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The Raven's Gift
The Washington Post The Raven's Gift by "master of the cliffhanger" Don Rearden is a blend of "hunter-hunted suspense of Geoffrey Household's Rogue Male , the post-apocalyptic bleakness of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and the haunting mysteriousness of The X-Files ."
John Morgan and his wife can barely contain their excitement upon arriving as the new teachers in a Yup'ik Eskimo village on the windswept Alaskan tundra. But their move proves disastrous when a deadly epidemic strikes and the isolated community descends into total chaos. When outside aid fails to arrive, John's only hope lies in escaping the snow-covered tundra and the hunger of the other survivors--he must make the thousand-mile trek across the Alaskan wilderness for help. He encounters a blind Eskimo girl and an elderly woman who need his protection, and he needs their knowledge of the terrain to survive. The harsh journey pushes him beyond his limits as he discovers a new sense of hope and the possibility of loving again.
John Morgan and his wife can barely contain their excitement upon arriving as the new teachers in a Yup'ik Eskimo village on the windswept Alaskan tundra. But their move proves disastrous when a deadly epidemic strikes and the isolated community descends into total chaos. When outside aid fails to arrive, John's only hope lies in escaping the snow-covered tundra and the hunger of the other survivors--he must make the thousand-mile trek across the Alaskan wilderness for help. He encounters a blind Eskimo girl and an elderly woman who need his protection, and he needs their knowledge of the terrain to survive. The harsh journey pushes him beyond his limits as he discovers a new sense of hope and the possibility of loving again.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 25, 2011
About the author
Don Rearden
9 books71 followersCalled a "master of the cliffhanger" by the Washington Post, Don Rearden is the co-author of Warrior's Creed (St. Martin's Press 2019) the best-selling Never Quit (St. Martin's Press 2017), and the award winning novel, The Raven's Gift. Published by Pintail and Penguin US, Penguin Canada, Text Publishing Australia 2012, and Fleuve Noir (France 2013).
Don Rearden grew up on the tundra of Southwestern Alaska. His experiences with the Yup'ik culture shaped both his writing and to a larger extent his worldview. He is a produced screenwriter, film producer, and published poet, and his heart often draws his writing back to characters and stories that originate on the tundra. In his fiction he hopes to shed light on the struggles of everyday life in rural Alaska, a place outsiders often view as a mystical and mysterious land.
Rearden lives in the mountain community of Bear Valley, Alaska, and is a professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage where he shows writers how to develop their creative voices. Much of his writing and thought is influenced from learning experiences in the Alaskan wilderness, as well as from the teachings and writings of his mentor and friend, the late Daniel Quinn, author of Ishmael and The Story of B.
Don Rearden grew up on the tundra of Southwestern Alaska. His experiences with the Yup'ik culture shaped both his writing and to a larger extent his worldview. He is a produced screenwriter, film producer, and published poet, and his heart often draws his writing back to characters and stories that originate on the tundra. In his fiction he hopes to shed light on the struggles of everyday life in rural Alaska, a place outsiders often view as a mystical and mysterious land.
Rearden lives in the mountain community of Bear Valley, Alaska, and is a professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage where he shows writers how to develop their creative voices. Much of his writing and thought is influenced from learning experiences in the Alaskan wilderness, as well as from the teachings and writings of his mentor and friend, the late Daniel Quinn, author of Ishmael and The Story of B.
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December 28, 2020
Rating: 3.8* of five ***LibraryThing Early Reviewers ARC***
The Publisher Says: John Morgan and his wife can barely contain their excitement upon arriving as the new teachers in a Yup'ik Eskimo village on the windswept Alaskan tundra. But their move proves disastrous when a deadly epidemic strikes and the isolated community descends into total chaos. When outside aid fails to arrive, John’s only hope lies in escaping the snow-covered tundra and the hunger of the other survivors—he must make the thousand-mile trek across the Alaskan wilderness for help. He encounters a blind Eskimo girl and an elderly woman who need his protection, and he needs their knowledge of the terrain to survive. The harsh journey pushes him beyond his limits as he discovers a new sense of hope and the possibility of loving again.
My Review: That summary's pretty generic. Here's what I think you should know: Expect to flip pages fast enough to fan yourself cool on a hot day. Expect to invest real interest in the characters. Expect to spend at least one too-late night as the ending draws nigh.
Don't expect to learn the culture of the Yup'ik, or get inside the heads of any Yup'ik people. Don't expect the plot to do more than propel the real story forward. Don't expect to slip mentally naked into a pool of sweet-scented prose-water. Don't expect to think about these characters for days, weeks, after the deeply satisfying ride is over.
This is chapter 42:
That's it. The entire chapter. So now you know what you're looking at: Short chapters made of short sentences piled atop each other, building thorny defensive walls against loss and loneliness and the icy freezing cold of being irretrievaby, irrevocably left behind. Sometimes you're inside, sometimes you're outside.
If that style fails to appeal, pass on. But Pintail, a Canadian division of Penguin, should find plenty of people happy to visit the amazing, beautiful Alaskan tundra with John and his dependents. I'm very glad I spent the time I did with this promising, exciting debut thriller.
The Publisher Says: John Morgan and his wife can barely contain their excitement upon arriving as the new teachers in a Yup'ik Eskimo village on the windswept Alaskan tundra. But their move proves disastrous when a deadly epidemic strikes and the isolated community descends into total chaos. When outside aid fails to arrive, John’s only hope lies in escaping the snow-covered tundra and the hunger of the other survivors—he must make the thousand-mile trek across the Alaskan wilderness for help. He encounters a blind Eskimo girl and an elderly woman who need his protection, and he needs their knowledge of the terrain to survive. The harsh journey pushes him beyond his limits as he discovers a new sense of hope and the possibility of loving again.
My Review: That summary's pretty generic. Here's what I think you should know: Expect to flip pages fast enough to fan yourself cool on a hot day. Expect to invest real interest in the characters. Expect to spend at least one too-late night as the ending draws nigh.
Don't expect to learn the culture of the Yup'ik, or get inside the heads of any Yup'ik people. Don't expect the plot to do more than propel the real story forward. Don't expect to slip mentally naked into a pool of sweet-scented prose-water. Don't expect to think about these characters for days, weeks, after the deeply satisfying ride is over.
This is chapter 42:
He swore he would keep track. He would record each day forward from the day she died. Never forgetting. Never losing count. That day was the day he awoke with {her} cold in his arms. The day he could not stop trying to imagine being a father. Of {her} finally a mother. He just couldn't do it. He had no images in his mind of what that son or daughter might have looked like. Would he or she have his grandmother's eyes? The eyes he never looked into?
But worse, it would be the day he would have to start trying to keep his word to {her}.
And on that day, he knew in his heart, he couldn't keep it. She had whispered into his ear and asked him to do the unthinkable. And he said he would. He would have told her anything she needed to hear. And he did.
{She} whispered her dying wish into his ear, "Promise me you will love again...Promise me."
"Promise," he replied.
Asking him to promise he would keep on living would have been too much in and of itself, but to love again?
Impossible.
That's it. The entire chapter. So now you know what you're looking at: Short chapters made of short sentences piled atop each other, building thorny defensive walls against loss and loneliness and the icy freezing cold of being irretrievaby, irrevocably left behind. Sometimes you're inside, sometimes you're outside.
If that style fails to appeal, pass on. But Pintail, a Canadian division of Penguin, should find plenty of people happy to visit the amazing, beautiful Alaskan tundra with John and his dependents. I'm very glad I spent the time I did with this promising, exciting debut thriller.
June 30, 2013
"The Raven's Gift" is a story about survival, hope and finding love when you least expected it. This book takes you on a adventure, adventure of life and death. This is a dark read, that evolves a lot around death. You will find yourselves questioning if something like this can really happen. This book is also a lesson. You will learn a lot about Yup'ik culture, as well as some history of Native people.
The Plot. I was not as excited to read this book at first. I never really read a book that involves around illness, but I always wanted to read a book of this genre. I was really surprised at how much I liked this book. The plot was just so good. The story of Anna and John was amazing. Its the kind of book that leaves you wanting more. With every chapter it opens a new view on characters and everything that you thought you knew. With this book you just start to question things. I loved that the book was set in Alaska, I mean you don't see a lot of books written in Alaska and it feels like a lot of people forgot about Alaska. This book really shows you the hardship of people living there and the amazing culture.
The Characters. The characters in "The Raven's Gift" were so realistic. It was really easy to connect to John and Anna and their new experiences. As you read it, at times it might feel like you are there with them. The way Don Rearden developed his character was amazing. John was the main character and a really strong one. You can see from the beginning to the end how his character changes and how differently he starts to handle things. You observe his growth as a person. The other characters, like the blind girl and the old woman that travel with him were also really captivating. I just loved reading their stories of their culture and traditions.
The Writing. The writing style to this book was really unique. At fist we see John's move with his wife Anna, later in a chapter it jumps to his journey with a blind girl, then it goes to earlier before he met the blind girl. So the story just jumps from the beginning of his move and his time with his wife and before the illness broke out to his midway journey with blind girl to the future. At first it can be really confusing but it is easier to get used to it, because the writing is a big part of the book that makes the story so much more interesting to follow.
The End. Honestly in the end I felt like some of my questions throughout the story wasn't answered and it left me hanging. Like I really wanted to know what happens to John after what happened in the end(don't want to spoil). So I didn't like the end as much as I wanted to.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. Not only it was a wonderful story but it was also an amazing lesson. "The Raven's Gift" is a debut novel by Don Rearden, and I think he did a wonderful job writing his first novel! I would definitely recommend it to the people who like reading about disease break out and people fighting and trying to survive hardships.
A scene from "The Raven's Gift"
"His finger traced the route, following the wide river as it slowly narrowed, meandering hundreds of miles toward the little town of Mcgrath. He paused at Kalskag, noticing the Yukon River seemed to almost touch the Kuskokwim there. He was pondering the trip up that river, toward Fairbanks, when he heard the first shot. He closed the book and held still, flat on his back. His pistol and rifle within reach.
Another shot. Then another. They sounded close. Then distant. He listened until his ears rang, waiting for the next. The shots continued through the night."
The Plot. I was not as excited to read this book at first. I never really read a book that involves around illness, but I always wanted to read a book of this genre. I was really surprised at how much I liked this book. The plot was just so good. The story of Anna and John was amazing. Its the kind of book that leaves you wanting more. With every chapter it opens a new view on characters and everything that you thought you knew. With this book you just start to question things. I loved that the book was set in Alaska, I mean you don't see a lot of books written in Alaska and it feels like a lot of people forgot about Alaska. This book really shows you the hardship of people living there and the amazing culture.
The Characters. The characters in "The Raven's Gift" were so realistic. It was really easy to connect to John and Anna and their new experiences. As you read it, at times it might feel like you are there with them. The way Don Rearden developed his character was amazing. John was the main character and a really strong one. You can see from the beginning to the end how his character changes and how differently he starts to handle things. You observe his growth as a person. The other characters, like the blind girl and the old woman that travel with him were also really captivating. I just loved reading their stories of their culture and traditions.
The Writing. The writing style to this book was really unique. At fist we see John's move with his wife Anna, later in a chapter it jumps to his journey with a blind girl, then it goes to earlier before he met the blind girl. So the story just jumps from the beginning of his move and his time with his wife and before the illness broke out to his midway journey with blind girl to the future. At first it can be really confusing but it is easier to get used to it, because the writing is a big part of the book that makes the story so much more interesting to follow.
The End. Honestly in the end I felt like some of my questions throughout the story wasn't answered and it left me hanging. Like I really wanted to know what happens to John after what happened in the end(don't want to spoil). So I didn't like the end as much as I wanted to.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. Not only it was a wonderful story but it was also an amazing lesson. "The Raven's Gift" is a debut novel by Don Rearden, and I think he did a wonderful job writing his first novel! I would definitely recommend it to the people who like reading about disease break out and people fighting and trying to survive hardships.
A scene from "The Raven's Gift"
"His finger traced the route, following the wide river as it slowly narrowed, meandering hundreds of miles toward the little town of Mcgrath. He paused at Kalskag, noticing the Yukon River seemed to almost touch the Kuskokwim there. He was pondering the trip up that river, toward Fairbanks, when he heard the first shot. He closed the book and held still, flat on his back. His pistol and rifle within reach.
Another shot. Then another. They sounded close. Then distant. He listened until his ears rang, waiting for the next. The shots continued through the night."
September 23, 2023
✔️new to me genre: Survival/Dystopian
✔️new to me author: Don Rearden
“We get three types who apply to teach on the tundra. Teachers no one else will hire. Teachers looking for an adventure. And then those who are running from something.”
“We’ve had the most qualified of teachers refuse to get off the plane when they arrived in their assigned villages. The place you’ll be going will look as familiar as the moon to you. Flat. Barren. Not like this, I can tell you that. The weather is usually brutal, and the housing situation, to be honest, is less than perfect. Pretty shitty, actually. The best part is you’re going to be immersed within the Yup’ik culture.”
John and Ana Morgan, newly qualified teachers, leave the lower 48 in search of adventure and head to the remote Yup’ik Eskimo village of Nunacuak (New-nah-jew-ak) in the Alaskan tundra. Can they survive their 9-month contract?
Which of the three groups do the Morgans fall into?
Just when they think they can survive in the Alaskan wild, a deadly epidemic strikes. Readers have a front-row seat to see how an isolated community fares. In a community without running water, how do you sanitize? When runny noses are the norm, how do you know if you’ve contracted ‘something’? When you don’t have ready access to medical supplies nor the knowledge to prevent spreading … how do these ‘invisible people’ survive?
When outside hope fails, John decides to make the trek (1000 miles) across the wilderness for help. Along the way, he meets a blind Eskimo girl and an elderly woman. The relationship is symbiotic; John needs their knowledge of the tundra to survive and they need his protection. The quest for help pushes them to their limits. They’ve survived the remote living, what about the epidemic?
Although I was frustrated at first with the time-hopping, I loved learning about survival, hope, and determination as they showcased humanity in the most remote of locations. The author’s references to a ‘multitude of government romps in the Arctic sandbox’ (Sarin gas bomb testing, syphilis experiments, government-sponsored sterilization, smallpox, and measles-infected blankets given to the Sioux, and nuclear detonations in the Aleutian chain) had me Googling to find out more. I learned about the challenges of life in a village community in the North, Eskimo tea, non-verbal replies (raised eyebrows mean yes), and honey buckets!
The author has his readers looking back in horror and looking ahead in dread!
✔️new to me author: Don Rearden
“We get three types who apply to teach on the tundra. Teachers no one else will hire. Teachers looking for an adventure. And then those who are running from something.”
“We’ve had the most qualified of teachers refuse to get off the plane when they arrived in their assigned villages. The place you’ll be going will look as familiar as the moon to you. Flat. Barren. Not like this, I can tell you that. The weather is usually brutal, and the housing situation, to be honest, is less than perfect. Pretty shitty, actually. The best part is you’re going to be immersed within the Yup’ik culture.”
John and Ana Morgan, newly qualified teachers, leave the lower 48 in search of adventure and head to the remote Yup’ik Eskimo village of Nunacuak (New-nah-jew-ak) in the Alaskan tundra. Can they survive their 9-month contract?
Which of the three groups do the Morgans fall into?
Just when they think they can survive in the Alaskan wild, a deadly epidemic strikes. Readers have a front-row seat to see how an isolated community fares. In a community without running water, how do you sanitize? When runny noses are the norm, how do you know if you’ve contracted ‘something’? When you don’t have ready access to medical supplies nor the knowledge to prevent spreading … how do these ‘invisible people’ survive?
When outside hope fails, John decides to make the trek (1000 miles) across the wilderness for help. Along the way, he meets a blind Eskimo girl and an elderly woman. The relationship is symbiotic; John needs their knowledge of the tundra to survive and they need his protection. The quest for help pushes them to their limits. They’ve survived the remote living, what about the epidemic?
Although I was frustrated at first with the time-hopping, I loved learning about survival, hope, and determination as they showcased humanity in the most remote of locations. The author’s references to a ‘multitude of government romps in the Arctic sandbox’ (Sarin gas bomb testing, syphilis experiments, government-sponsored sterilization, smallpox, and measles-infected blankets given to the Sioux, and nuclear detonations in the Aleutian chain) had me Googling to find out more. I learned about the challenges of life in a village community in the North, Eskimo tea, non-verbal replies (raised eyebrows mean yes), and honey buckets!
The author has his readers looking back in horror and looking ahead in dread!
August 6, 2012
I was asked to review this book for my university magazine and I am glad I did. Whilst this is not anything overly out of the ordinary or a phenomenon of literature by any means, it is still an incredibly well written story of survival the is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's The Road or Stephen King's Cell.
There are not enough books set in Alaska. There are not enough books about government conspiracy and viral pandemics. Don Reardon is bridging the gap with The Raven’s Gift; a simple case of supply and demand has enabled the creation of this gritty and chilling post-apocalyptic tale. Reardon writes with a neatness that is uncommon in contemporary literature, and even more uncommon in thriller writing. Set in the harshness of the Alaskan tundra, The Raven’s Gift is a story that is becoming more and more true with every tick of the clock. It asks the questions we are all thinking, how will it happen? When will it happen? Could I survive the end of the world? As well as asking the questions, it provides truth, in all of its brutal glory. People die, hearts are broken and some people just don’t care.
The only thing I can fault this book on is the occasional simplistic style of the writing. Short chapter length makes reading fast and keeps you in the story, plot wise, Reardon ties everything together, with not a single question left unanswered. Full of twists you won’t see coming, laced with Alaskan native culture and truly unique in every aspect, I have not enjoyed a book like this in a long time. 28 Days Later meets 30 Days of Night, minus the vampires (thank god!) For fans of Stephen King and anyone in between, this book will not disappoint!
This leaves no questions unanswered and is a very complete story. If you are after an easy, quick read without having to buy a chick lit novel about dating and shopping, this is the book for you.
There are not enough books set in Alaska. There are not enough books about government conspiracy and viral pandemics. Don Reardon is bridging the gap with The Raven’s Gift; a simple case of supply and demand has enabled the creation of this gritty and chilling post-apocalyptic tale. Reardon writes with a neatness that is uncommon in contemporary literature, and even more uncommon in thriller writing. Set in the harshness of the Alaskan tundra, The Raven’s Gift is a story that is becoming more and more true with every tick of the clock. It asks the questions we are all thinking, how will it happen? When will it happen? Could I survive the end of the world? As well as asking the questions, it provides truth, in all of its brutal glory. People die, hearts are broken and some people just don’t care.
The only thing I can fault this book on is the occasional simplistic style of the writing. Short chapter length makes reading fast and keeps you in the story, plot wise, Reardon ties everything together, with not a single question left unanswered. Full of twists you won’t see coming, laced with Alaskan native culture and truly unique in every aspect, I have not enjoyed a book like this in a long time. 28 Days Later meets 30 Days of Night, minus the vampires (thank god!) For fans of Stephen King and anyone in between, this book will not disappoint!
This leaves no questions unanswered and is a very complete story. If you are after an easy, quick read without having to buy a chick lit novel about dating and shopping, this is the book for you.
July 21, 2015
I have a hard time reviewing this book and being critical of it, because I live in western Alaska and it's an extremely unique place that Rearden clearly knows well and attempts to render for readers in this novel. But while this novel attempts to depict that world while telling a post-apocalyptic story, the vast and utterly unique world of rural Alaska in the late 20th/early 21st century ultimately comes off as mere window dressing (however accurate that window dressing may be) to a rather straightforward and at times incoherent story in a landscape that, post-apocalypse or not, looks like any other dystopia.
The story and characters are serviceable and fit neatly under my 2-star "it was OK" rank. The stoic, tortured protagonist, the blind, naive, optimistic girl (young woman) who puts him in touch with some hard-earned wisdom from locals; pretty straightforward characters. But nearly all of the other characters are incredibly flat and dull; the wife, who we know of the outset will die by the end of the novel from the flu sweeping the state (or the world?), is painfully stock. That wouldn't be so bad, if we weren't expected to care about her death; she has no depth, no heart, and so her death is heartbreaking only because of how much it breaks the man who survives her. Her final "promise"? Well, some things are better left unsaid. The old Yupik woman? In a story that tries to be painfully real, the "wise old Native woman" sure does seem to have plot armor and archetype armor that serves the plot, until it doesn't. The students who populate the pre-flu world? There were a lot of opportunities to flesh out the world of western Alaska here, but virtually nothing happens; probably the novel's biggest opportunity and its greatest failing. A single student character gets perhaps a chapter or two, but it's so brief and shallow it's very disappointing and ultimately a footnote. (And when one of those characters shows up later in the story, there's no payoff, because nothing has been built up or invested.) Failing to capitalize on these storytelling opportunities is hard to ignore, but what derails to novel for me is how often Rearden employs minor, one-note characters who exist simply to deliver fact-laden diatribes for the reader, and not the characters. "Hi, welcome to western Alaska, I'm a pilot, now let me tell you all about bush pilots in Alaska." "Hi, I'm a cab patron in Bethel, let me tell you all about cabs and cars in rural Alaska." Rearden is definitely a "tell, don't show," author and he clumsy reliance on explication made for a surprisingly uninteresting and often didactic read. Admittedly, none of this world he was clumsily explaining was new or different for me; perhaps someone with no experience in western Alaska would take it differently, but I doubt it. It's simply bad writing and poor storytelling.
Serviceable protagonists in a world of paper-thin characters would have been fine for almost any other generic pandemic/apocalypse book, but the biggest failing of this novel is unfortunately what should be its greatest strength: the unflinching glimpse it offers of rural Alaska. The setting, and the world of western Alaska, and the Yupik culture, all should elevate this story into something greater than just another "end of the world" story ... but the storyteller is simply not up to the task. Rearden paints the world with overly broad strokes, with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Yes, prices are high, even in hubs like Bethel; yes, there is a powerful clash of culture when college-educated teachers from Minnesota get dropped into rural Alaska communities; yes, there continue to be epidemic levels of violence and sexual abuse and suicide across the region. But these issues never feel like a real part of the world in this novel; they feel like a papier-mâché veneer, with none of the emotional depth or weight in the story to really matter. Rearden attempts to suss out these tensions with some of the student-teacher relationships, but he never lingers; he hustles right past moments of poignancy and power, for no obvious reason, in his rush to get the already-brief chapters done before moving on to the next one. During the struggle for survival that is most of the novel, the blind girl encounters an uncle or cousin who likely sexually abused her; it's right there in the story, just like it's right there in real life, but Rearden doesn't know how to make it matter to his characters or his story. The gripping scene ends in uncharacteristic violence, but then ... nothing. We learn little more about what happened, what that microcosm says about the real world of western Alaska; little in the story, or our understanding of rural Alaska, is illuminated by the incident. It's just there, as if the author wants to tick it off a checklist of horrifying Alaskana. Subsistence, snowmachines, sharing; a lack of real education, tradition and loss of culture, joblessness, substance abuse, poverty ... all of these are accurately portrayed in the story, just as I'd expect, and they are authentic and accurate ... but so what? Rearden has served us a feast of possibilities (even if it's set up with questionably thin characters), but it's like he's forgotten how to eat this feast: all throughout the book he's primed to deliver insight, but he never does. It's more description, exposition; the message stays squarely on the surface.
All set up, no payoff; a bewildering faux-chase at the "climax" that half-heartedly mixes some magic realism with a conspiracy plot and Yupik legend ... and it's over. So much potential that just does not come together in any way. Rearden's heart is in the right place, but he just doesn't know what to do with his insight into the unique world of western Alaska.
All of that said ... I look forward to watching this author grow. If he can leverage his experience and insight into western Alaska, but be free of the expectations of a survival/post-apocalypse story, I think he will be able to deliver something very special.
The story and characters are serviceable and fit neatly under my 2-star "it was OK" rank. The stoic, tortured protagonist, the blind, naive, optimistic girl (young woman) who puts him in touch with some hard-earned wisdom from locals; pretty straightforward characters. But nearly all of the other characters are incredibly flat and dull; the wife, who we know of the outset will die by the end of the novel from the flu sweeping the state (or the world?), is painfully stock. That wouldn't be so bad, if we weren't expected to care about her death; she has no depth, no heart, and so her death is heartbreaking only because of how much it breaks the man who survives her. Her final "promise"? Well, some things are better left unsaid. The old Yupik woman? In a story that tries to be painfully real, the "wise old Native woman" sure does seem to have plot armor and archetype armor that serves the plot, until it doesn't. The students who populate the pre-flu world? There were a lot of opportunities to flesh out the world of western Alaska here, but virtually nothing happens; probably the novel's biggest opportunity and its greatest failing. A single student character gets perhaps a chapter or two, but it's so brief and shallow it's very disappointing and ultimately a footnote. (And when one of those characters shows up later in the story, there's no payoff, because nothing has been built up or invested.) Failing to capitalize on these storytelling opportunities is hard to ignore, but what derails to novel for me is how often Rearden employs minor, one-note characters who exist simply to deliver fact-laden diatribes for the reader, and not the characters. "Hi, welcome to western Alaska, I'm a pilot, now let me tell you all about bush pilots in Alaska." "Hi, I'm a cab patron in Bethel, let me tell you all about cabs and cars in rural Alaska." Rearden is definitely a "tell, don't show," author and he clumsy reliance on explication made for a surprisingly uninteresting and often didactic read. Admittedly, none of this world he was clumsily explaining was new or different for me; perhaps someone with no experience in western Alaska would take it differently, but I doubt it. It's simply bad writing and poor storytelling.
Serviceable protagonists in a world of paper-thin characters would have been fine for almost any other generic pandemic/apocalypse book, but the biggest failing of this novel is unfortunately what should be its greatest strength: the unflinching glimpse it offers of rural Alaska. The setting, and the world of western Alaska, and the Yupik culture, all should elevate this story into something greater than just another "end of the world" story ... but the storyteller is simply not up to the task. Rearden paints the world with overly broad strokes, with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Yes, prices are high, even in hubs like Bethel; yes, there is a powerful clash of culture when college-educated teachers from Minnesota get dropped into rural Alaska communities; yes, there continue to be epidemic levels of violence and sexual abuse and suicide across the region. But these issues never feel like a real part of the world in this novel; they feel like a papier-mâché veneer, with none of the emotional depth or weight in the story to really matter. Rearden attempts to suss out these tensions with some of the student-teacher relationships, but he never lingers; he hustles right past moments of poignancy and power, for no obvious reason, in his rush to get the already-brief chapters done before moving on to the next one. During the struggle for survival that is most of the novel, the blind girl encounters an uncle or cousin who likely sexually abused her; it's right there in the story, just like it's right there in real life, but Rearden doesn't know how to make it matter to his characters or his story. The gripping scene ends in uncharacteristic violence, but then ... nothing. We learn little more about what happened, what that microcosm says about the real world of western Alaska; little in the story, or our understanding of rural Alaska, is illuminated by the incident. It's just there, as if the author wants to tick it off a checklist of horrifying Alaskana. Subsistence, snowmachines, sharing; a lack of real education, tradition and loss of culture, joblessness, substance abuse, poverty ... all of these are accurately portrayed in the story, just as I'd expect, and they are authentic and accurate ... but so what? Rearden has served us a feast of possibilities (even if it's set up with questionably thin characters), but it's like he's forgotten how to eat this feast: all throughout the book he's primed to deliver insight, but he never does. It's more description, exposition; the message stays squarely on the surface.
All set up, no payoff; a bewildering faux-chase at the "climax" that half-heartedly mixes some magic realism with a conspiracy plot and Yupik legend ... and it's over. So much potential that just does not come together in any way. Rearden's heart is in the right place, but he just doesn't know what to do with his insight into the unique world of western Alaska.
All of that said ... I look forward to watching this author grow. If he can leverage his experience and insight into western Alaska, but be free of the expectations of a survival/post-apocalypse story, I think he will be able to deliver something very special.
September 26, 2023
The importance of learn the ancient stories.....without them we are like someone lost in a blizzard!
June 16, 2012
This wonderful novel explores both the history and a potential apocalyptic future for the Yup'ik people of Southwestern Alaska. As a bush teacher myself, I could easily relate to the main character, although his success as a teacher is somewhat idyllic (It doesn't quite show the very real challenges teachers face in the bush.) I recommend reading Harold Napolean's essay, Yuuyaraq: the Way of the Human Being, to understand the impact of what he refers to as the Great Death, when the Yup'ik population suffered a catastrophic loss from the influenza virus in the early 20th century. Revisiting this very real threat to the culture both poses an essential question and draws attention to the fact that this in fact has happened before.
I commend Mr. Reardan on an excellent novel and hope to do what I can to ensure it is offered as a curriculum option for Yup'ik students. As a teacher I highly recommend that an electronic version become available on Amazon and that an audiobook version be in the works by a skilled actor.
I commend Mr. Reardan on an excellent novel and hope to do what I can to ensure it is offered as a curriculum option for Yup'ik students. As a teacher I highly recommend that an electronic version become available on Amazon and that an audiobook version be in the works by a skilled actor.
May 9, 2011
Such a great book!
Only couldn't give it a 5 because of issues with the ending -- which I won't comment on here. ;-)
Truly unable to put this down. I was watching a playoff game and thinking about the people in this book.
Excellent, excellent book. Perhaps not the best read while recovering from the flu as a person who lives alone somewhat outside the town limits...at least I didn't read it while I was getting sick!
I went into this knowing nothing - I simply put it in my own pile of books instead of shelving it at the Library, the cover art is beautiful and I have a thing for Raven's.
A frightnening what-if story set in a remote village in Alaska - before during and after a deadly outbreak of avian flu.
Only couldn't give it a 5 because of issues with the ending -- which I won't comment on here. ;-)
Truly unable to put this down. I was watching a playoff game and thinking about the people in this book.
Excellent, excellent book. Perhaps not the best read while recovering from the flu as a person who lives alone somewhat outside the town limits...at least I didn't read it while I was getting sick!
I went into this knowing nothing - I simply put it in my own pile of books instead of shelving it at the Library, the cover art is beautiful and I have a thing for Raven's.
A frightnening what-if story set in a remote village in Alaska - before during and after a deadly outbreak of avian flu.
February 5, 2018
I'd rate this book closer to 3.5 stars.
Reading this story, I got a vibe similar to that of The Road by Cormac McCarthy. While similar, The Raven's Gift is its own story of a man's quest for survival through the harsh and unforgiving remote Alaska Wilderness whose villages and town's have been ravaged by a deadly disease. I enjoyed the Alaska historical tidbits (I didn't know about nuke testing in Alaska and I thought I had a pretty decent knowledge base on the state) and the Yu'pik cultural references. With a little more character and plot development this book could have easily been a 4 star rating.
Reading this story, I got a vibe similar to that of The Road by Cormac McCarthy. While similar, The Raven's Gift is its own story of a man's quest for survival through the harsh and unforgiving remote Alaska Wilderness whose villages and town's have been ravaged by a deadly disease. I enjoyed the Alaska historical tidbits (I didn't know about nuke testing in Alaska and I thought I had a pretty decent knowledge base on the state) and the Yu'pik cultural references. With a little more character and plot development this book could have easily been a 4 star rating.
June 30, 2024
Having purchased this book in Alaska, I was interested to see the pov of a fictional but definitely possible event and the ramifications. Here, John and Anna, adventurous young teachers sign up for a job in a remote Alaskan tundra community. Then: an epidemic strikes, and as recent events have seen, humanity is not at its best. In this case it’s a flu-like illness, but history will show that the native communities have been viewed as expendable when it comes to health and life issues. In addition to the immediate, acute threat, it also investigates the chronic threats to the communities - poverty, alcoholism, suicide, being ignored by the authorities at large, and the flow-on effects.
Written in chapters, with three logical timelines, (before and the early stages of the epidemic/early survival/the trip out on the tundra with its inherent dangers), and a great cast of side characters, this is a fascinating read and not too far out of the realms of possibility.
Written in chapters, with three logical timelines, (before and the early stages of the epidemic/early survival/the trip out on the tundra with its inherent dangers), and a great cast of side characters, this is a fascinating read and not too far out of the realms of possibility.
March 25, 2020
Wow-- not sure this was the right book to read at the moment, but it was very good. First Nations people living in remote Alaska facing a pandemic and aftermath. Engaging story and writing style.
March 1, 2011
Source: Received from publicist. Many thanks goes to Bronwyn from Penguin Canada for sending me a copy of this book for review. I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
My rating: 5/5
John and his wife, Anna, head north to the Alaskan tundra to teach and immerse themselves in the Yup'ik community and culture. They hope to find adventure along the way, but they could never have expected that they would encounter an epidemic that would decimate the Alaskan communities and ultimately prove fatal. With no help coming, the survivors must take things into their own hands if they have any chance of survival. An unlikely trio is formed when John meets up with a blind girl and an older woman, but the bonds they form are needed if they are to survive the perilous journey they must undertake.
I'm still at a loss for words to even begin to describe what I think of The Raven's Gift. It is definitely one of those books that will stick with you long after it is read. I can safely say that this book surprised me with how genuine it is. I found it to be a haunting and compelling read, and it honestly had me hooked from the very beginning. I couldn't put it down, and found that I savoured every page.
The Raven's Gift is told in three interwoven timelines, the first being when John and Anna apply to teach in the Yup'ik communities. The second and third are tied closely together as they both are written after the outbreak and they follow John on his journey with both the blind girl, Rayna, and the older woman, Maggie. A community that is already isolated as is, doesn't stand a chance when an epidemic of this stature is unleashed across it. With little to no medication, and no immediate connection to the outside world, it is easy to imagine the chaos that would run through the tundra and outer-lying communities. There is an undercurrent of danger as questions arise as to why no one has come to help, and how are those who have survived the epidemic going to fend for themselves against nature, man and beast? The trials that John is put through, and the decisions he has to make are very real. They show the conflicted state he is put in and yet, they also show his true character. The mystery surrounding the epidemic will also have the reader struggling to figure out just what is happening.
A masterful and compelling debut, Rearden is one to watch. His representation of Yup'ik culture and the sense of isolation throughout ring true as it is coming from one who knows and writes from an insiders point of view. The mystery throughout will keep the reader invested in the outcome, as will the premise of the book. This is an eye-opening, chilling, and haunting tale of love, loss, and discovery. Its impact will reverberate long after the the last page has been read. Honestly, if you are going to read only one book this year, make it The Raven's Gift.
My rating: 5/5
John and his wife, Anna, head north to the Alaskan tundra to teach and immerse themselves in the Yup'ik community and culture. They hope to find adventure along the way, but they could never have expected that they would encounter an epidemic that would decimate the Alaskan communities and ultimately prove fatal. With no help coming, the survivors must take things into their own hands if they have any chance of survival. An unlikely trio is formed when John meets up with a blind girl and an older woman, but the bonds they form are needed if they are to survive the perilous journey they must undertake.
I'm still at a loss for words to even begin to describe what I think of The Raven's Gift. It is definitely one of those books that will stick with you long after it is read. I can safely say that this book surprised me with how genuine it is. I found it to be a haunting and compelling read, and it honestly had me hooked from the very beginning. I couldn't put it down, and found that I savoured every page.
The Raven's Gift is told in three interwoven timelines, the first being when John and Anna apply to teach in the Yup'ik communities. The second and third are tied closely together as they both are written after the outbreak and they follow John on his journey with both the blind girl, Rayna, and the older woman, Maggie. A community that is already isolated as is, doesn't stand a chance when an epidemic of this stature is unleashed across it. With little to no medication, and no immediate connection to the outside world, it is easy to imagine the chaos that would run through the tundra and outer-lying communities. There is an undercurrent of danger as questions arise as to why no one has come to help, and how are those who have survived the epidemic going to fend for themselves against nature, man and beast? The trials that John is put through, and the decisions he has to make are very real. They show the conflicted state he is put in and yet, they also show his true character. The mystery surrounding the epidemic will also have the reader struggling to figure out just what is happening.
A masterful and compelling debut, Rearden is one to watch. His representation of Yup'ik culture and the sense of isolation throughout ring true as it is coming from one who knows and writes from an insiders point of view. The mystery throughout will keep the reader invested in the outcome, as will the premise of the book. This is an eye-opening, chilling, and haunting tale of love, loss, and discovery. Its impact will reverberate long after the the last page has been read. Honestly, if you are going to read only one book this year, make it The Raven's Gift.
August 1, 2011
This book drew me in right from the prologue:
"Don't you hear the noise? It swishes like the beating of the wings of great birds in the air. It is the fear of naked people, it is the flight of naked people! The weather spirit is blowing the storm out, the weather spirit is driving the weeping snow away over the earth, and the helpless storm-child... Don't you hear the weeping of the child in the howling wind?
--Baleen, Copper Eskimo Shaman, 1920s"
The Raven's Gift is basically an exciting post-apocalyptic adventure. John and Anna Morgan arrive in a remote Alaskan village to teach school. An epidemic wipes out their village. And when no help comes, faced with starvation, or perhaps death at the hands of other desperate, hungry survivors, John sets off alone across the windswept Arctic tundra.
He is joined by two other "friendly" survivors, a young blind woman, Rayna, who relies on senses other than sight and an older Yup'ik woman, Maggie who relies on the "old" ways. They are not the only survivors. Out there too is the "not-friendly" white "hunter" and, Rayna believe and hopes, the surviving children of the village.
Just the epic adventure itself is enough to keep you glued to the pages. There is mystery and creepiness, good and evil enough. For me, it was like what I felt watching that old TV series, "The Prisoner" with Patrick McGoohan.
But in addition to the drama itself, The Raven's Gift is a history and culture lesson. I delighted in being introduced to the Yup'ik people. Just as Anna and John had set out on their educational adventure, so did I. And while I delighted in it (the Russian traditions were particularly surprising to me), I was also troubled by it. For some reason I thought that Americans would have respected their northern land and peoples better than we Canadians have. Not so apparently. Resources are used, people ignored. I was in fact heartbroken by the plight of the Alaskan youth that Rearden depicts - so similar to that of our own Canadian aboriginal youth with their high suicide rates.
Throughout the book I found myself questioning, both in the small and the big picture: Could this happen? Will it happen? Who is responsible? How to survive. How to thrive.
The adventure alone is worth the read, the education a bonus.
"Don't you hear the noise? It swishes like the beating of the wings of great birds in the air. It is the fear of naked people, it is the flight of naked people! The weather spirit is blowing the storm out, the weather spirit is driving the weeping snow away over the earth, and the helpless storm-child... Don't you hear the weeping of the child in the howling wind?
--Baleen, Copper Eskimo Shaman, 1920s"
The Raven's Gift is basically an exciting post-apocalyptic adventure. John and Anna Morgan arrive in a remote Alaskan village to teach school. An epidemic wipes out their village. And when no help comes, faced with starvation, or perhaps death at the hands of other desperate, hungry survivors, John sets off alone across the windswept Arctic tundra.
He is joined by two other "friendly" survivors, a young blind woman, Rayna, who relies on senses other than sight and an older Yup'ik woman, Maggie who relies on the "old" ways. They are not the only survivors. Out there too is the "not-friendly" white "hunter" and, Rayna believe and hopes, the surviving children of the village.
Just the epic adventure itself is enough to keep you glued to the pages. There is mystery and creepiness, good and evil enough. For me, it was like what I felt watching that old TV series, "The Prisoner" with Patrick McGoohan.
But in addition to the drama itself, The Raven's Gift is a history and culture lesson. I delighted in being introduced to the Yup'ik people. Just as Anna and John had set out on their educational adventure, so did I. And while I delighted in it (the Russian traditions were particularly surprising to me), I was also troubled by it. For some reason I thought that Americans would have respected their northern land and peoples better than we Canadians have. Not so apparently. Resources are used, people ignored. I was in fact heartbroken by the plight of the Alaskan youth that Rearden depicts - so similar to that of our own Canadian aboriginal youth with their high suicide rates.
Throughout the book I found myself questioning, both in the small and the big picture: Could this happen? Will it happen? Who is responsible? How to survive. How to thrive.
The adventure alone is worth the read, the education a bonus.
October 25, 2017
Great book. I took the apocalypse as a metaphor for the costs to Yup'ik communities of contact with the West. Since the author lived in these communities, his descriptions of rural village life are very authentic, and the characters are fully-realized people that you might encounter there.
April 19, 2012
Don Rearden’s novel thrusts you out into the cold, alone, starving, desperate for shelter or some idea where to go for help. The tone is as bleak as the frozen tundra landscape, with unspeakable horror just over the horizon. But at the heart of the story are several very real people who dared to live on the edge of civilization, and are now struggling to stay alive in the aftermath of catastrophe.
Don Rearden’s fictional apocalypse is attributed to a flu, something similar to the deadly epidemics that swept rural Alaska over the last few centuries. Or is it something more insidious? I think the causes of the epidemic and the details of the gory fallout are less important than the stories of the survivors, and Don chooses the right focus for his story. John is haunted by memories of his wife and their short stay together in the village before the plague. His companion is a mysterious girl who “knows more than she lets on”. Don puts them in contact with other people along the way, but again, he does well to keep the focus narrowly on John and the girl.
Don is one of the rare Alaska writers who manage to avoid getting bogged down in landscape painting. What he does here seems just about perfect and lends itself perfectly to the ominous and dangerous nature of the plot.
And the way he unravels the story is unusual and effective. He builds tension and sympathy for the characters in short episodes that head mostly in two different directions, sometimes weaving in and out, eventually circling back and landing on the epicenter of the action.
GO FIND A COPY OF THIS BOOK, READ IT, AND PASS IT ON. WELL DONE, DON!
Don Rearden’s fictional apocalypse is attributed to a flu, something similar to the deadly epidemics that swept rural Alaska over the last few centuries. Or is it something more insidious? I think the causes of the epidemic and the details of the gory fallout are less important than the stories of the survivors, and Don chooses the right focus for his story. John is haunted by memories of his wife and their short stay together in the village before the plague. His companion is a mysterious girl who “knows more than she lets on”. Don puts them in contact with other people along the way, but again, he does well to keep the focus narrowly on John and the girl.
Don is one of the rare Alaska writers who manage to avoid getting bogged down in landscape painting. What he does here seems just about perfect and lends itself perfectly to the ominous and dangerous nature of the plot.
And the way he unravels the story is unusual and effective. He builds tension and sympathy for the characters in short episodes that head mostly in two different directions, sometimes weaving in and out, eventually circling back and landing on the epicenter of the action.
GO FIND A COPY OF THIS BOOK, READ IT, AND PASS IT ON. WELL DONE, DON!
July 29, 2016
I received one of the most amazing gifts this December, and it wasn’t a Christmas present. It was The Raven’s Gift by Don Rearden, a book every Alaskan and anyone wanting to know about Alaska should read…. or anyone who wants to cry and smile, be thrilled and terrified, despairing and hopeful. Basically, anyone who wants an awesome story with an important message tucked in the passages and pages should go get a copy.
A highly contagious and deadly disease—a mutation of the bird flu—results in a quarantine of the entire state of Alaska, trapping two teachers living out in a remote Native village. And that’s when the truly horrible things start to happen. Death hunts the characters in many forms: sickness, suicide, murder, cannibalism, and even in the shape of an actual hunter, a ghost-like assassin on skis. The story becomes a quest for survival through a cold, dark land where nothing seems safe or sacred anymore. But looks can be deceiving….
The Raven’s Gift is not for the faint of heart (much like Alaska), but (also like Alaska), you’ll come out of it feeling stronger and more alive. The book forces the reader to face some unpleasant truths about the very real, dismal conditions out in Native villages and the responsibility of white exploiters for those conditions, and about the ugly side of human nature—our ability to cannibalize our own when the going gets rough. But the story is also about triumphing over such dysfunction in unique ways, about finding love, hope, healing and compassion in the darkest of situations.
A highly contagious and deadly disease—a mutation of the bird flu—results in a quarantine of the entire state of Alaska, trapping two teachers living out in a remote Native village. And that’s when the truly horrible things start to happen. Death hunts the characters in many forms: sickness, suicide, murder, cannibalism, and even in the shape of an actual hunter, a ghost-like assassin on skis. The story becomes a quest for survival through a cold, dark land where nothing seems safe or sacred anymore. But looks can be deceiving….
The Raven’s Gift is not for the faint of heart (much like Alaska), but (also like Alaska), you’ll come out of it feeling stronger and more alive. The book forces the reader to face some unpleasant truths about the very real, dismal conditions out in Native villages and the responsibility of white exploiters for those conditions, and about the ugly side of human nature—our ability to cannibalize our own when the going gets rough. But the story is also about triumphing over such dysfunction in unique ways, about finding love, hope, healing and compassion in the darkest of situations.
June 1, 2011
In The Raven's Gift, John and Anna, both teachers, take jobs in a small Eskimo village in the Alaskan Tundra. They're both seeking adventure and John is hoping to learn more of the Yup'ik culture he may have come from.
Once they arrive to the small village, John and Ana seem content enough even though they come face-to-face with the harsh reality that affects these small native communities: lack of jobs, inadequate health care, loss of culture, and high suicide rate.
Then a flu epidemic hits the region causing massive deaths and a breakdown of societal rules. John, after waiting in vain for help to arrive, decides to escape. On his way, he comes across a young blind girl and an older woman who share his will to survive. Together they must face the inclement weather, the “outcasts”, and the mysterious white hunter.
The story is told from John’s point of view and from different points in time. I was confused at first but then I realized that I was asking myself the same questions going through John's mind: How did the virus start? Was is a natural occurrence or was it released intentionally? Are they the only ones affected? Why was no help sent?
With The Raven’s Gift, Mr. Rearden provides us with a chilling and attention-grabbing story that deals with the best and worst of human nature. I highly recommend this book for its riveting story line and the value of the lessons that can be gleaned from it.
Once they arrive to the small village, John and Ana seem content enough even though they come face-to-face with the harsh reality that affects these small native communities: lack of jobs, inadequate health care, loss of culture, and high suicide rate.
Then a flu epidemic hits the region causing massive deaths and a breakdown of societal rules. John, after waiting in vain for help to arrive, decides to escape. On his way, he comes across a young blind girl and an older woman who share his will to survive. Together they must face the inclement weather, the “outcasts”, and the mysterious white hunter.
The story is told from John’s point of view and from different points in time. I was confused at first but then I realized that I was asking myself the same questions going through John's mind: How did the virus start? Was is a natural occurrence or was it released intentionally? Are they the only ones affected? Why was no help sent?
With The Raven’s Gift, Mr. Rearden provides us with a chilling and attention-grabbing story that deals with the best and worst of human nature. I highly recommend this book for its riveting story line and the value of the lessons that can be gleaned from it.
July 30, 2016
I think it's easy for many people to dismiss a book like this one. They might wonder why they would want to read another story about people wanting to escape civilization for dreams of a better life "in the wild." I know a lot of people who would not find the preview of this book the least bit interesting.
If we don't push ourselves to wonder what there might be in these stories, we lose a perspective on life and human problems that could very much be our greatest error. And so I've encouraged many of my friends and relatives to pick up a copy.
Wouldn't the Yup'ik people be better off living their own traditional lifestyle - or at least have the freedom to choose. Is what's preventing them from having their own freedom to choose also at the core of what ails most of our political and social problems today?
I was surprised at John's transformation throughout this story. I expected him to be another bumbling moron trying to get out of a situation he wasn't ever remotely capable of handling. Instead, I learn from him how smart (and sometimes lucky) we humans can be. How complex and capable we are when faced with seemingly impossible odds. How to seek help from others who know things we don't, how to lead, how to make very hard decisions. And in the end, I learn with John - and join Rayna, Maggie, Alex and the rest of the Yup'ik people, in understanding what it means to hear and feel Earth's heartbeat.
Thanks Don!
If we don't push ourselves to wonder what there might be in these stories, we lose a perspective on life and human problems that could very much be our greatest error. And so I've encouraged many of my friends and relatives to pick up a copy.
Wouldn't the Yup'ik people be better off living their own traditional lifestyle - or at least have the freedom to choose. Is what's preventing them from having their own freedom to choose also at the core of what ails most of our political and social problems today?
I was surprised at John's transformation throughout this story. I expected him to be another bumbling moron trying to get out of a situation he wasn't ever remotely capable of handling. Instead, I learn from him how smart (and sometimes lucky) we humans can be. How complex and capable we are when faced with seemingly impossible odds. How to seek help from others who know things we don't, how to lead, how to make very hard decisions. And in the end, I learn with John - and join Rayna, Maggie, Alex and the rest of the Yup'ik people, in understanding what it means to hear and feel Earth's heartbeat.
Thanks Don!
August 15, 2011
I've been asked to read a lot of books in my life, and usually I say, "yes," because am I really going to say, "no," to a free book? What made The Raven's Gift by Don Rearden different is that I didn't regret saying, "yes." It was exciting, at times page-turning, and even a little scary.
The story is of a teacher in a remote Alaskan village. When everyone in the village becomes terribly ill, John decides to venture out across the frozen landscape.
The story follows three separate timelines: before the illness, the beginning of John's journey, and later in John's journey. While the shifting timeline threw me for a few chapters, I eventually became used to it. As a technique for creating suspense it worked well--always making me wait a little longer to find out the answers to my questions.
Which brings me to my only negative about the book. At the end (no spoilers) I didn't feel like all my questions had been answered. I should say, the ending felt intentional and it wasn't incomplete, I just personally wanted a little bit more. But even with this wanting, the ending was satisfying.
The Raven's Gift was perfectly placed in reality--believable as something that could happen in our own world. With just the right touch of spiritual elements, it's the kind of story that makes you ponder the boundaries of reality and wonder what is "really" going on.
The story is of a teacher in a remote Alaskan village. When everyone in the village becomes terribly ill, John decides to venture out across the frozen landscape.
The story follows three separate timelines: before the illness, the beginning of John's journey, and later in John's journey. While the shifting timeline threw me for a few chapters, I eventually became used to it. As a technique for creating suspense it worked well--always making me wait a little longer to find out the answers to my questions.
Which brings me to my only negative about the book. At the end (no spoilers) I didn't feel like all my questions had been answered. I should say, the ending felt intentional and it wasn't incomplete, I just personally wanted a little bit more. But even with this wanting, the ending was satisfying.
The Raven's Gift was perfectly placed in reality--believable as something that could happen in our own world. With just the right touch of spiritual elements, it's the kind of story that makes you ponder the boundaries of reality and wonder what is "really" going on.
May 29, 2016
The cover of The Raven's Gift declares that it is "A gripping post-apocalyptic Alaskan nightmare...". Gripping is right. From the moment I picked up this book, I was held captive by the story. Details of a life in the Alaskan tundra, that I will never experience, was equal parts fascinating and enraging. While the story of John's struggle for survival, after the world he knows is ending, was edge-of-my-seat exciting.
The story jumps to different points in time a fair bit. Normally, this is not a technique that will endear me to a book, however, in the case of The Raven's Gift, I think it worked. The glimpses of the past help to give the reader a bit of reprieve from the survival struggle of the present, as well as remind us just how much was lost.
Full review at A Lot of Loves Reviews
The story jumps to different points in time a fair bit. Normally, this is not a technique that will endear me to a book, however, in the case of The Raven's Gift, I think it worked. The glimpses of the past help to give the reader a bit of reprieve from the survival struggle of the present, as well as remind us just how much was lost.
Full review at A Lot of Loves Reviews
October 14, 2013
This is a book you know . . . a few different kinds of people will *know* this book. It'll get in your soul and both feel cozy and comfortable, but also nauseous and sad in the same book. This is for those who've adventured into rural, remote Alaska AND for those whose families have lived here for generations; since time immemorial.
Don't get me wrong, it's still a thriller able to captivate someone who has never been to Alaska, knows nothing of the bush, but for those who have lived with Sailor Boy Pilot Bread, limited resources, and know what it is like to go to the only hairdresser in town -- this seems like a gift of the heart to you.
Don't get me wrong, it's still a thriller able to captivate someone who has never been to Alaska, knows nothing of the bush, but for those who have lived with Sailor Boy Pilot Bread, limited resources, and know what it is like to go to the only hairdresser in town -- this seems like a gift of the heart to you.
October 25, 2013
You will enjoy coming back to this book day after day until it is done. The characters are real three dimensional believable characters bound on a trip that they expect to take them away from the catastrophe that has befallen the native villages of Alaska. A teacher, a blind girl, and an old woman compose the unlikely travelers as they seek a way of staying alive after a plague.
I would give it five stars but for some confusing scene changes that change time and location as they start out. It doesn't take long to get into where they are amidst the three different time frames and locations. You'll get the hang of it after awhile.
Good read.
I would give it five stars but for some confusing scene changes that change time and location as they start out. It doesn't take long to get into where they are amidst the three different time frames and locations. You'll get the hang of it after awhile.
Good read.
August 15, 2013
"The Raven's Gift" has the hunter-hunted suspense of Geoffrey Household’s "Rogue Male," the post-apocalyptic bleakness of Cormac McCarthy’s "The Road" and the haunting mysteriousness of "The X-Files." Set on the Alaska frontier, the novel has as many cliffhangers as Denali. An unputdownable literary thriller, "The Raven's Gift" is full of shock and profound disquiet.
Read Michael Dirda's review:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/enterta...
Read Michael Dirda's review:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/enterta...
March 17, 2013
The flips in time not only offer some great bits of suspense, but also add to the development of relationships between all of the characters. The story moves so carefully through their dark journey to survive. And you see such small specks of hope that you aren't even sure you should depend on them...
But in the end, it is a story that needed to be told. When we let a culture die, we could lose the stories that keep us alive.
But in the end, it is a story that needed to be told. When we let a culture die, we could lose the stories that keep us alive.
September 29, 2022
This truly deserves a higher rating, but I just can't give more stars, because I'm so freaked out from reading a 'scary' book set in my back yard. The legends, culture, tribal history, and stories of Native Alaskan's village life were really well done and I am happy to have read it in order to gain that insight. I simply don't care for creepy books, since I'm a wuss, but am glad I made myself finish this one - even if I have nightmares.
December 29, 2020
A dystopian future set in western Alaska. I have lived un the area and the author, who is from there, describes it very well.
October 9, 2013
http://www.mybookishways.com/2013/10/...
When John Morgan and his wife, Anna, set off to a remote Alaskan village to teach, they know they’re in for adventure, and they do find it, but soon, what started off as something exciting turns to something terrifying when the little village is hit by the flu and people start dying at an alarming rate. Unfortunately, Anna is one of the casualties, and soon, desperate to survive, John sets out into the frozen expanse to hopefully find survivors, and a reason to go on. What he does find is a blind young woman who has miraculously survived on her own. She joins John and what follows is their fight to survive among sickness, death, and the people that have chosen a method of survival that is an abomination.
The Raven’s Gift’s narrative shifts between the present and John and Anna’s first days among the Yup’ik people. The wonder at these hardy people and their harsh living conditions shines through, even amidst their frustration at rather primitive surroundings, but they make do, and it’s a fascinating look into a very different way of life. Their devotion to each other is evident, but never cloying, and right before Anna dies, she extracts a promise from John. We do eventually find out what that promise is, and it’s one of the things that helps to raise this story above most survival/dystopian fare, although it’s certainly not the only thing. Reardon has a way with words, never overdoing the narrative but creating just enough atmosphere, in all the right places, that will set the little hairs on the back of your neck on end. There are some genuinely creepy passages in this novel, and they serve to create some very real tension during their journey. I can’t imagine having to survive in these conditions, and I swear while I was reading I wanted to wrap my blanket around me for warmth. As hard as things get for John and the girl, it’s their burgeoning relationship that adds warmth and poignancy, and you’ll want to keep an eye out for the survivalist that they meet along the way, whose acts of kindness are ultimately heartbreaking. The Raven’s Gift is a wonderful combination of survival/dystopian and yes, even love story that will satisfy readers looking for something that’s beautifully written (and yes, clichés be damned, uplifting) and just plain good. Oh, and it has one of the best endings that I’ve read in a long time. Put this one on your must read list.
When John Morgan and his wife, Anna, set off to a remote Alaskan village to teach, they know they’re in for adventure, and they do find it, but soon, what started off as something exciting turns to something terrifying when the little village is hit by the flu and people start dying at an alarming rate. Unfortunately, Anna is one of the casualties, and soon, desperate to survive, John sets out into the frozen expanse to hopefully find survivors, and a reason to go on. What he does find is a blind young woman who has miraculously survived on her own. She joins John and what follows is their fight to survive among sickness, death, and the people that have chosen a method of survival that is an abomination.
The Raven’s Gift’s narrative shifts between the present and John and Anna’s first days among the Yup’ik people. The wonder at these hardy people and their harsh living conditions shines through, even amidst their frustration at rather primitive surroundings, but they make do, and it’s a fascinating look into a very different way of life. Their devotion to each other is evident, but never cloying, and right before Anna dies, she extracts a promise from John. We do eventually find out what that promise is, and it’s one of the things that helps to raise this story above most survival/dystopian fare, although it’s certainly not the only thing. Reardon has a way with words, never overdoing the narrative but creating just enough atmosphere, in all the right places, that will set the little hairs on the back of your neck on end. There are some genuinely creepy passages in this novel, and they serve to create some very real tension during their journey. I can’t imagine having to survive in these conditions, and I swear while I was reading I wanted to wrap my blanket around me for warmth. As hard as things get for John and the girl, it’s their burgeoning relationship that adds warmth and poignancy, and you’ll want to keep an eye out for the survivalist that they meet along the way, whose acts of kindness are ultimately heartbreaking. The Raven’s Gift is a wonderful combination of survival/dystopian and yes, even love story that will satisfy readers looking for something that’s beautifully written (and yes, clichés be damned, uplifting) and just plain good. Oh, and it has one of the best endings that I’ve read in a long time. Put this one on your must read list.
October 31, 2013
John Morgan and his wife Anna know life will be hard as teachers in a primarily Yup'ik village in rural Alaska. That challenge turns to a nightmare when a plague hits and much of the population is wiped out. Faced with trying to hike his way over thousands of miles of tundra, John finds unlikely alliances and horrors waiting among the other survivors.
My husband is Yup'ik and travels to rural Alaska for work and family reasons. He didn't read the book before the author event, but loved hearing Rearden talk and started it the next day. Since then he has been enthusiastically recommending this book to everyone (a few friends, his coworkers) and lending out our copy left and right. He knows far more abour rural Alaska than me and says Rearden has it spot-on.
The thing about rural in Alaska is they mean no roads. The only way in is often a boat, snow machine, or usually a small plane. There are no easy fixes or quick resources when trouble happens. It is one of the most isolated environments on Earth. And that alone is scary.
There is a lot of historical groundwork for the devestating consequences of a plague/illness/flu epidemic in remote Alaska. Locals still refer to "The Great Death", a flu epidemic in the early 20th century. It is absolutely one of the most realistic horror books I have read in a long time.
Rearden does an excellent job of portraying the isolation and fear of any survival situation and compounding that with the extremes of the arctic tundra. His narrative switches between three timelines, weaves in traditional Yup'ik stories, and incredibly portrays a place that seems surreal to the modern city dweller. The book was descriptive enough that I felt cold reading it.
And it's creepy. So creepy. I can't tell you about the creepy parts without ruining it for you. But I will say what I expected to be the HORROR was not the scare that I had by the end of the book.
If you want a good survival story, a creepy look at an all too realistic situation, or a really good portrayal of rural Alaska, I urge you to pick up this book.
Confession: I "know" Don through twitter, he is an Anchorage resident and University of Anchorage-Alaska professor. I'd been meaning to read his book for a while, but sped it up after he agreed to participate in an Alaska Book Week event at the library.
My husband is Yup'ik and travels to rural Alaska for work and family reasons. He didn't read the book before the author event, but loved hearing Rearden talk and started it the next day. Since then he has been enthusiastically recommending this book to everyone (a few friends, his coworkers) and lending out our copy left and right. He knows far more abour rural Alaska than me and says Rearden has it spot-on.
The thing about rural in Alaska is they mean no roads. The only way in is often a boat, snow machine, or usually a small plane. There are no easy fixes or quick resources when trouble happens. It is one of the most isolated environments on Earth. And that alone is scary.
There is a lot of historical groundwork for the devestating consequences of a plague/illness/flu epidemic in remote Alaska. Locals still refer to "The Great Death", a flu epidemic in the early 20th century. It is absolutely one of the most realistic horror books I have read in a long time.
Rearden does an excellent job of portraying the isolation and fear of any survival situation and compounding that with the extremes of the arctic tundra. His narrative switches between three timelines, weaves in traditional Yup'ik stories, and incredibly portrays a place that seems surreal to the modern city dweller. The book was descriptive enough that I felt cold reading it.
And it's creepy. So creepy. I can't tell you about the creepy parts without ruining it for you. But I will say what I expected to be the HORROR was not the scare that I had by the end of the book.
If you want a good survival story, a creepy look at an all too realistic situation, or a really good portrayal of rural Alaska, I urge you to pick up this book.
Confession: I "know" Don through twitter, he is an Anchorage resident and University of Anchorage-Alaska professor. I'd been meaning to read his book for a while, but sped it up after he agreed to participate in an Alaska Book Week event at the library.
July 21, 2011
It should have been fairly straight forward. John and his wife Anna both loved teaching, and moving to a remote village on the Kuskokwim River in Alaska was something they both wanted. Anna seemed to settle right in, though John was hesitant, he felt caged in. Once he started hunting with his neighbour, he began to regain his balance and made more of an effort to adapt to a new way of life.
Life was looking rosy until Anna came down with a fever; a fever that didn't go away. In fact, many of the residents of their small community also became ill. Then they started to die. Whole families perished. John waited for help to come, but as Anna declined, he finally accepted that no help was coming. He was alone in the tundra with no help. Everyone else was in the same predicament.
Other than the first 30 or so pages, I read this book in one day. I couldn't put it down. Not only was I curious about this plague, but also I needed to know how John was going to survive in an environment that was still very foreign to him. He knew so little about the culture and way of life of the Yup'ik people. While they might be able to overcome these harsh turn of events, what chance did John have.
Author Don Rearden has thrown together three characters: John the school teacher, Rayne the blind twenty year old , and Maggie an Yup'ik elder. None of them are equipped to survive on their own. For them to effectively work together, they each will have to teach as well as learn from the others. I didn't know if John could do this.
I was surprised to learn that this is a debut novel from Mr. Reardon. It was so well put together and with such depth to the characters that I wanted to search for his earlier novels. I loved the careful details of the Yup'ik culture. I highly recommend this book, not only to those who enjoy post-apocalyptic stories, but also to those interesting in history and culture.
Life was looking rosy until Anna came down with a fever; a fever that didn't go away. In fact, many of the residents of their small community also became ill. Then they started to die. Whole families perished. John waited for help to come, but as Anna declined, he finally accepted that no help was coming. He was alone in the tundra with no help. Everyone else was in the same predicament.
Other than the first 30 or so pages, I read this book in one day. I couldn't put it down. Not only was I curious about this plague, but also I needed to know how John was going to survive in an environment that was still very foreign to him. He knew so little about the culture and way of life of the Yup'ik people. While they might be able to overcome these harsh turn of events, what chance did John have.
Author Don Rearden has thrown together three characters: John the school teacher, Rayne the blind twenty year old , and Maggie an Yup'ik elder. None of them are equipped to survive on their own. For them to effectively work together, they each will have to teach as well as learn from the others. I didn't know if John could do this.
I was surprised to learn that this is a debut novel from Mr. Reardon. It was so well put together and with such depth to the characters that I wanted to search for his earlier novels. I loved the careful details of the Yup'ik culture. I highly recommend this book, not only to those who enjoy post-apocalyptic stories, but also to those interesting in history and culture.
January 28, 2013
"The Raven's Gift" by Don Rearder. The back cover synopsis didn't do this book justice, it gave few clues to how dark, powerful or frightening this book really is. This novel follows one character, John, but at three different stages of his life. Unlike most books that have this format where it's childhood, adulthood and end of life, "The Raven's Gift" time lines are all within months of each other. Each chapter has each time line in it. The first one describes the excitement and adventure of being newly married and becoming teachers in Northern Alaska. The second, the illness and disbelief. The third, running away from death and demons.
Excitement, love, adventure, isolation, devastation, disbelieve, abandonment, grief, paranoia, selfishness, self-preservation are all themes of this complex book. As a reader, you don't know what to believe. What is real and what is just the appearance of truth. What would you do if you are isolated and everyone is dying around you, or if there was no information or communications? No food and no hope? Where would your mind take you?
The only reason I didn't rate this book higher, is the ending was a cope out (in my opinion). It is realistic, I guess, but for a book that was so real to end in such a way was a let down. It also made me roll my eyes and think, "yep, male author, male fantasy ending", that being said, was it real?
Excitement, love, adventure, isolation, devastation, disbelieve, abandonment, grief, paranoia, selfishness, self-preservation are all themes of this complex book. As a reader, you don't know what to believe. What is real and what is just the appearance of truth. What would you do if you are isolated and everyone is dying around you, or if there was no information or communications? No food and no hope? Where would your mind take you?
The only reason I didn't rate this book higher, is the ending was a cope out (in my opinion). It is realistic, I guess, but for a book that was so real to end in such a way was a let down. It also made me roll my eyes and think, "yep, male author, male fantasy ending", that being said, was it real?
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