history of getting his way.
The twins’ wives, Marybeth and Anna Lee, two sisters, add an additional layer of conflict. They dream of “the four of them—two brothers and two sisters, raising close-knit families, working the land, making memories [. . .] would no longer be together” (102). Even if Jesse convinces Silas to leave the land, Silas and Anne Lee have five daughters and are pregnant with the sixth. Anne Lee cannot tolerate the trip.
Paps, the twins’ father, also refuses to leave, and Mr. Suggs, the wives’ father, sees a business opportunity when the bank serves Paps an eviction notice, giving the Fitch family two weeks to evacuate, but first, Mr. Suggs threatens to divulge a family secret that can ruin Marybeth’s marriage if she does not comply with his terms.
The page turner stays strong from the first word to the end without a midway drag and coexists almost equally between character-driven and plot-driven. As a character-driven piece, the novel questions the stereotypical bond between twins, the internal turmoil of breaching family relationships, and how children raised by the same parents can grow differently. It also tests family loyalty and a person’s endurance before walking away or reverting to dangerous alternatives. However, the plot points also depend on each other, making it effective: the repeated blights in the orchard, the inability to borrow funds, the temptation of an easy way out, foreclosures, deaths in the families, and pasts affecting the future.
Although Arkansas Black does not contain graphic sexual content, it contains brief sexual inferences and some harsh language. Tender moments, along with the sometimes violent and criminal struggles to save the farm, make it enjoyable for adult men and women. The “Author’s Note” and Extra, the history of apple trees, and the agricultural dilemmas of cultivating apples, add an educational bonus.
Independent Review
By NancyKay Sullivan Wessman
Alexander Blevens delivers in Arkansas Black the saga of a brothers-married-sisters family struggling in 1927 to save—or not—their multi-generational farm ravaged by agricultural disease and a depressed economy.
The identical twin brothers could not have been more different from each other or from the women they married. One brother mirrors their father, determined at any cost to save the farm and remain on the land; he is additionally addicted to alcohol and poor-choice behaviors. The other brother acknowledges their agricultural and economic reality and aims to move on, to take their family and start over in the Pacific Northwest, the new promised land for the apple industry.
As did their husbands, the wives grew up, largely, without a mother in their home. They shared little physical resemblance—one short and stocky, the other tall and lithe—but lived with entwined hearts. Once married, the first-borne also bore babies with ease, but the younger conceived only through duplicity, determined and deceitful.
Both couples enjoyed and endured clashing cultural backgrounds. Husbands grew up in the hard-scrabble Arkansas country while their wives lived “town-style, with books in the family home, fine Sunday dresses to attend the Calvary Baptist Church, and afternoon teas at Madam Filingrane’s School for Proper Girls . . . they studied drama, music, and recitation.”
Blevens crafts the tale that reaches back to before the Civil War and takes place in just weeks, at most a few months, as both couples anxiously await the birth of one more baby to join its five sisters. Judiciously moving the story along with precise, detailed, descriptive prose, the author covers the intricacies of apple orchard farming, the difficulty of traversing rocky, unpaved hillside roads in run-down vehicles, and the dangerous process for producing moonshine. Fearful of revenuers, a bank poised to claim their property for unpaid loans, and a dismal future, the brothers grow increasingly conflicted.
External forces and characters, including moonshine bootleggers and the wives’ ever-distant and self-serving father, combine to escalate the stubborn brother’s falling further into darkness. The more miserable he becomes, the more misery he projects onto his brother and other family members. And the more deceitfully he behaves.
Beyond the family, a concerned neighbor enters to help the even-tempered and law-abiding brother. The men share frustrations and insights into family life, farming, and their futures. Offering help in several specific ways, the neighbor ultimately provides the one way for that part of the family to go forward.
Through the story-telling, Blevens shows readers the inner workings of a family with incredible secrets that impact not only the directly-involved adults but also the children. As the story unfolds, each of the five sisters and the lone son react to their parents’ worries as they face an increasingly uncertain future clouded by a life-long, deadly secret.
Beyond revealing the family’s story, Blevens informs readers the history of the “Land of the Big Red Apple,” with emphatic focus on the Arkansas Black. His bonus essay reveals more about the apple industry’s history, focusing on seed, blight, scale, moths, rust and economic conditions that resemble—as observed Henry David Thoreau—history “connected with that of man.”
As does his first novel Bycatch, this new book promises a strong story and a fine read.