Undiscovered Country by Lin Enger, 320 pages.
The spareness of a northern Minnesota is a perfect setting for this fresh take on Hamlet. My Shakespeare is a little rusty, and in this case I don't mind the borrowed story mainly because the writing is so good.
Seventeen year old Jesse is hunting with his father, after hearing a single shot Jesse discovers his father dead from an apparent suicide. What I most liked about Jesse, was I believed him. Sometimes teenage narrators can be unrealistically mature. In this story, Jesse is grappling with mature issues and while he is strong, he also exhibits the reactions and doubts you would expect from a young man. I thought this was incredibly solid, even though I knew generally what was going to happen, I was surprised by how it all went down. And in some parts, it read like a suspense novel.
Those Enger brothers are not messing around. Highly recommended - 4.25 stars.
The End.
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