Wintering: A novel

Not since Hemingway wrote his great short stories about upper Michigan or since (more recently) Christian Keifer’s The Animals took us to Idaho, has a more powerfully masculine story taken us to the wilderness in all senses of the word. Wintering takes place in upper Minnesota in 1963. The strong male voice of the novel becomes even more interesting since much of the story is told by a female character, Berit Loving. Berit’s name suggest the nature of her long lasting love of Gus’s father who has wandered off into the wilderness, much as he did thirty years earlier. This novel twines two stories: the one in the present and an odyssey in the past. Gus and Berit weave their memories together to try to understand the epic struggles between Gus’ father, Harry Edie and the powerful mayor of Gunflint, Minnesota, Charlie Aas.

For everyone who pictures canoeing through Northern Minnesota’s lakes as an idyllic trip, this book shows a nightmarish vision of such a voyage. The author also captures the stark freezing temperatures of Minnesota in the Winter. For father and son, the trip they take will test their endurance and their bond. This book is a page turner and modern classic.