Whiskey Rebel 

Publishers Weekly/BookLife Review

Dunn’s lively tale merges the lives of two unforgettable characters: war veteran Punxie Tawney and Hamilton Chance, a modern-day whiskey rebel. Together, they navigate the tangled web of freedom, rebellion, and the enduring spirit of the American landscape. The story opens with Punxie—who meets Hamilton while panning for gold—learning that Hamilton, driven by the legacy of his ancestor Bobbi Lee Chance, dreams of distilling tax-free whiskey, in a nod to the historic 1794 Whiskey Rebellion. As their journey unfolds, themes of liberty, resistance, and the American Dream take center stage, with Dunn weaving historical parallels into the narrative and drawing connections between past and present struggles for freedom.

Dunn’s protagonists are vividly drawn, with Hamilton’s eccentricity proving a compelling counterbalance to Punxie’s more introspective nature. Secondary characters, such as Cherry and Loyalhanna, add further depth, shining a light on personal battles against societal constraints and the internal demons that often drive behaviors. Loyalhanna, as Cherry puts it, has “no use for men,” after suffering sexual abuse at the hands of her family, while Punxie gleams with admiration for Cherry’s “spine made of steel,” forged from her own battles against a past drenched in ill-intentioned foster fathers. Dunn (Wildcat) crafts a setting as evocative as his characters, set against the rugged landscape of Moses Coulee, an area rich with history and striking natural beauty.

Divided into three parts, the narrative flows seamlessly from Punxie’s first encounter with Hamilton to their eventual success in establishing a whiskey distillery. Dunn’s writing strikes a perfect balance between poetic lyricism and grounded storytelling, capturing the essence of the American spirit, with historical references—particularly those tied to the Whiskey Rebellion—that are meticulously researched and deepen understanding of the characters’ motivations. That ability to combine history, fiction, and social commentary results in a powerfully layered tribute to the indomitable human spirit and timeless struggle for freedom in America.

Kirkus Reviews

Dunn’s comedic novel features a wounded veteran and an itinerant dreamer.

Punxie Tawney is out on his own in the wilds of Washington state, panning for gold in much the same way the prospectors of yesteryear would have. Punxie is freshly back from a tour of duty in Iraq, and though he is up and about, readers quickly learn his tour ended when he was critically injured by a roadside IED while riding in an Army Humvee. Though Punxie might say his faculties are intact, he seems, if not psychologically bereft, to be searching for something or someone. This longing is no doubt exacerbated by the fact that while Punxie was away at war, both his mother and father died in rapid succession, leaving him an orphan. From across the shores of the river where he combs for precious ore, Punxie notices the also memorably named Hamilton Chance, another man ostensibly panning for gold who, Punxie soon learns, is driven by another goal. Hamilton, as he explains to Punxie, is descended from a long line of American patriots, most notably the men who led the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. Using that rebellion as a call to action, Hamilton’s sole purpose at this stage in his life is to establish a distillery in which he will make tax-free, all-American whiskey (the name of which, the men decide later on, will be “Westcoulatum Good Goddamned 1794 Freedom Whiskey”). Punxie, with little family or obligation tethering him to any one place, soon sets off with Hamilton, and the two of them “go fishing,” using their thumbs as “lures” to hitch a ride to the local library where Hamilton can teach Punxie about his family history. Punxie, perhaps somewhat conveniently, is taken quite quickly with the idea of Hamilton’s distillery and the notion of pure freedom it promises. Things are never so simple, though. When “The Aphrodite of Wenatchee,” otherwise known as Cherry, shows up with her friend Loyalhanna in tow, Punxie’s latent loneliness and desperation for contact—the same things that initially attached him to Hamilton—make it impossible for him to shun human connection, even if it gets in the way of 1794 Freedom Whiskey.

While Dunn’s novel is mostly humorous and generally lighthearted, his prose occasionally rises to the poetic, particularly when describing the landscape: “The sun was beginning to get tired of sterilizing Moses Coulee and was letting gravity pull it toward the Cascades. Soon, it would take its evening dip into the Pacific to cool off for the night, and then Moses Coulee would become a different thing altogether.” Such writing is reminiscent of Dunn’s other work, and fans of his novel Radio Free Olympia (2023) will delight in this return to form. This novel arrives at an interesting time in the American cultural climate; while some readers may have a hard time finding the levity in any discussion of “freedom” or American history, Dunn writes with enough heart and a sufficiently deft hand to wrangle the material with class and self-awareness.

A fun romp through the modern American West buttressed by earnest humor and a dash of history.

Midwest Book Review

Reviewed by D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer for Midwest Book Review

American history and culture, veteran affairs, and literary flare combine in Whiskey Rebel, a novel set in Washington’s high desert. The tale revolves around two drifters who join forces to both question American principles and produce tax-free whiskey as a forefather did, which they call Westcoulatum Good Goddamned 1794 Freedom Whiskey.

The recipe portends to be a formula for success—but what emerges from their effort are underlying beliefs, values, and concepts of liberty that reinforce ideals of freedom in unexpected ways.

Jeffrey Dunn’s introductory explanation demonstrates some of the rich language to be found in Whiskey Rebel:

As for folks like me—ones who’ve grown up under blankets of Cascadian dank shade—coffee wakes us up, and alcohol puts us to sleep. Some say heroin also does the trick. I wouldn’t know about that, though I’ve heard tell. What I can say is that I’ve seen enough to keep me from looking down the barrel of a needle. I’ve learned not to judge.

The review of early American history and the efforts of character Whiskey Chance, “...who cooked up and distilled the American Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, the first attempt to set America straight,” dovetails neatly with present-day events. The first-person reflective tone provides a succinct review of how narrator Punxie Tawney meets fellow drifter Hamilton Chance while panning for gold.

Reflections on bygone military years and the personal loneliness of a veteran set adrift back home bring to life not just wellsprings of personal inspiration, but the social, cultural, and Army experience which drive Punxie in an unexpected direction.

At all levels of the story, a gritty voice and candid reflections of past and present are juxtaposed with the atmosphere of high desert Washington. This creates a thoroughly compelling read that will touch readers on ethereal and realistic levels as Punxie participates in an endeavor that reawakens his connections to life, prompting new purposes and perspectives.

Dunn expands the playing field by injecting other personalities and quirky circumstances to create a vivid dance of discovery. 

Important social reflection comes into play as the two characters evolve. This will provide particularly thought-provoking discussion material for book clubs and reading groups interested in American culture, history, and values:

“I don’t know about the tax-free part, Hamilton, but I do like your whiskey business idea. Free enterprise beats slave enterprise any day, and I don’t like how the John Nevilles always seem to rig the game against the Bobbi Lees. My dad said he never worked for the big timber companies because he didn’t like making money for someone he couldn’t look in the eye and have a shot and a beer with.”

“Don’t like free state, huh?”

“Not as much as whiskey business. Personally, I’d like to forget the idea of states altogether. My experience with states is entirely from the bottom. But like I said, the last time almost got me killed.” 

Libraries that choose Whiskey Rebel for its promise of vibrant social, psychological, and historical development will find the novel more than a cut above other historical fiction. It’s highly recommendable to patrons interested in tales that take the time to build psychological and social dilemmas that are completely absorbing.

Readers will welcome Jeffrey Dunn’s literary prowess in unfolding an endeavor that embraces shifting ideals of American enterprise and notions of success.

Steeped in dialogues and characters that forcefully turn their lives from anticipated trajectories, Whiskey Rebel is quite simply a delightful, highly recommended read.

Readers' Favourite

Reviewed by Carol Thompson for Readers' Favorite

Whiskey Rebel by Jeffrey Dunn is a gripping narrative that combines the harsh realities of life with the unyielding pursuit of dreams set against the backdrop of America’s rugged landscape. The protagonist, Punxie Tawney, recounts his tumultuous journey from the dark, rain-soaked woods of the Cascade Mountains to the sunbaked expanses of the Columbia Basin in a story that oscillates between the highs of adventure and the lows of solitude. As Punxie explores the broader world, his encounters become more eccentric and reflect America’s diverse culture. Characters such as Hamilton Chance, known as the Whiskey Rebel, inject revolutionary energy into the narrative, blending historical intrigue with a pursuit of personal freedom. Hamilton’s mission to revive the spirit of the American Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 presents a compelling historical thread that connects to the nation’s foundational struggles regarding freedom and governance.

Jeffrey Dunn’s writing style is poetic and gritty, capturing the American landscape’s raw beauty and his characters’ complex emotions. The dialogue is authentic, with regional dialects and philosophical musings that add depth to the characters’ interactions. Dunn’s use of literary devices deepens the thematic content, such as the personification of nature and settings, imbuing them with human qualities that reflect Punxie’s emotions and experiences. Describing Punxie’s movement from the dark forests to the open basins metaphorically represents his shift from confusion and grief to clarity and purpose, and the foreshadowing hints at the cyclical nature of trauma and healing in his life. I enjoy books such as Whiskey Rebel, which use many literary elements to create a story’s mood and deeper meaning. The commentary on the American ethos invites reflection on the past’s influence on our present, offering a thought-provoking perspective within American literature that explores identity, rebellion, and redemption. I highly recommend Whiskey Rebel. It's a story to remember.