"With his first book of fiction, The Patron Saint of Birds, Lambert proves himself worthy of a great American distinction: He is a true Southern Writer, and in all the best ways. Like Harry Crews and Flannery O'Connor before him, Lambert writes the working class with equal parts esteem, robust hilarity, and tempered rebuke. There can only be one explanation for the beauty and authenticity in these pages-Lambert has lived many a tired life. He knows the back roads better than he knows even the enduring tales of his Southern Gothic ancestors. This is a work of outstanding fiction, yes, but it is a true book in all the ways that matter." -Matt Phillips, author of Know Me from Smoke and Countdown