David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-upper-peninsula"
SOUTH OF SUPERIOR
I'm from central Minnesota but the Upper Peninsula of Michigan reminds me a lot of Minnesota because of its mining and logging heritage, along with the Ojibwa Indians and the Finnish miners and their descendents who live there. Then of course there's Lake Superior, which we also have in common. The North Shore is some of the most beautiful country in the United States. I also read a book entitled Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers (think Tony Hillerman's Skinwalkers) about the characters who roam the northern woods of the Upper Peninsula. Believe me, they are some of the most unique people I've ever read about.
Ellen Airgood's SOUTH OF SUPERIOR is about Madeline Stone a young woman who returns to McAllaster, Michigan, to help take care of her great aunt Arubutus who lives with her cranky sister Gladys. She goes to work at a local pizza parlor to help pay her way, where she falls in love with Paul the owner who also works at a nearby prison as a guard to make ends meet. Trouble is, he's in love with another woman. Some would say he really loves Randi's Hopkins' son Greyson.
Madeline also loves the hotel Gladys used to own, which is so run down it would take a fortune to remodel.
Obviously this story is about the characters rather than plot, and there are lots of them. There's Madeline's great uncle Walter, whom she didn't even know was still alive. There are the Bensons who are trying to buy the hotel and turn it into a parking lot. There is Mary Feather, a former cook for the lumberjacks, Emil a nonagenarian who drinks too much but is much loved by almost everyone in town.
Madeline is also a painter; she sneaks up to the attic of the hotel as often as possible to paint the landscape. The hotel soon becomes an obsession.
There's not much plot here, but if you like novels based on characterization you'll love this. Besides, the author looks just like I imagined Madeline would.
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Ellen Airgood's SOUTH OF SUPERIOR is about Madeline Stone a young woman who returns to McAllaster, Michigan, to help take care of her great aunt Arubutus who lives with her cranky sister Gladys. She goes to work at a local pizza parlor to help pay her way, where she falls in love with Paul the owner who also works at a nearby prison as a guard to make ends meet. Trouble is, he's in love with another woman. Some would say he really loves Randi's Hopkins' son Greyson.
Madeline also loves the hotel Gladys used to own, which is so run down it would take a fortune to remodel.
Obviously this story is about the characters rather than plot, and there are lots of them. There's Madeline's great uncle Walter, whom she didn't even know was still alive. There are the Bensons who are trying to buy the hotel and turn it into a parking lot. There is Mary Feather, a former cook for the lumberjacks, Emil a nonagenarian who drinks too much but is much loved by almost everyone in town.
Madeline is also a painter; she sneaks up to the attic of the hotel as often as possible to paint the landscape. The hotel soon becomes an obsession.
There's not much plot here, but if you like novels based on characterization you'll love this. Besides, the author looks just like I imagined Madeline would.
Comment |
Brown Dog
Those readers unfamiliar with Jim Harrison's work should remember LEGENDS OF THE FALL, the popular movie based on his work. BROWN DOG is actually six interconnected novellas about an orphan raised by his grandfather who supposedly said he looked like a “Bown Dog” when BD showed up in his yard.
The Upper Peninsula features strongly in the six novellas. The UP is well known for its “characters” so to speak. Finlanders, Cornish, and Italians worked in the mines there and they all had their own unique personalities and mythologies. Mix in the Chippewa Indians and you've got a interesting mix.
Brown Dog doesn't have much ambition beyond three squares, where he'll get the money for his next six pack, and sex. He works for Delmar, who may be a relative or just a friend of his grandfather, cutting pulp. During the winter he repairs cabins in the woods for free rent. He loves the woods and fishing. He spends hours trout fishing, sometimes all day.
Brown Dog gets in trouble when he falls in lust with an anthropologist interested in Indian mounds BD has discovered. When she and a friend trick him into telling them where they are, they start a dig. Brown Dog and a younger brother of a friend of his who's a sort of pseudo AIM activist decide to bombard the dig with fireworks. The only one to pay the piper is Rose, one of Brown Dog's lovers, whom he may have actually married at one time. She gets two years in jail for biting off the thumb of a police officer, and BD is the temporary guardian of their children Red and Berry, a little girl who suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome.
Berry is the star of the show in my mind. She does bird impressions that fool the birds themselves, although she never says a word. Gretchen, a social worker who defends Berry when she's out of control, becomes the love of BD's life. Of course, she's a lesbian. Harrison paints himself into a corner with this romance. Are we supposed to believe that a lesbian will overcome her sexual preference and fall for BD? We want her to. The way Harrison handles this is nothing short of masterful.
These stories will remind you of Hemingway/s “Big Two Hearted River” in that Brown Bear loves the woods and fishing more than breathing, if that's possible. He moves from the UP to California to Montana and back to the UP, but he feels out of place anywhere but in the woods. Some will object to the stereotypical Indian in that BD is definitely an alcoholics and so are most of his friends, but the big lug is so lovable even they will appreciate the uniqueness of the character. He doesn't even objectify women, and he's a sex fiend. He genuinely loves all women, even three hundred pounders.
The Upper Peninsula features strongly in the six novellas. The UP is well known for its “characters” so to speak. Finlanders, Cornish, and Italians worked in the mines there and they all had their own unique personalities and mythologies. Mix in the Chippewa Indians and you've got a interesting mix.
Brown Dog doesn't have much ambition beyond three squares, where he'll get the money for his next six pack, and sex. He works for Delmar, who may be a relative or just a friend of his grandfather, cutting pulp. During the winter he repairs cabins in the woods for free rent. He loves the woods and fishing. He spends hours trout fishing, sometimes all day.
Brown Dog gets in trouble when he falls in lust with an anthropologist interested in Indian mounds BD has discovered. When she and a friend trick him into telling them where they are, they start a dig. Brown Dog and a younger brother of a friend of his who's a sort of pseudo AIM activist decide to bombard the dig with fireworks. The only one to pay the piper is Rose, one of Brown Dog's lovers, whom he may have actually married at one time. She gets two years in jail for biting off the thumb of a police officer, and BD is the temporary guardian of their children Red and Berry, a little girl who suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome.
Berry is the star of the show in my mind. She does bird impressions that fool the birds themselves, although she never says a word. Gretchen, a social worker who defends Berry when she's out of control, becomes the love of BD's life. Of course, she's a lesbian. Harrison paints himself into a corner with this romance. Are we supposed to believe that a lesbian will overcome her sexual preference and fall for BD? We want her to. The way Harrison handles this is nothing short of masterful.
These stories will remind you of Hemingway/s “Big Two Hearted River” in that Brown Bear loves the woods and fishing more than breathing, if that's possible. He moves from the UP to California to Montana and back to the UP, but he feels out of place anywhere but in the woods. Some will object to the stereotypical Indian in that BD is definitely an alcoholics and so are most of his friends, but the big lug is so lovable even they will appreciate the uniqueness of the character. He doesn't even objectify women, and he's a sex fiend. He genuinely loves all women, even three hundred pounders.
Gathering Prey
John Camp recently moved to New Mexico. As a result we can expect to see some drastic changes regarding Lucas Davenport and THE PREY series, but not quite yet.
One of the original complaints about the series was the high body count involved. Would a Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent with that much blood on his hands be tolerated? Lately Lucas has been standing on his head, trying to avoid killing too many of the miscreants he deals with. Not in this one, and there's a reason for that which I'll get to later.
One of the recent developments in the series has been the addition of Letty, Lucas's adopted daughter, as a major character. She's a lot like Lucas and would like to be involved in law enforcement in some capacity. In this case, she meets a young girl, named Skye who is a Traveler. An old time word for her might be drifter. She and her friend Henry move from place to place doing odd jobs, singing on the streets and begging, then moving on to the next place. Originally I thought the synopsis meant Lucas was involved with the Irish Travellers, a group of Irish conmen and women, who ascend on unsuspecting homeowners in the North during the spring, offering to do roofing jobs and other home improvement jobs, such as sealing the driveway. But if you pay them, beforehand, they disappear. Skye and Henry would be more the drifter type.
The villain of this episode is a Charles Manson type named Pilate, who likes to hurt people. Pilate lures Henry into the group by promising him an acting job. Skye warns him that Pilate is evil, but he won't listen. What happens to Henry and ultimately Skye, brings Lucas into the picture. Here's another unfamiliar group for you, the Juggalos. Think the Grateful Dead. The Juggalos dress up in clown make-up and costumes, listen to music, take drugs, and bascially party. Lucas and Letty follow Skye to Wisconsin and ultimatley to the Upper Penisula in Michigan, first to save Skye (and Lettie), then (for Lucas) to deal with Pilate's violent cult.
Now for the ending. The new director of the BCA is a weasel named Henry Sands. He's upset about the body count and he wants Lucas gone. He's called a meeting to discuss this, but Lucas has already told him to stick it where the sun don't shine. As a result, I would expect the next Prey novel may be set in someplace like New Mexcio. I realize Tony Hillerman has already done that, but there's nothing that says Lucas (and Letty?) have to work for the state cops.
One of the original complaints about the series was the high body count involved. Would a Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent with that much blood on his hands be tolerated? Lately Lucas has been standing on his head, trying to avoid killing too many of the miscreants he deals with. Not in this one, and there's a reason for that which I'll get to later.
One of the recent developments in the series has been the addition of Letty, Lucas's adopted daughter, as a major character. She's a lot like Lucas and would like to be involved in law enforcement in some capacity. In this case, she meets a young girl, named Skye who is a Traveler. An old time word for her might be drifter. She and her friend Henry move from place to place doing odd jobs, singing on the streets and begging, then moving on to the next place. Originally I thought the synopsis meant Lucas was involved with the Irish Travellers, a group of Irish conmen and women, who ascend on unsuspecting homeowners in the North during the spring, offering to do roofing jobs and other home improvement jobs, such as sealing the driveway. But if you pay them, beforehand, they disappear. Skye and Henry would be more the drifter type.
The villain of this episode is a Charles Manson type named Pilate, who likes to hurt people. Pilate lures Henry into the group by promising him an acting job. Skye warns him that Pilate is evil, but he won't listen. What happens to Henry and ultimately Skye, brings Lucas into the picture. Here's another unfamiliar group for you, the Juggalos. Think the Grateful Dead. The Juggalos dress up in clown make-up and costumes, listen to music, take drugs, and bascially party. Lucas and Letty follow Skye to Wisconsin and ultimatley to the Upper Penisula in Michigan, first to save Skye (and Lettie), then (for Lucas) to deal with Pilate's violent cult.
Now for the ending. The new director of the BCA is a weasel named Henry Sands. He's upset about the body count and he wants Lucas gone. He's called a meeting to discuss this, but Lucas has already told him to stick it where the sun don't shine. As a result, I would expect the next Prey novel may be set in someplace like New Mexcio. I realize Tony Hillerman has already done that, but there's nothing that says Lucas (and Letty?) have to work for the state cops.
