The Long-Shining Waters
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3.4 • 14 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Lake Superior, the north country, the great fresh-water expanse. Frigid. Lethal. Wildly beautiful. The Long-Shining Waters gives us three stories whose characters are separated by centuries and circumstance, yet connected across time by a shared geography.
In 1622, Grey Rabbit—an Ojibwe woman, a mother and wife—struggles to understand a dream-life that has taken on fearful dimensions. As she and her family confront the hardship of living near the “big water,” her psyche and her world edge toward irreversible change. In 1902, Berit and Gunnar, a Norwegian fishing couple, also live on the lake. Berit is unable to conceive, and the lake anchors her isolated life, testing the limits of her endurance and spirit. And in 2000, when Nora, a seasoned bar owner, loses her job and is faced with an open-ended future, she is drawn reluctantly into a road trip around the great lake. As these narratives unfold and overlap with the mesmerizing rhythm of waves, a fourth mysterious character gradually comes into stark relief.
Rich in historical detail, and universal in its exploration of the human desire for meaning when faced with uncertainty, The Long-Shining Waters is an unforgettable and singular debut.
Titles and Awards:
MILKWEED NATIONAL FICTION PRIZE WINNERINDIE HEARTLAND BESTSELLERONE BOOK SOUTH DAKOTA SELECTIONMINNESOTA BOOK AWARD FINALISTMIDWEST BOOKSELLERS BOOK AWARD FINALIST
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lake Superior proves to be more than a bucolic backdrop for Sosin's debut novel. It swallows fishing nets, boats, and even men, and shapes the lives of three women from different eras: Grey Rabbit, an Ojibwe woman following seasonal routes with her family in 1622 and struggling to feed her children; Berit Kleiven, who lives in a lonely cove with her husband, Gunnar, in 1902; and Nora Truneau, a Duluth bar owner who explores the lake in 2000 after a crisis. Grey Rabbit is troubled by dreams of her youngest son. After a harsh winter, even a full belly in the spring can't assuage her fears, and the arrival of goods from white civilization the first her tribe has seen feels ominous. Almost three centuries later, Berit and Gunnar enjoy a sexual reawakening after a miscarriage, and 100 years after that, the fire that destroys Nora's bar sends her to Superior's shores for solace. Like Grey Rabbit, she too is haunted by dreams and hopes that her journey will give her direction. Sosin writes sensuously detailed prose and distills the emotions of her characters into a profound and universal need for acceptance and love.
