Lieutenant Colonel Allen Forrester receives the commission of a lifetime when he is charged to navigate Alaska’s hitherto impassable Wolverine River, with only a small group of men. The Wolverine is the key to opening up Alaska and its rich natural resources to the outside world, but previous attempts have ended in tragedy.

Forrester leaves behind his young wife, Sophie, newly pregnant with the child he had never expected to have. Adventurous in spirit, Sophie does not relish the prospect of a year in a military barracks while her husband carves a path through the wilderness. What she does not anticipate is that their year apart will demand every ounce of courage and fortitude of her that it does of her husband.

For many years since the release of ‘The Snow Child’, I have been looking out for the next book by Eowyn Ivey. Time after time, I would check Amazon and Google, but alas nothing ever came up. Then one day, completely by chance, I came across the book ‘To the Bright Edge of the World’.

Discovering the book caused me a dilemma, should I read it or not? You see I really loved ‘The Snow Child’, it has been number one on my all time favourite books for years, I thought ‘what if this book isn’t any good’, ‘what if I review it and have to give one of my favourite authors just one star’. Biting the bullet, I obtain a copy from Eowyn’s publisher and cautiously began.

To the Bright Edge of the World, is like nothing I have ever read before. It jumps back and forth in time, not only between present day and 1885, but in terms of dates in 1885, you see this book is told from more than one person’s point of view, and the back and forth is what makes the story so realistic and enjoyable. Without the back and forth I can’t see how this book would work.

We travel with Lieutenant Colonel Allen Forrester and his men, Lieutenant Pruitt and Sergeant Tillman, plus Nat’aaggi and Samuelson as they are given the task of mapping the unmapped territories of Alaska. Back home on the military base we live with his wife Sophie who, as Allen sets of on his epic journey is in the first trimester of pregnancy with their first child.

Back in present day Walter Forrester, who is Allen and Sophie’s great nephew is corresponding with Joshua Sloan a curator at a museum in Alaska about his Aunt and Uncle’s letters and diaries, plus artefacts as he has no-one to pass them on to.

There are quite a few character’s in the book, but I never once felt lost. Each character in the forefront or background had their own story to tell which brought added depth and interest into the book

Lieutenant Forrester is an exceptionally brave man, he is fair, hardworking and resilient. Throughout his journey he comes across numerous things that he see’s with his own eyes, yet can’t believe they are real. From an old man that flies, to a baby being born from a tree. Eowyn has added plenty of Alaskan folklaw in her book, and I loved reading about the lives of the tribes that Allen meets along the way, and the tales that they have to tell.

Sophie is quite a lady. For the time period she certainly didn’t act and behave like we are led to believe the women in the past did. Sophie is such a beautiful, strong young lady that has to deal with situations that could make or break someone weaker. She doesn’t want to be like all the other women, gossiping, lunching with one another. Sophie wants to be out in the world, enjoying herself, discovering and taking photo’s of places and wild animals, much to the disgust of some of the other wives.

Once again Eowyn had me gripped to one of her books. The book is thrilling and mysterious, beautiful and sad. It brought me so much joy, yet at times was heart-breaking. It felt so realistic, from the way it has been written, it makes you really believe that you are reading real historic diaries, especially with the addition of photographs.

Eowyn, you have done yourself and your readers proud, and I can’t wait for the next book from you, no matter how long it takes.

Eowyn (pronounced A-o-win) LeMay Ivey was raised in Alaska and continues to live there with her husband and two daughters. She worked for nearly a decade as a bookseller at independent Fireside Books in Palmer, Alaska, and prior to that as a reporter for the local newspaper, The Frontiersman.

Her new novel, To the Bright Edge of the World, was released on August 2. Her debut novel, The Snow Child, was a New York Times bestseller published in more than 25 languages. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, a UK National Book Award winner, an Indies Choice award for debut fiction, and a PNBA Book Award winner.

www.eowynivey.com
@EowynIvey
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