[The following review was stolen from the fine website of Angstman Law Office. Be sure to check out out ALO's June news.]
The ALO webpage has yet to do its first book review. However, Don Rearden's novel The Raven's Gift has changed all that. Don has deep connections to ALO. In fact he used to bring his high school writing to the office for editing. Along the way Don was around for hunting, fishing, camping, dog mushing, flying, an occasional party, and a helping hand when needed. He even had to stop by for a little advice a time or two. His name crops up in some pretty good stories. One of Rearden's stories was linked to earlier on this site. Bethel still has the old fashioned community spirit which has gone missing from some of the more modern small towns of America. Here, when a young person accomplishes something, many people like to take part of the credit. That's because many take part in helping raise the young folks, and to be fair they tend to share in the failings as well.
The book is a product of Don's youthful experiences in the Delta. He got around a lot, kept his eyes and ears open, and appreciated what was here. Not every kid who grows up here feels the same way. The rugged weather, stark landscape and human struggles that abound in the YK Delta sour many people. Early on it was apparent Don wasn't one of them. He clearly enjoyed his time out of doors, and appreciated the chance to see how the local Native culture functioned. He always relished the Native version of sci fi, and it seems he even got in a little trouble once for making light of a Native legend.
Don's deep respect for the Kuskokwim region shines through in this well written account of life here after the supplies stop coming. It is a theme that many have thought about after living at the end of America's supply line for a while. Most of the essentials of modern life come by boat or airplane, and they come a long way. There is little question that in time of serious calamity, areas like Bethel would be the first to be scratched from the list. Small population, long distance, and a subsistence tradition would all cause government officials to think there was a better way to conserve limited resources than send them to Bethel.
The book is a thoughtful study of what might happen. The story is not pretty, and neither would it be. Life reduced to basic survival for a population who no longer has the basic survival skills needed would be brutal. But Don manages to weave a tale that is not all brutal. There is still some love and compassion to be found, and resourcefulness still counts. That would be important to Don, who always valued that latter trait in a person.
What will impress any reader with knowledge of the Delta landscape is the attention to detail displayed in the book. There are a few folks around who have spent a great portion of their time moving around the Bethel area. A challenge goes out to any of those folks to find one geographic error in Raven's Gift. Don is just as careful in his attention to local customs, language, and weather patterns. The book is hard to put down for anyone from here, and from early reviews, others are finding it gripping as well.
Don has published earlier stuff, some of which would qualify more as warm up work than anything. This is some real writing. There aren't a lot of accomplished writers in Alaska. However many there are, the number just grew by one. He immediately becomes the top writer ever produced in the YK Delta, and thus it is fitting that his first novel depicts that area. He is already at work on his next novel, and it seems obvious someone will take a hard look at Raven's Gift for a movie. Will he wear a Kuskokwim 300 hat to the Oscars?
Visit Don's website where you can read the first chapter of The Raven's Gift.
Reviewed by Myron Angstman, who is biased. He received a free autographed copy of the book, is mentioned in the book, and hopes to be the author's lawyer when he hits the big time.
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