John Larison spent much of his childhood in remote regions of Australia, the Caribbean, Canada, the South Pacific, Alaska, and the American West before graduating from high school in Ithaca, New York. He studied philosophy and literature at the University of Oregon, and became a renowned fly-fishing guide ahead of earning an MFA from Oregon State University, where he stayed to teach while writing Whiskey When We're Dry. He lives with his family in rural Oregon.
A powerful, impressive novel with a visceral sense of time and place -- Antonia Senior * The Times * Larison uses the traditional Western form to explore very contemporary ideas about gender and identity -- Nick Rennison * BBC History Magazine * Larison imbues the romance and wide-open spaces of the classic western with modern gender and racial awareness, giving space to those left out of the classic Old West mythos, but the main draw is Jesse's narrative voice, all folksy eloquence peppered with grit and determination -- Alistair Mabbott * Herald Scotland * The punch and intensity of the writing and the voice of Jess are rather remarkable... So, too, is the depiction of her inner life, which lifts the novel high above the run of the mill -- Elizabeth Buchan * Daily Mail * If you're a fan of Patrick DeWitt's The Sisters Brothers or Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, there's plenty in Whiskey When We're Dry for you to indulge in and there's no doubt that this novel will be talked about in the same breath as these greats in years to come -- Colin James * Storgy Magazine *