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    To the Bright Edge of the World
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    To the Bright Edge of the World
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    To the Bright Edge of the World
    Audiobook13 hours

    To the Bright Edge of the World

    Written by Eowyn Ivey

    Narrated by Christine Lakin, Kiff Vandenheuvel and John Glouchevich

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Set in the Alaskan landscape that she brought to stunningly vivid life in The Snow Child (a Sunday Times best seller, Richard and Judy pick and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), Eowyn Ivey's To the Bright Edge of the World is a breathtaking story of discovery set at the end of the 19th century, sure to appeal to fans of A Place Called Winter.

    Lieutenant Colonel Allen Forrester receives the commission of a lifetime when he is charged to navigate Alaska's hitherto impassable Wolverine River with only a small group of men. The Wolverine is the key to opening up Alaska and its rich natural resources to the outside world, but previous attempts have ended in tragedy. Forrester leaves behind his young wife, Sophie, newly pregnant with the child he had never expected to have.

    Adventurous in spirit, Sophie does not relish the prospect of a year in a military barracks while her husband carves a path through the wilderness. What she does not anticipate is that their year apart will demand every ounce of courage and fortitude of her that it does of her husband.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette UK Audio
    Release dateAug 2, 2016
    ISBN9781472208644
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for To the Bright Edge of the World

    4/5

    340 ratings51 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I quite liked this new book by [[Eowyn Ivey]], a young writer living in Alaska. She uses her home territory to craft a book told through journals, letters, newspaper articles, and pictures about an 1885 expedition from Vancouver through uncharted (by white men) territory in Alaska. Allen Forrester leads the expedition, bringing with him two young men and using Indian guides along the way. He and his wife, Sofie, intend for her to go along for the first leg of the journey but they discover she is pregnant and it's deemed unsafe for her to travel. She stays at the army barracks. While they are apart they both keep a detailed journal of their experiences and these make up the heart of the book. Forrester's journey contains many trials and descriptions of beauties and challenges of the Alaskan terrain. They travel up the Wolverine river, meeting the local Indian tribe. They are sometimes helpful and sometimes not. Some tribes are starving along with the men, some are thriving, and some are already suffering from the contact with white men. Along the way, Forrester and his men begin to experience the supernatural occurrences that are part of the Indian culture. They each believe and interact with the these events in different ways. One in particular, the Old Man who seems to fly and also inhabit a raven is also experienced by Sophie back home. This sounds sort of cheesy, but Ivey makes it work very well through her subtle writing and the way she ties it to what the Native Americans believe and have experienced. Back home, Sophie is dealing with the expectations of the women at the camp for her to behave as a "normal" wife. Instead, she begins a successful endeavor as a photographer.All of this is revealed when an older man sends the source materials to a small museum in Alaska to see if they will incorporate the items into their collection. He and the young man curating the museum begin writing letters to each other, discussing the journals and finding material that pertains to the information in the journals. I really liked this book. The idea was interesting and I liked the format she used to tell the story. While it was very enjoyable, though, it was somehow lacking a bit in complexity. The story was fairly predictable and I thought sections were a little over-emotional. It's one of those books that I loved reading, but as I think more about it I'm not sure if it will stay with me or not. I'll be interested to see at the end of the year what has happened to my opinion of it.
    • 4/5
      Terrific. Great ... you can hear the sounds and see the sights of Alaska throughout the story.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book!
    • 4/5
      Like Ivey’s previous book, The Snow Child, her newest is also a magical tale centered around a love story in a land of biting but exquisitely beautiful cold. In fact, this book is set on the same fictional Wolverine River as The Snow Child, but a bit earlier, in 1885, during the early years of exploration of Alaska by the United States subsequent to its purchase from Russia in 1867.Much of the story is told in excerpts of the diary of (fictional) Lieutenant-Colonel Allen Forrester, who was authorized by the government to lead a reconnaissance into Alaska traveling up the Wolverine River. His observations are alternated with other “excerpts” of reports, letters, pictures, his wife Sophie’s diary, and contemporary correspondence between Forrester’s great-nephew Walter and Joshua Sloan, the Exhibits Curator of the Alpine, Alaska Historical Museum. A good deal of the Colonel’s tale concerns his astonishment and skepticism over seemingly mythological aspects to the people and terrain he encounters. As Walter writes to Josh:“ . . .some who have read these pages write off the odder occurrences as hallucinations…'I’ve chosen to consider another possibility - that he described what he saw with his own two eyes. It takes a kind of arrogance to think everything in the world can be measured and weighed with our scientific instruments.''I’m not saying that other world is gone, because I’m not convinced it is. Maybe we just don’t have the eyes for it anymore.'”Sophie is a photographer, and her fascination with light and the loveliness of images that change in the light is mirrored in her husband’s reflections on the landscape:“Despite our restless & bored state, we are not untouched by the spectacularity of our surroundings. This land has a vast & cold beauty. Sun everywhere glints off blue sea, ice, snow. The refraction of light is as sharp as the cry of the sea birds overhead.”Their efforts to maintain their relationship over time and space is a struggle, as they also do battle with the restrictions of their harsh environments. But they both find a way to overcome what is besetting them, and to reach the endings they each ardently desire.Evaluation: This is another fine story from this talented author. From the evocative literary snapshots of those northern lands and natives, to the relationship among the explorers and those they encounter along the way, to the tenderness and respect between Allen and Sophie, and even to the growing friendship between Walt and Josh - this lovely novel surprised and delighted me. I also appreciated the way Ivey wove epistemological differences into the story. The “mixed media” approach was done very well too, without the author's going overboard with the “cutesiness” of the concept.Excellent book, highly recommended!
    • 5/5
      4.5 stars. I was pretty moved by this book. There are two main stories - the first is of an army captain exploring Alaska with a small crew in the late 1800s, traveling through remote areas not well-known to white settlers. While the rivers and mountains the crew traveled in Alaska are made up, they are based on historical events. They encounter the supernatural on their trip, repeatedly, but also the challenges of travel and starvation and sickness, and encounter people both welcoming and not so much.The second main story is of the wife he left behind in Vancouver, Wa. A naturalist and a scientist, a bit unusual for women of the day, she makes good use of her time to learn about and pursue what becomes a lifetime vocation. Theirs is a sweet love story, where each partner sees and wants to help the other achieve their goals.The book has an interesting structure - a collection of journal entries, letters, newspaper clippings, book excerpts, some photographs, and descriptions of physical objects. Which leads to another story - this one set in modern day. The couple's great-nephew is donating their papers and artifacts to a museum in Alaska near where the army captains's journey occurred. The museum curator reads the materials and discusses them with the great-nephew. This brings the angle of what societal changes that army journey set in motion, how the land and people living there were affected, tying it all to modern Alaska.All in all, very interesting.
    • 5/5
      I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley for my honest review. I really enjoyed this book. I loved The Snow Child as well. I hope Ivey continues writing books about Alaska. I learned a lot about Alaskan culture and photography by reading this book. I loved that the book told the story through letters, diary entries, and pictures. It made the book more interesting.
    • 4/5
      War hero leads a small band of men on an expedition up the Wolverine river in 1885. They suffer many hardships as this expedition is deemed impossible. There is a backstory of his wife in Washington state, a budding photographer and her love for photographing birds. Book was well written but a bit slow. I liked how the author moved back and forth with the present and the past.
    • 2/5
      To The Bright Edge of the World has over a 4-star rating on Goodreads, so I am in the minority here, but I didn't end up liking the story nearly as much as I hoped.While The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey is still on my shelf unread, I feel like a know enough about how that particular story translated to some of my friends, and I am quite drawn to what promises to be a suspenseful story full of mysticism. To The Bright Edge of the Future sounded like it promised the same level of promise, so I took a chance, like I so often do.I loved the writing. The story is compiled to include journal entries from Colonel Allen Forrester as he navigates a government commissioned expedition through unmapped portions of Alaska, diary entries from his wife Sophia, pictures, illustrations, letters, and clips from various other documents. Eowyn Ivey has a talent for writing such documents to create a vivid picture, and creates a beautiful story in some aspects, but it wasn't enough for me.The difficulty that I had was that the story is based heavily on real life events of an Alaska expedition that took place in 1885, led by Henry T. Allen. The author did her research, but I don't at all care for the way in which she used the information. This book could have been more mystical, or it could have been written as a straight up nonfiction, but instead it is a fence sitter. My recommendation is that if you are looking for a thought provoking story filled with interesting lore, look elsewhere. If you are interesting in the early exploration of Alaska, go read nonfiction. A good possibility might by Exploration of Alaska 1865- 1900 by Morgan Sherwood.
    • 2/5
      i wanted to love this so bad but it was just dull. as. dirt. i usually don't have problems with a slow plot, but this one isn't so much as slow as it is completely missing. plus, there is constant jumping between characters who have no real purpose, are not at all interesting, and add nothing to the narrative. a real shame, as Ivey's prose is genuinely very beautiful.
    • 4/5
      To the Bright Edge of the World, Eowyn Ivey, author, John Glouchevitch, Christine Lakin, Kiff Vandenheuvel narratorsThis novel is historic fiction based loosely on the real explorer, Henry T. Allen, who was tasked with exploring a portion of the wilderness in Alaska, which had previously been attempted unsuccessfully, in the past. His success opened Alaska’s resources to the world. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.When Josh Sloan, the curator of the Alpine Historical Museum, in Alpine Alaska, is asked to review the legacy of Walter Forrester, descendant of the fictional explorer, Cpl. Allen Forrester, he is not sure he will be able to take to the task. However, after reviewing and deciphering the diaries, journals and other records he was provided with, that are so pertinent to his own life, he and Walter become fast friends through their correspondence. The effort enriches both of them, although they are from two different worlds.The story reveals itself largely through the letters and journals of Cpl. Allen Forrester and his intelligent and independent wife, Sophie, during the time that they are separated while he is engaged in the effort to explore the Wolverine Valley in Alaska. As he follows the Wolverine River, his expedition is faced with natural climate events, indigenous Indians and mythical creatures which traumatize them and also challenge their survival skills and safety. The expedition is fraught with danger.The book reveals much of the history and exploration of Alaska and its original inhabitants. The expedition encouraged the future of the American expansionist movement into Alaska, illustrated the historic piece of Russian history in Alaska, the missionary effort, the extreme climate and difficult terrain, the natural resources and the natural environment which challenged the men, but also provided them with great beauty and contemplation. The themes of myth and legend, birds as omens, Indian tribes that are both cannibal and altruistic, ghosts and spirits, anthropomorphic creatures, and superstition are woven neatly into the dialogue as they were in the author’s previous book, “The Snow Child”. The prose is equally as good in both books, almost poetic in nature. The language is clean and the descriptions pitch perfect using a vocabulary that paints pictures in the minds of the reader. The characters are well developed and most are very likeable and interesting.Of course, there is also an undercurrent of progressivism, as there is in many books today. There are a couple of big reveals. Josh, the man in charge of the museum, who corresponds with Walt, is gay and lives with his partner. This part of the book takes place in the early part of the 21st century. Also, America is revealed as the tormentor of the indigenous Indians, in the past, and as the thief of their lands and way of life, the cause of the diseases which decimated them and the cause of the destruction of their way of life because when they moved the Indians to reservations, they sapped their culture and their very existence. It compares the ideas that existed in the late 19th century to the atmosphere that exists today concerning how people live, how they view the land and what they take from it, the treatment of women than and now, how indigenous peoples are viewed, how the LGBTQ community is treated, how nature continues to serve us in different ways. The story is about relationships then and now. The letter writing is particularly beautiful with poetic descriptions and language that invites the readers in and asks them to stay awhile and enjoy. It is a lost art. Both the beauty and danger of Alaska is beautifully portrayed. Climate, shelter and food are immediate concerns at all times. The overlay of magical realism captivates the reader and enhances the novel as it is seamlessly meshed into the story. The multiple narrators do a superb job of interpreting the characters and we appreciate their struggles as the tone and timber of the readers are pitch perfect for each event and character described.This epistolary novel, based on historic events, travels back and forth between Sophie and Alan’s journals and diaries, and parallels the letters of Josh and Walt in a different century. The two stories, the one that takes place more heavily in the late 1899’s and the one taking place in the early 2000’s, complement each other, as the expectations of both men and women, then and now, is illuminated.
    • 5/5
      This book contains journal entries by Colonel Allen Forrester about his journey of exploration up the fictional Wolverine River in Alaska in 1885. There are also drawings, photos, and diary entries by Sophie Forrester, who awaits the return of her husband at Fort Vancouver, Oregon. Descriptions of artifacts, newspaper articles, and official army reports occur throughout the pages. Each one is introduced with a heading so that I didn't have any trouble figuring out who was doing the writing. The descriptions of beauty of the Alaskan landscape and the hardships the small party endure are fantastic. There are encounters with Native Alaskans which are mostly positive and an element of magical realism with the appearance of a shaman. Everything is just perfectly blended into an exciting, informative whole.
    • 4/5
      Thank you to Whatcom County's Summer Reading 2019 Bingo chart, I picked up To the Bright Edge of the World. It started off a bit slow, but once Eowyn Ivey drew me into the Alaskan Wilderness through the letters, photos, and artifacts, I was all in. Similarly to The Snow Child, Ivey uses magic realism and folklore to make the enchanting setting. I love myths and symbols and this novel weaves them seamlessly. Sophie's world was my favorite part of the novel. She's a strong female during a time when that was not admired. I completely embraced her love of nature and birds. She did things that made her happy with no mind to what was expected of her by the community. I also thoroughly enjoyed the letters between Walter and Josh. Although they are not the focus of the novel, their excitement for the past made the novel more interesting.
    • 1/5
      I really thought I would enjoy this book because I loved her book, The Snow Child. I just couldn't get into this book. It's told in letter form pretty much and I just found it slow and boring. Others raved about this book but it wasn't for me.
    • 5/5
      Extraordinary writing: a tapestry of humanity.
    • 4/5
      Although they share the same setting of Alaska, To The Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey is very different from her first book, The Snow Child. This second book tells the story of a husband and wife, separated by circumstances yet both describing their new experiences in the form of journal entries. The story is further enhanced by other letters, newspaper articles and photographs that gives this tale a cohesiveness and brings the reader a true sense of learning more about the history of Alaska. The author has replaced the charm and lightness of The Snow Child with a more adventurous story of discovery and survival, as Col. Allen Forrester leads a small expedition up the unexplored Wolverine River into the heart of Alaska. He leaves behind his pregnant wife, Sophie, who chafes under the restrictions of being female when she also longs to out in the frontier. She takes up the new art of photography which opens up a whole new world of nature for her to explore. Ivey hasn’t totally abandoned the magical qualities that she sprinkles throughout her writing bit in this book she uses Indian folklore and mythical legends to bring that unexpected wonder to the story.To The Bright Edge of the World is a great adventure story with a compelling plot and a fantastic setting that the author delivers with exceptional writing skill. This is an epic story that captures the big picture with it’s sweeping vistas yet also hones in on the small details that makes this book also a touching love story.
    • 1/5
      I have a rule, "the rule of 50." After I have read 50 pages of a book, if I am terribly bored with it, I stop. So, after 50 pages of TO THE B5RIGHT EDGE OF THE WORLD, I stopped.
    • 3/5
      Ivey gives a chilling account of the exploration of Alaska and the many hardships faced by the men who charted this vast expanse. The freezing temperatures and the unfriendly natives hinder the exploration of Alaska, but the men continue their journey. Allen Forrester and his wife, Sophie, record the adventure and the difficulties of this adventure. Ivey describes the event very well, but after a holiday season and the mushy Hallmark movies, this presented a food not palatable.
    • 4/5
      The writing style mimics that of the era in which it was set, so be prepared for a somewhat restrained voice. The chapters move between journal entries of Col. Allen Forrester; the diary of his new wife Sophie, who has reluctantly been left in Vancouver in a military camp because of her pregnancy; and letters between Walt, Forrester's great-nephew, and Josh, curator for a small tribal museum all interspersed with real-seeming new clippings, photos, & museum artifact descriptions.The tale kept my interest but I'm still not sure what I thought of it. I fully expected Allen or Sophie to recognize the full nature of the raven they periodically saw, especially given the epigraph to this book. I have previously read Nelson's "Make Prayers to Raven" and was quite impressed.I also can't understand how the exploratory expedition was able to keep on going, given the description of the paucity of their food supply. A few surreal events occur, which are just recorded without the characters attempting to integrate them as reality...they were so far out of their experience.The disclosure by Josh of having a gay partner seemed out of place in this book. Not because I am disturbed, but because there is nothing else in the book that it relates it. It is just the author making a social statement.
    • 4/5
      Not only a great read also a physically beautiful book. This one is a keeper!
    • 4/5
      There are many ways to tell a story, and the format an author uses to do so can impact on how that story is perceived. This is clearly evident in this month’s book by young author Eowyn Ivey. The correspondence between Josh and Walt was well contrived and popular with most of our group. It helped to put the historical side of the story into perspective and also gave the reader respite from the hardships encountered during the exhibition.The successive stories of Sophie and Allen Forrester also worked well and the amateur photographers in our group loved Sophie’s experiments with early photography. In fact, most of us loved Sophie and thought her a strong and enduring character that gave what might have been a purely adventure driven story, something a little more poignant.There were some criticisms though. A small number found it a little hard to connect with. Unsure as to whether it was the format or content, they found the novel lacked some element of emotive centre which left them feeling slightly unfulfilled. Discussion-wise we had plenty to satisfy us. We educated ourselves on the legends of ravens and shamans, origins around myths and customs, the advancement of women and their rights, and a few of us, having been to Alaska and its surrounds, enjoyed sharing the wonders of such a natural and beautiful place. To end, it has to be said that Ivey’s research was top notch and there are moments in the reading where you forget that this is a novel, so realistically presented is this story. An ideal addition to any book club’s reading list.
    • 5/5
      I am a sucker for this type of book. I think it all began with SURVIVED about the crash in the Andes. INTO THIN AIR, that book was great! the LOST CITY OF Z, LITTLE BIG MAN, THE WILD GIRL, TRACKS, WILD, in other words I loved this book and hated that it had to end.It was hard to put the book down. I could of had it finished today if it wasn't my hubs birthday so I spent time with him! the exploration began in 1885 with a small party of adventures set out to explore the unknown areas of Alaska. the beauty and roughness of the unexplored region was written exquisitely. mystical moments intertwine with survival to produce a tale of unparalleled breathless beauty. a must read for anyone fond of this genre.
    • 4/5
      This novel, comprised of letters, journal entries, and newspaper articles,  felt real.  Journey back to the 1880s in Vancouver and Alaska.   Meet Sophie and Alan Forrester.  Meet a fledgling married couple, a fledgling country, and the mystery of Native American folklore.  Sophie becomes synonymous with the delicate yet determined hummingbird fledgling, while her adventurer husband becomes synonymous with the fledgling country.  Adventure, Mystery, love, and history.  Great mix.  Excellent read!
    • 4/5
      This is one of those quiet stories that gradually grows on you. Told in a series of diary entries and letters, it beautifully recounts a tale about the Alaskan wilderness. The story mostly alternates between the expedition journal of Colonel Allen Forrester who is on a military exploration of the previously impassable Wolverine river and Sophie's travails back at the military barracks. Ivey does such a wonderful job describing both characters and scene that you develop vivid images of the stunning Alaskan scenery as well as the horrific conditions of the expedition. As with her previous book, The Snow Child, there is a small hint of magical realism, which adds to a sense of experiencing a lost and beautiful mystical world. Wonderful writing!I received a free copy of the audiobook through Libro.fm.
    • 4/5
      “That is excitement. We catch only glimpses, a burst of movement, a flap of wings, yet it is life itself beating at shadow's edge. It is the unfolding of potential; all of what we might experience and see and learn awaits us.”   This is an epistolary novel, describing the voyage and exploration of the Wolverine River, in 19th century Alaska. In charge of the mission, is Colonel Allen Forrester, a smart and scrappy soldier.  The narrative consists of diary and journal entries, newspaper articles, army reports and love letters, between Forrester and his pregnant, young wife, Sophie, who is waiting for him, in a Vancouver barracks.I think this book worked best, when it stayed on the adventure part of the story, the difficult trials of navigating this cruel and unrelenting, wilderness river. I liked the character of Sophie but these interludes, slowed it down a bit for me. Regardless, I am giving it a Thumbs Up, and after really enjoying her first novel, [The Snow Child], she is definitely an author to watch.
    • 5/5
      This is a stunningly beautiful, deeply-felt book that everyone should read. I enjoyed The Snow Child and found Ivey's prose lyrical and enchanting, but The Bright Edge of the World surpasses that book in both scope and beauty. We are allowed to see two journeys; that of a husband in the wilds of Alaska, and of his wife waiting for him in the army barracks in Washington, through their respective diaries and letters. Additionally, we occasionally see the perilous journey through the eyes of two men who accompany the colonel on his trek through the northern territories of Alaska. Each point of view enriches and deepens the understanding not only of the late 1880s, but of the hearts and minds of people who strove to live beyond the confines of society and convention. Sophie is an intelligent, independent woman who seeks adventure by her husband's side as he prepares to lead an expedition to Alaska. Her health prevents her from going, so instead we follow her many months' wait for Allen's return as she faces her own heartbreaks and trials. She dares to turn to the new art of photography for solace; something not deemed acceptable for women, and opens up a new world within herself and for those around her.Allen, a capable, seasoned army colonel, strikes out into the wilds of Alaska and indian territory, determined to explore a treacherous route no white man has ever completed. Along with Pruitt and Tillman, his two army aides, and Nat'aaggi, a young Indian woman who is on her own personal journey that chooses to accompany them, they head into lands considered haunted by the dead. During their journey, Allen finds his own beliefs about the boundaries of life and death, the purpose of life, and his own happiness repeatedly challenged.There are many, many things about this book to praise. Ivey has a deft hand in presenting characters as multi-faceted with both good and negative qualities. She does not paint her stories in black and white, and indeed always brings in the revealing light for which Sophie is always searching. There is one aspect of Allen's character that I found especially compelling. He is mostly a man before his time; he sees his wife as his equal and has no wish to subjugate her to his will or to society's wishes. He is largely a compassionate, honorable man. He sees the natives he meets as human beings and treats them as such even as he is bewildered by their superstitions and religious practices. Yet, he is forthright and mostly unbothered in his own mind about the fact that his expedition will bring more white men to the wilds and those men will lead to the destruction of the natives' way of life, and indeed, many of their actual lives. Reading this today, it seems uncommonly cruel, but at the same time, he is otherwise a compelling and enjoyable character. This is the sort of dichotomy that sets Ivey's work apart. She isn't afraid to make things hard for her readers.If you want a good read about exploration, the wilds of Alaska, a strong woman, or the lives of the Inuit before they were overtaken by western civilization, I highly recommend To the Bright Edge of the World.
    • 4/5
      Exploring Alaska. The difficulties that lie there in at the end of the 19th Century. This book was always on a loser after the wonderful 'Snowchild'. It was a fine book but I was expecting better. I always think that books written in the form of diary entries have their limitations. I wouldn't really recommend it unless you were a big Alaska lover.
    • 5/5
      In 1885, a war hero, Colonel Allen Forrester is tasked with leading a small band of men on an expedition to the beginnings of the Wolverine River in untamed Alaska. Forrester is recently married to a younger, but very independent, woman Sophie who is pregnant when he leaves. The story is told from the entries in Forester's diary, the letters of Sophie, and short views of others. On the expedition, Forrester and his men encounter many of the indigenous Indian tribes and are forced to come to terms with the seemingly brutality yet incomprehensible connection between the natives and nature. Can a man become a bird, can a woman be married to an otter, can a baby be born from a tree? The magical realism in this beautifully written novel is so constructed that it is completely believable. While Forrester and his men are battling the hardships of the Alaskan wilderness, Sophie is battling her own demons. Her independence is frowned upon by the other Army wives. She is so totally unprepared and ignorant of the physical aspects of her own pregnancy and the Army doctor who is better prepared to deal with Army injuries does her no service. After the loss of the baby, Sophie becomes even more independent and eventually takes up photography, especially the photographing of birds. Based on the lives of real people and narratives left by them, this is a beautifully written book that is sad, brutal, and loving. Many memorable characters people the book: Tillman, the rough but loving explorer; Boyd, the miner looking for his wife who vanished into the fog; Nat'aaggi, the native woman who supposedly killed her otter husband, the unnamed wife and mother living mostly alone on the frontier, the native chief, Ceeth Hwya who is young but with great status among his people.Scattered between the letters of the 1800's are letters between a young gay museum curator and an aging relative of Forrester who has found the letters and other items and wants them preserved by an Alaskan museum.Beautifully written and engaging.
    • 4/5
      Eowyn Ivey's second novel, To the Bright Edge of the World, in an impressive feat. This epistolary novel shows considerable research and passion for the subjects. Personally, I'm not a big fan of correspondence-based novels. Often, I find it is poorly done—authors too often rely on giving information that they wouldn't share or need to share with the recipient, all for the sake of advancing the plot. I roll my eyes every time. I guess you could say it's a pet peeve.Had I known To the Bright Edge of the World was an epistolary novel before I picked it up, I might have delayed my read. I liked Ivey's previous work, The Snow Child, immensely, but not enough to suffer through four hundred pages of fictitious documents. But Ivey does it flawlessly. She truly gets into the minds of her characters and writes as they would have. She trusts her readers to discover what was left unsaid and to piece it all together to make a plot. The different periods and perspectives all come together to create a rather engaging read.That said, I'm still not a fan of the epistolary novel. To the Bright Edge of the World is such a fantastic example of how it can be done well, but I didn't fall in love. For me, stories with an overly present narrator force me to take a step back from the tale, and that's exactly what happened here. I enjoyed the characters and scenery (Oh, the setting of this one!) from a distance, but never felt fully committed.
    • 4/5
      This book is about an expedition to Alaska in 1885. It’s loosely based on a real-life expedition taken by Lt. Henry J. Allen but I’m sure the real adventurers didn’t encounter what those in this book did. For those of you who have read this author’s “The Snow Child”, (finalist for the Pulitzer Prize) you’ll know that folklore and mythology play a huge role in her work. While the book feels like a true story since it includes photos, newspaper clippings, drawings, artifacts, diary entries and official documents, the events in this story will fill your mind with wonder as it sends chills down your spine.Lt. Col. Allen Forrester takes off for Alaska and the Wolverine River with a small team of men to explore the territory. None of the other teams sent out have made it back alive so this is a very dangerous task they’ve taken on. Cannibalism is rumored among the Indian tribes. Food will be scarce and the weather is brutal. As hard as the journey is anticipated to be, none of them can imagine what is actually ahead for them.Forrester has left behind his wife, Sophie, who is an adventurous soul herself and longs to travel to Alaska beside him. But an unexpected event stops her from going and she must content herself at home. The love letters sent between Allen and Sophie are lovely and the author has done an excellent job of fleshing out these two characters and their love for each other. I especially loved reading about Sophie’s love of birds and her beginnings as a photographer.There are parts that are a bit slow moving and probably could have been deleted without much of a loss but most of the book flows along quite well and keeps your interest.This is a beautifully written book. The descriptions of Alaska are breathtaking, the adventures are suspenseful and the witch doctor is nightmare inducing. Magical and recommended.This book was given to me by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
    • 3/5
      I was thiiis close to putting this down after reading the first 60 pages and barely being able to keep going but I am glad that I finished it. The story itself is not tremendously gripping but the language is unbelievably beautiful. The magic realism works in some places, and you can just imagine all of the tremendous and wondrous things that can happen in the most remote of places.