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August 28, 2010
Don Linn Reviews “Safe From the Sea”
A week or so ago, Greg Michalson (Co-Publisher, along with my good friend and music/spiritual advisor, Fred Ramey) at Unbridled Books (unbridledbooks.com/) was kind enough to send me a galley of Peter Geye’s Safe From the Sea, with an extraordinary personal note praising the book (to be released in October). As soon as I completed a couple of unfinished books on my nightstand, I picked up Geye’s novel and never put it down.
The book’s story is one of reconciliation between a long-estranged father and son, with a back-story of a shipwreck tragedy on Lake Superior that was the defining event in the father’s life and which became, as a result, the defining event in his family members’ lives. I won’t spoil the tale but will say that the pacing and narrative of both stories unfold nearly perfectly, building to the reconciliation and conclusion in the most marvelous way. In addition, Geye captures the unique “up north” Minnesota culture and experience, and the voices of those who live and work there with perfect pitch and an uncommon eye for detail that allows even those who’ve never visited there to feel as if they are, in fact, experiencing the place. He writes tautly, but he omits none of the essentials. It’s a fine mix.
Those of you who know me are aware that I seldom gush over anything, but allow me to gush over this fine literary novel. I hesitate to use that term since (a) for some, it implies the preciousness or elitism along the lines of the current Franzen-Stein masturbatory frenzy and (b) this book has all the adventure and excitement of a Jack London story, which I’d hardly characterize as exclusively literary. But the writing and the stories are masterful, the characters (and I include the Lake as a character) are as fully drawn as in the most literary of novels. It’s a stunning debut from a Minneapolis native.
The entire text of this blog can be viewed at http://www.baitnbeer.com/content/lets-talk-about-books-bay-bee
Posted in: New Books, New Features, Our Catalog, Authors Blog, | Keywords: authors blog, bait 'n' beer, book reviews, don linn, fred ramey, independent publishers, new books, new features, our catalog, peter geye, safe from the sea, unbridled books
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