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5th out of 5 books
—
2 voters
The Lighthouse Road: A Novel
by
Peter Geye
Against the wilds of sea and wood, a young immigrant woman settles into life outside Duluth in the 1890s, still shocked at finding herself alone in a new country, abandoned and adrift; in the early 1920s, her orphan son, now grown, falls in love with the one woman he shouldn’t and uses his best skills to build them their own small ark to escape. But their pasts travel with...more
Hardcover, 280 pages
Published
October 2nd 2012
by Unbridled Books
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Without the constant juggling of the timeline this book would have been a better read. Moving from Odd's birth through his life in flashforwards and flashbacks meant the narrative thread was often confused - what age was he? where was he living? what was going on? The prose also was erratic, ranging from beautifully sparse to nearly Melville-esque detail (as when Odd bought tools to finish his keel). Again, that's jarring for a reader.
Sadly, as much as I would have enjoyed reading about the Norw...more
Sadly, as much as I would have enjoyed reading about the Norw...more
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Set at the cusp of the Twentieth Century, The Lighthouse Road is a masterfully reconstructed landscape that has long since been washed away by passing time. It is generously haunted by a broad cast of very real, old-world souls who inflict love and pain upon one another with the acuteness possibly only in the closest of human relationships. A study of human nature as stark as the frigid landscape upon which it is set, it's thoroughly engaging from the very beginning and Geye tells his tale with...more
In 1896 a young Norwegian immigrant woman dies shortly after giving birth in a small town in the northern wilderness of Minnesota. 25 years later her surviving son will discover the truth surrounding his mother's death - a truth that has been shaping his life and destiny - a truth that will destroy everything he believes about those he loves.
I became a huge fan of Peter Geye when I read Safe From the Sea last July. In The Lighthouse Road Geye once again displays his talent for creating realisti...more
I became a huge fan of Peter Geye when I read Safe From the Sea last July. In The Lighthouse Road Geye once again displays his talent for creating realisti...more
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Like many of my recent submissions this was a GoodReads giveaway. Unlike many of my recent submissions this book is wonderfully and carefully crafted not only in language but also in storyline.
Previous reviewers have complained that the timelines in this book are too complexly intertwined and hard to follow and while I will admit that there is a lot going on, the book very handily states the month and date of each chapter in the page heading. Any reader finding themselves confused can merely con...more
Previous reviewers have complained that the timelines in this book are too complexly intertwined and hard to follow and while I will admit that there is a lot going on, the book very handily states the month and date of each chapter in the page heading. Any reader finding themselves confused can merely con...more
I have mentioned in the past that I am too literal a reader for literary books but every now and then I am offered one that strikes my fancy and I take a chance. The Lighthouse Road was one of those books and I was very glad that I did decide to read it. It made me think and I am finding that more often than not I want a book that makes me think. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy fluff but one cannot live on a diet of sugary sweets alone now, can one?
This book is more about relationships and the p...more
This book is more about relationships and the p...more
Set in the 1920s and the 1890s in Minnesota, THE LIGHTHOUSE ROAD is the multi-generational story of a town of immigrants, orphans, and outcasts trying to make good lives against tough odds in the unforgiving wilds of a young country.
Thea is alone, pregnant, and scared until she finds love in her newborn son Odd (pronounced ‘Ode.’) Rebekah sells a piece of her soul for a place in the world, but can’t resist the lure of personal happiness. Hosea’s pride and intelligence fool him into believing he...more
Thea is alone, pregnant, and scared until she finds love in her newborn son Odd (pronounced ‘Ode.’) Rebekah sells a piece of her soul for a place in the world, but can’t resist the lure of personal happiness. Hosea’s pride and intelligence fool him into believing he...more
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The Lighthouse Road by Peter Geye feels like the frozen tundra and the heat of the tropics all at once as his eccentric characters hack their lives out of the wilderness outside Duluth, Minn., between the 1890s and 1920s in Gunflint. Odd is a young fisherman with his own small boat, whose mother died soon after he was born. Raised by the local apothecary owner, Hosea Grimm alongside his daughter Rebekah, Odd strives to make his market in the rough-around-the-edges town.
Geye’s narration shifts be...more
Geye’s narration shifts be...more
I was introduced to Peter Geye's first book, SAFE FROM THE SEA, a couple of years ago and immediately fell in love with the story of an estranged father and son, set on the stark shores of rural Minnesota. I was thrilled that he had a new book (and I'm fairly obsessed with the books from his publisher, Unbridled--they always work for me, period.) THE LIGHTHOUSE ROAD is another story featuring the wild terrain of the state I now call home--back in the late 19th and early 20th century. Like SAFE h...more
new author does a very nice historical, family saga. hooo but what a family: hosea who moves to the north woods to start an apothecary, his first step....buying a 13 year girl from a whore house in chicago, then there is the young and innocent norwegian immigrant who gets to the north woods to help her uncle and aunt on their farm....to find aunty has just hung herself and uncle has went round the bend, oh but then she gets raped so has a baby but then she dies and baby is raised by hosea and hi...more
I’m always a sucker for a good northwoods story and Peter Geye’s The Lighthouse Road certainly qualifies. Straightforward yet stylish, Geye carries us back and forth through the years of the late 19th and early 20th centuries as smoothly as his protagonist Odd Eide’s home-crafted boat plies the waters of Lake Superior. While Odd is most definitely central to the story – the heartbreaking circumstances of his birth, his childhood, his secret love – the other characters who populate the icy roads...more
I found this very enjoyable. I love a good historical novel about a time and place in American history of which I know nothing about. In this novel we have two entwined tales of Odd in the 20's and earlier, his mother who works at a logging camp as a cook. I have to admit that I was more engrossed with Thea's story than Odd's, but neither were uninteresting. What really drove the story for me was the little details. The tale of the dogs and Riverfish's ride was, I think, one of my favorite parts...more
This is a very interesting and unique book set in northern Minnesota on Lake Superior mostly in the winter. It begins in Nov. in 1896 with a young, innocent Norwegian immigrant, Thea, victim of a rape after she arrives, and now gives birth to a son, Odd. The aunt meant to greet her died, and the uncle was mentally unstable, so she was on her own--not speaking English. The story shifts back and forth between 1896 and 1920 as Odd becomes a young man,a skilled boat maker and fisherman. It's about T...more
Peter Geye has written a fine novel. His development of the main character, "Odd", felt authentic and compelling. Odd's mother was also a strong character that felt true and very loveable. In fact, every person in this story held my interest, and I hated to put the book down at every step.
My problem with Mr. Geye's story involves the last few sections. These did not feel credible,particularly the final phase of the lover.
The landscapes, Lake Superior, the life of a small town--as someone from Mi...more
My problem with Mr. Geye's story involves the last few sections. These did not feel credible,particularly the final phase of the lover.
The landscapes, Lake Superior, the life of a small town--as someone from Mi...more
I thought the book The Lighthouse Road by Peter Geye would be a good book to read since I enjoy reading historical fiction and the book cover appealed to me. I didn't even finish reading it because the writing style was too difficult. The author goes back and forth in time frequently---sometimes I find that adds to the interest of the book---but not in this case. Sometimes the author leaped ahead and sometimes back in time---the transitions were just too difficult to follow. I found the writing...more
A journey across the ocean,
A young woman on her own,
A stark wilderness in northern Minnesota
in 1896.
Gunflint Trail.
The beginning of a small town, Grand Marias.
The Lighthouse Road.
A logging camp in the deep woods,
an apothecary in town
a fish house on Lake Superior.
Dogs. Wolves. Bears.
Oh boy.
Thea alone, pregnant, lost.
Rebekah found, transformed, hidden.
Hosea inventive, wealthy, deceptive.
Odd, hardworking, misunderstood, loved.
A motherless child.
An incestuous affair.
Lies.
Boat building.
Dog-sledding.
S...more
A young woman on her own,
A stark wilderness in northern Minnesota
in 1896.
Gunflint Trail.
The beginning of a small town, Grand Marias.
The Lighthouse Road.
A logging camp in the deep woods,
an apothecary in town
a fish house on Lake Superior.
Dogs. Wolves. Bears.
Oh boy.
Thea alone, pregnant, lost.
Rebekah found, transformed, hidden.
Hosea inventive, wealthy, deceptive.
Odd, hardworking, misunderstood, loved.
A motherless child.
An incestuous affair.
Lies.
Boat building.
Dog-sledding.
S...more
This story intrigued me at first...a young Norwegian girl who immigrates to Gunflint, Minnesota in the late 1800s, but it turned as bleak as her circumstances as it revealed in its characters' lives the consequences of deceit and secrets in an already harsh and risky day to day existence. I kept up hope, but was saddened that hard heartedness and fear left so many still living with gaping holes and open wounds in both their hearts and lives. In the end, the greatest risks, to love and be loved,...more
A blurb on the cover of this book refers to it as "A cinematic thundercloud gusting across the northern landscape". I don't know, but to me it just seemed, to use the same metaphor, as a lowlaying dark cloud that meandered through the sky. In other words, pretty boring. I am usually drawn to Minnesota authors and those that write of Minnesota landscapes and people. But I couldn't wrap around any of these characters. There were no big surpises, no gasps of disbelief, no realizing that I didn't se...more
A most excellent 5 star read
Leif Enger said it best..."The Lighthouse Road is like a cinematic thundercloud gusting across the northern landscape"
I very much wanted to read this book as it is set very close to where I live and I love nothing more than to read about places that I have lived.
Like a snowstorm seen in the distance rolling along the land this book starts out slowly, letting you get to know the characters and the landscape, as the words drift around in your head you become enmeshed...more
Leif Enger said it best..."The Lighthouse Road is like a cinematic thundercloud gusting across the northern landscape"
I very much wanted to read this book as it is set very close to where I live and I love nothing more than to read about places that I have lived.
Like a snowstorm seen in the distance rolling along the land this book starts out slowly, letting you get to know the characters and the landscape, as the words drift around in your head you become enmeshed...more
The Short of It:
Geye has hit it out of the park again.
The Rest of It:
The story begins in the late 1890′s at a Minnesota logging camp. Thea Eide, an immigrant from Norway lands herself a position as a cook and after being raped by a visitor of the camp, finds herself pregnant with few prospects for raising the child. Hosea Grimm, who runs the apothecary and functions as the village doctor, gives her a place to stay and promises to help her with the child. Rebekah Grimm, also “saved” by Hosea some...more
Geye has hit it out of the park again.
The Rest of It:
The story begins in the late 1890′s at a Minnesota logging camp. Thea Eide, an immigrant from Norway lands herself a position as a cook and after being raped by a visitor of the camp, finds herself pregnant with few prospects for raising the child. Hosea Grimm, who runs the apothecary and functions as the village doctor, gives her a place to stay and promises to help her with the child. Rebekah Grimm, also “saved” by Hosea some...more
I found The Lighthouse Road to be an unusual, compelling book, with a setting that grabbed my attention and characters that made me think.
The best parts of this book for me were the characters of Odd and his mother, Thea. Odd's an unusual man with an unusual life, and that's fine. He'll do what needs to be done, but he'll put his own spin on it.
His mother's story was even more compelling. Thea left behind everything she knew to come to America. Unfortunately, she did not arrive to see the situa...more
The best parts of this book for me were the characters of Odd and his mother, Thea. Odd's an unusual man with an unusual life, and that's fine. He'll do what needs to be done, but he'll put his own spin on it.
His mother's story was even more compelling. Thea left behind everything she knew to come to America. Unfortunately, she did not arrive to see the situa...more
I absolutely adored Peter Geye's first book Safe From the Sea. It was a wonderful father/son book. If you haven't read that one yet, I highly recommend it.
The Lighthouse Road was a little different. It was a historical novel set in two different time periods. One storyline followed Odd and his life in the 1920s. The other followed his mother, Thea Eide, in the 1890s and what it took for her to get from her home country to Lake Superior. Through flashbacks and memories we learn about the tragic c...more
The Lighthouse Road was a little different. It was a historical novel set in two different time periods. One storyline followed Odd and his life in the 1920s. The other followed his mother, Thea Eide, in the 1890s and what it took for her to get from her home country to Lake Superior. Through flashbacks and memories we learn about the tragic c...more
I feel like gushing, letting the clichés unleash in a flood of unholy praise. Using “unleash” like that? Cliché?
This was a great book. I loved it. First, the setting is novel. As a city girl who (tragically, inevitably) lives in the desert, I found myself wide-eyed and dazzled by Peter Geye’s snowy wilderness in the Midwest. Boats! Apothecaries! People named Hosea and Odd! A fish house! What’s a fish house?
But it’s the story, which is ultimately about survivors. People who make it. Though there...more
This was a great book. I loved it. First, the setting is novel. As a city girl who (tragically, inevitably) lives in the desert, I found myself wide-eyed and dazzled by Peter Geye’s snowy wilderness in the Midwest. Boats! Apothecaries! People named Hosea and Odd! A fish house! What’s a fish house?
But it’s the story, which is ultimately about survivors. People who make it. Though there...more
I'm slightly mad at this book for not meeting its full potential. The writing is really great most of the time, but the main character begins to fall apart as the book continues. He becomes a caricature of himself - so earnest, so innocent, so dutiful, so good, so much a backwoods innocent uncorrupted by the larger world. And the ending should have taken at least 50 more pages (and I'm usually all for cutting out pages, not adding them back in). I'll look for this author's next book.
The author goes back and forth from 1896 when Thea immigrates to Minnesota from Norway in 1895 to 1920, 1910 and a few other years. Usually, this baffles me, but each chapter is titled by the date and the date is on every page! On the first page Thea is giving birth, which always catches my interest. I couldn't wait to read the rest of the book to see what happened to the characters (some stories of their past). A page turner to the last page.
This was a great read!
This was a great read!
I was enthralled with this book from the first page, and read it on a cold and stormy day when the power went out and I lit my kerosene lanterns. Filled with complex characters, history, the deep north woods of Minnesota and the icy waters of Lake Superior, this novel is by turns both tender and heartbreaking. Traveling back and forth in time, it gives up its compelling story little by little as it unfolds the secrets of the human heart. A fabulous read.
In the most pure and simple language, a la Kent Haruf, Geye has produced a novel that not only captures the character of the stoic people who settled in northern Minn. on the frozen shores of Lake Superior, he has created some unforgettable characters with secrets in their pasts and
tragedies in their futures. These folks faced a life of hardships and ,yes, even child prostitution and rape. A must read and a whopper for book groups.
tragedies in their futures. These folks faced a life of hardships and ,yes, even child prostitution and rape. A must read and a whopper for book groups.
This was an easy read but I found the characters weren't really developed. None of them grew or changed and the only character I did like ended up dying. I usually find that when characters are written well I either get frustrated with them or fall in love with them and end up thinking about their lives "after the book" long after I've finished. This is not the case with this one. I did find the descriptions of life in the village in Minnesota intriguing. The scenery was described so vividly I c...more
I really like when an author can combine different time periods and stay consistent and "fill in the blanks" of the story as we drift along. Peter Geye does a magnificent job with this style of writing in The Lighthouse Road: A Novel. Odd's story was perfectly communicated even though we went from birth to adult to teen back to before his birth, etc. and it was never confusing. The prose and narrative ranks right up there with the best of them. Heart breaking, then mended and then broken again....more
Loved this book and couldn't put it down. I stopped halfway through it to place a hold on another Peter Geye book. Cold and snow in the wilds of Minnesota, North of Duluth in a town called Gunflint...this book is perfect for me now. I impulsively plucked from the "New Book Shelf" on a snowy evening because of it's stark cover. I feel lucky to have found it, glad my library bought it.
Drawn to this one on the New Books shelf, and hooked by Leif Enger's endorsement. Similar, in the north-country descriptions. A real sense of place. Evocative of the solitude and vastness of nature, and the effects thereof on the human soul.
Felt the anguish of the damage the characters afflict on one another, and yet, ultimately, the inextinguishable hope of the human spirit.
Felt the anguish of the damage the characters afflict on one another, and yet, ultimately, the inextinguishable hope of the human spirit.
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Peter Geye received his MFA from the University of New Orleans and his PHD from Western Michigan University, where he was editor of Third Coast. He was born and raised in Minneapolis and continues to live there with his wife and three children. This is his first novel. "
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