Markus Egeler Jones is a fascinating new voice in American writing, and his magical, disturbing first book of fiction blends an unsettling vision of human beings with an extraordinary talent for shaping words. You will be grateful you met Chicken Noodle for as long as you are a reader. Here is a harsh, macabre journey through unforgettable voices and new worlds. This is a work to be celebrated.

— Jim Grimsley

Balanced upon the lyricism of the the high desert and the darkness of impoverished reservation towns, this novel-in-stories subverts chronology and narrative simplification. Reading Jones’ fiction is like staring into a deep tinaja as it comes to life following rain, or tracking the horizon as the sky shifts and roils before a storm. You feel more than you can understand as you come to know, in turn, each character in this intricately woven shroud of words. The result is equal parts mythos, family saga, and mystical thriller—a beautiful book that defies genre, “a fence with no beginning or end.” How the Butcher Bird Finds Her Voice is a marvel, and this is just the beginning for Markus Jones.

— Julie Hensley