Cold Comfort: Life at the Top of the Map

by Barton Sutter

Temperatures that dive to forty degrees below zero are only part of life in northern Minnesota, according to award-winning writer Barton Sutter. Cold Comfort is his temperamental tribute to the city of Duluth, Minnesota, where bears wander the streets and canoe racks are standard equipment.

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Biography, Nature

232 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

Reviews

[Davis Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has fallen in love with the majestic and underrated city of Duluth that I am proud to call my hometown, and has always admired the awe-inspiring beauty of the North woods, this is a superb collection of personal anecdotes and essays that aims to ask the question: What exactly does home mean to someone who is searching for it? I hesitate to recommend it to all readers because I do think you need to have at least a slight familiarity with the region to understand Sutter's point of view. (If you're a Minnesota resident, you'll be able to "get" several inside jokes.) It's just a pleasure to read. Sutter infuses his anecdotes with wry, hyperbolic comedy, poetic writing, and reflective, poignant nostalgia. I do think that he spends a little too much time waxing poetic about his fishing and canoeing addictions, but I'd be a curmudgeon to drag the book's rating down just because of that. An excellent read. My favorite essays are "April Fools," "The Shrink-Wrapped Campfire," "Existential Baseball," "Eating the Landscape," "God's Own Ice Rink," and "The Duluth Behind Duluth."

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of many books I have been dipping into like snuff this summer. The book is made for such treatment - short chapters that were originally written as articles. I purchased it in Duluth and it is all about Duluth and environs. The picture of the Aerial Lift Bridge on the cover really won me over to it. Sutter's writing is full of personal detail and it does not overwhelm, though it contains its own beauty and insight, but he loves that bridge, Lake Superior, Finns, and Duluth and as I share those loves I appreciate his calling them to mind. He knows Duluth and its surrounding wilderness areas well and he makes me want to get a canoe.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Barton Sutter creates beautiful pictures of the natural setting of the North Woods with his essays. While most of the book is lighthearted, even funny, there are some darker essays, which I didn't enjoy quite as much. As a whole though, it's a wonderful book of essays about nature, the outdoors, people, and life in general. I appreciate that each one is exactly the right length, too.

Favorite essays: God, Tischer Creek, Existential Baseball, The Cider Man, Jangle Bells, and Cross-Country.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

To really appreciate this book, you need to be familiar with Duluth, Minnesota and have some appreciate for the power of it's allure. This book is not only about Duluthians and also an interesting introspective of the author.

[Judy Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

" ... a temperamental tribute to the city of Duluth, where bears wander the streets and canoe racks are standard equipment. With humor and passion, Barton Suttor pays homage to the haunting beauty of this lopsided city perched on the shore of Lake Superior, reporting the quirks and joys of daily life in this far-flung outpost and its environs."

"... oddly brilliant and lovely little book ... "

Short essays, first heard on Public Radio.

A sample of the chapter headings:
In One Lopsided City: Homing - An Introduction; The Bridge; Park Point; Tischer Creek; Existential Baseball; Hawk Ridge; The Cider Man; Disorganized Hockey; The History of Snow; Finlandia at Fourteen Below (more ...)
In Roundabout: Cross-country; Map Fishing; God's Own Ice Rink; Boundary Waters Canoe Park; Dream Canoe; Falcon, Eagle, Snake; * (!) The Shrink-Wrapped Campfire; Blueberry Country; Eating the Landscape' Lake Addiction (more ...)

Monthly essays aired on MPR's "Voices from the Heartland" (Liz Hannon's "Midmorning" show)
In 1993, MPR issued an audiocassette called "A Sense of Place" which featured several of these.
Some essays have appeared in the Boundary Waters Journal; Lake Country Journal; Minnesota Monthly, Mpls.-St Paul, and other publications; also "Postcards from Duluth" in John Henricksson's anthology North Writer II in 1997.

This book lives in the Miller Creek clubhouse library.

[Brenda Mueller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this book at a small bookstore in Two Harbors this past summer, hoping to find reading material to immerse myself in the special feeling of being ‘up north’. This book was perfect. If you love visiting Duluth and the North Shore, you’ll enjoy this book. Written in short essays, you will find yourself smiling as you connect with the stories and feel the emotions the author describes as he talks about life in Duluth and his visits to the North Shore and the Boundary Waters. This one will remain in my personal reading collection to be read again and to loan to friends and family who also love this special area of Minnesota.

[Leah Riedel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional. This man lives and breathes what it is to be a Minnesotan. Any one who calls Minnesota home and has even a hint of the love of the outdoors will appreciate this. My favorites were "Dream Canoe," "The Next Best Thing to Nobody," "The Shrink Wrapped Campfire," "Emil's Place," and "Eating the Landscape." Timeless.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cold Comfort was a warm and cozy read. Every chapter was a stand alone. Burton's style of writing is as honest as Lake Superior is huge. Having lived in Minnesota some 30 years I could totally relate.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice set of essays, about a beautiful place!

[RoseAnn Siegmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barton did very well describing Duluth MN with deep feelings. I learned a lot.

[Karima · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how I happened upon this book but I am delighted that I did. On face value, its subject matter is of little interest to me: Duluth, MN (never been there; have barely heard of the place) hockey, rugged outdoors activities like portaging into bogs. So, a bit confused when I made my weekly visit to our neighborhood library to check out whatever was on reserve for me, I proceeded to head home with COLD COMFORT expecting to give it a quick peruse and return it promptly.
This book is a gem! Many reviewers say that one cannot appreciate this book of essays if not familiar with Deluth. I am not (and quite honestly, after reading the book, I STILL have little interest in visiting the place) but appreciated the book very much. Here's an excerpt from one of my favorite chapters entitled "God".

Having lived for several years beside "the shining big sea water," I've decided that Lake Superior is God. Does that seem blasphemous? Any human view of God is bound to be imperfect, but, the way I see it, the image of Lake Superior is a lot less insulting to the Supreme Being than the more conventional picture of a gray-haired beard in bathrobe and sandals.

and he's off......

I love this guy and his depictions of ice and bitter cold, old ladies with plastic coin purses, dedicated scientists like Bud Heinselman, AND his love of living in a place, as I do (Buffalo, NY) where people think their heating bills are a compelling topic of conversation.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read, but I enjoyed most of it. I'm not sure how much it would appeal to those who aren't already familiar with Northern Minnesota, but Sutter captures the feel of the community quite well.

I would agree with the reviewers on the dust jacket who say that his attempt at being curmudgeonly doesn't seem totally accurate, but he is forgiven for this with his reflections on nature, the seasons, and the people who endure both.

Sutter will never reach the popularity of Sigurd Olson, but his book is worthy of sitting on the shelves of all those who enjoy nature writing, essays, or books about Minnesota.

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love anything Duluth and Lake Superior. I first heard about this book on the Duluth Public Television show "Venture North" and hearing about it and seeing the bridge on the cover, I had to buy it. Read it in a day. Great insights on what it means to be a Minnesotan, he hit the nail on the head several times.

[Lola · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about my hometown, Duluth, Minnesota. Life at the top of the map where the weather is
so cold that it keeps out the riff raff. The author, also local, writes about different areas in an
unreverent, critical way--it's humorous.

[Dbbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read this twice now with a few trips to the north shore area in between. I have enjoyed mixing in my own memories of familiar places throughout the book. If you yearn for the north this is a nice place to start.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who tries to understand Minnesotans...especially those from Duluth.

[Jeff Bloomquist · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best book about Duluth

[Shawn Peyton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing collection of thoughts on living in Duluth.

[Vlad Vaslyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the aspiring writer: an excellent example of how setting (Duluth) influences people and environment, as well as how to make an inanimate place come alive.

[Andrew Pierre · Rating 3 out of 5]

The simple joys of being Minnesotan.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am new to Duluth so every chapter was an " ah ha!" To me. Good writing and great subjects. Thanks for helping me to love Duluth.