This book is a fascinating melding of past and present, real life adventure and fantasy, and a good bit of romance, too. The exploration of Alaska native spirituality was brilliantly executed. This was one of my favorite books of the year...loved it!

I have a rule, "the rule of 50." After I have read 50 pages of a book, if I am terribly bored with it, I stop. So, after 50 pages of TO THE BRIGHT EDGE OF THE WORLD, I stopped.

Eowyn Ivey has this amazing ability to weave a story, blending fact, folklore, and more into one intriguing and spellbinding read. I found TO THE BRIGHT EDGE OF THE WORLD to be a fast-paced and engrossing read and enjoyed the juxtaposition of the historical journal entries and letters with the contemporary letters.

To the Bright Edge of the World, Eowyn Ivey, author, John Glouchevitch, Christine Lakin, Kiff Vandenheuvel narrators
This novel is historic fiction based loosely on the real explorer, Henry T. Allen, who was tasked with exploring a portion of the wilderness in Alaska, which had previously been attempted unsuccessfully, in the past. His success opened Alaska’s resources to the world. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
When Josh Sloan, the curator of the Alpine Historical Museum, in Alpine Alaska, is asked to review the legacy of Walter Forrester, descendant of the fictional explorer, Cpl. Allen Forrester, he is not sure he will be able to take to the task. However, after reviewing and deciphering the diaries, journals and other records he was provided with, that are so pertinent to his own life, he and Walter become fast friends through their correspondence. The effort enriches both of them, although they are from two different worlds.
The story reveals itself largely through the letters and journals of Cpl. Allen Forrester and his intelligent and independent wife, Sophie, during the time that they are separated while he is engaged in the effort to explore the Wolverine Valley in Alaska. As he follows the Wolverine River, his expedition is faced with natural climate events, indigenous Indians and mythical creatures which traumatize them and also challenge their survival skills and safety. The expedition is fraught with danger.
The book reveals much of the history and exploration of Alaska and its original inhabitants. The expedition encouraged the future of the American expansionist movement into Alaska, illustrated the historic piece of Russian history in Alaska, the missionary effort, the extreme climate and difficult terrain, the natural resources and the natural environment which challenged the men, but also provided them with great beauty and contemplation.
The themes of myth and legend, birds as omens, Indian tribes that are both cannibal and altruistic, ghosts and spirits, anthropomorphic creatures, and superstition are woven neatly into the dialogue as they were in the author’s previous book, “The Snow Child”. The prose is equally as good in both books, almost poetic in nature. The language is clean and the descriptions pitch perfect using a vocabulary that paints pictures in the minds of the reader. The characters are well developed and most are very likeable and interesting.
Of course, there is also an undercurrent of progressivism, as there is in many books today. There are a couple of big reveals. Josh, the man in charge of the museum, who corresponds with Walt, is gay and lives with his partner. This part of the book takes place in the early part of the 21st century. Also, America is revealed as the tormentor of the indigenous Indians, in the past, and as the thief of their lands and way of life, the cause of the diseases which decimated them and the cause of the destruction of their way of life because when they moved the Indians to reservations, they sapped their culture and their very existence.
It compares the ideas that existed in the late 19th century to the atmosphere that exists today concerning how people live, how they view the land and what they take from it, the treatment of women than and now, how indigenous peoples are viewed, how the LGBTQ community s treated, how nature continues to serve us in different ways. The story is about relationships then and now. The letter writing is particularly beautiful with poetic descriptions and language that invites the readers in and asks them to stay awhile and enjoy. It is a lost art.
Both the beauty and danger of Alaska is beautifully portrayed. Climate, shelter and food are immediate concerns at all times. The overlay of magical realism captivates the reader and enhances the novel as it is seamlessly meshed into the story. The multiple narrators do a superb job of interpreting the characters and we appreciate their struggles as the tone and timber of the readers are pitch perfect for each event and character described.

This epistolary novel, based on historic events, travels back and forth between Sophie and Alan’s journals and diaries, and parallels the letters of Josh and Walt in a different century. The two stories, the one that takes place more heavily in the late 1899’s and the one taking place in the early 2000’s, complement each other, as the expectations of both men and women, then and now, is illuminated.