Caribou Island by David Vann, Penguin, $24.95.
When Vann ‘s first work of fiction, Legend Of A Suicide, was published in 2009, it shot across the literary world like a comet, blazing a tail of prizes and critical acclaim that took pretty much everyone — including the author — by surprise.
This novel proves it was no freak accident. Also set in Alaska, it is a dark, compelling tale of the disintegrating marriage of Gary and Irene, who take on a brave icy cold, storm and sickness to build a log-sawn hut on a small, remote island.
They want to live there, self-sufficient and connected to the wilderness, Gary’s lifelong dream and the culmination of their 30 years together.
But the hut, like their marriage itself, is misshapen and infected by their own disappointments. Can they live there? Can they ever forgive each other?
Their daughter on the mainland senses that things are going terribly wrong out on Caribou Island, but once the unravelling has started, it seems nothing will stop it.
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