Wintering

This novel set in Gunflint, MN had lots of promise, but it disappointed me. The story involves an old man, Harry, who at the beginning has wandered off into the wilderness, and his son, Gus, who tells the story of how (and why) the two of them went into the wilderness to spend the winter once long before when Gus was 17.

The story of going into the wilderness, the borderlands between Minnesota and Canada, is the best part of the book. The tension between the father and nearly grown son is so well portrayed. The days of canoeing and portaging through woodlands, wetlands and lakes and the work it takes to survive there in winter are given deep attention.

Part way into the journey it becomes clear that for Harry this isn't just a fun winter trip with his son, but that there are other motives at work. These other motives gradually come into the open, to Gus's consternation.

The story is framed by Gus relating this old tale about himself and his dad to his father's long time companion, Berit, who spent her youth caring for Harry's estranged mother, and yearning for Harry. Here is where the novel broke down for me. Berit seemed to have no purpose in the book aside from yearning for Harry and listening to Gus's story. I was annoyed by her because she was in so much of the book with so little to do. At the very end, she tells Gus a story about Harry that he presumably hadn't heard before, but by that time it is too little, too late.