American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land Summary
Monica Hesse

American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land Overview

The product of a journalist’s venture into storytelling, Hesse’s book American Fire is a true crime story about the string of fires started by Charlie Smith and Tonya Bundick. The story starts with the first arson, and shifts back and forth between the couple’s history and the present day until the storylines converge in riveting legal trials. The writing is entirely in the third person, but delves into the psychology of each individual. Though it seems that Hesse is writing about two individuals in one community, in this work she communicates her viewpoints on love, family, communication, loyalty to an area, and more.