Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For November, we’re looking at historical fiction about the Acadians, World War II, pirates, and the American West; an outdoorsy new science fiction dystopia; a tale of commercial fishing in the Bering Sea; and nonfiction about how a heart transplant changed two families.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Acadians, Forgotten Names, Pirates, Irish Westerns, Dystopian Fiction, Alaskan Fishing, and Organ Transplants”Tag: Peter Heller
Peter Heller’s The River (2019)

Jack and Wynn have been best friends since their college freshmen orientation. In many ways, they couldn’t be more different–the former an engineering major, more pragmatic, raised on a Colorado ranch; the latter an art major, more optimistic, raised in a comfortable, well-to-do Vermont home. Still, they’re bonded by a love of the outdoors, of canoeing, of fishing, and of reading.
It’s no surprise that they decide to spend August on a canoe trip in northern Canada–their goal a small village on Hudson Bay after an approximately 150 mile-long trip. Things take an unexpected turn when they realize a large wildfire rages near the river. Then, they hear a couple arguing one day in the fog. The next day, a lone man paddles up the river. . . .
