Idaho

March 16, 2018 8:15 AM - by Emily Ruskovich

A stunning debut novel about love and forgiveness, about the violence of memory and the equal violence of its loss—from O. Henry Prize–winning author Emily Ruskovich. Ann and Wade have carved out a life for themselves from a rugged landscape in northern Idaho, where they are bound together by more than love. With her husband’s memory fading, Ann attempts to piece together the truth of what happened to Wade’s first wife, Jenny, and to their daughters.
posted by DirtyOldTown (3 comments total)

This is heartbreakingly beautiful. While I am aware some people scan FanFare threads about books to get an idea of whether they'd like them, and I hate spoilers, I have to intentionally put one spoiler out there: if you're a mother who has had intrusive thoughts at some point, as part of PPD or something else, you should probably stay the holy hell away from this book.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:19 AM on March 16, 2018

I just re-read the little chapter about William and Beth, the older couple who find Wade and Jenny on that fateful day. And the way that Ruskovich colors in an entire shared life if fifty years--and another that could have been--with the sad little unfinished sentence "We should have..." will haunt me for a long time.

This is an amazing book.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:29 AM on March 17, 2018

This was the very best thing I read last year.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:26 AM on December 11, 2018