Evergreen by Rebecca Rasmussen

Evergreen by Rebecca Rasmussen
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday
Publication Date: July 8, 2014
Source: Knopf Doubleday

Description:

From the celebrated author of The Bird Sisters, a gorgeously rendered and emotionally charged novel that spans generations, telling the story of two siblings, raised apart, attempting to share a life.

It is 1938 when Eveline, a young bride, follows her husband into the wilderness of Minnesota. Though their cabin is rundown, they have a river full of fish, a garden out back, and a new baby boy named Hux. But when Emil leaves to take care of his sick father, the unthinkable happens: a stranger arrives, and Eveline becomes pregnant. She gives the child away, and while Hux grows up hunting and fishing in the woods with his parents, his sister, Naamah, is raised an orphan. Years later, haunted by the knowledge of this forsaken girl, Hux decides to find his sister and bring her home to the cabin. But Naamah, even wilder than the wilderness that surrounds them, may make it impossible for Hux to ever tame her, to ever make up for all that she, and they, have lost. Set before a backdrop of vanishing forest, this is a luminous novel of love, regret, and hope.

My Thoughts:

Character driven novels are my FAVE. If you feel the same then you need to run out and get a copy of Evergreen by Rebecca Rasmussen. (Right now! Go, I’ll wait.)

About the Author

Before I even cracked this open I had a good feeling. Maybe it was because I really enjoyed Rasmussen’s debut The Bird Sisters or perhaps it was because the cover of this one is fantastic. What I do know is that my instincts were right on.

Evergreen is a thoughtfully written tale that takes place between the 1930s and the 1970s. Emil, a German immigrant and his young bride Eveline settle into a rustic cabin in the woods of Minnesota. Their lives are cozy, but lonely. The choices they make reach into the future to affect their children in dramatic ways. The story is raw, bittersweet, and skillfully woven.

I mentioned that the characters were fab. The only problem with some of them was that they didn’t stay around as long as I wanted them to. But doesn’t a good book always leave you wanting more? I think so.

I am very much looking forward to whatever Rebecca Rasmussen writes next. I highly recommend the atmospheric and beautifully written Evergreen.

You don’t have to take my word for it! Please see these reviews from a few of my fellow bloggers:

The Gilmore Guide to Books

River City Reading

That’s What She Read