My Goodreads review: Burn

[ankh_hpl]

Burn by Peter Heller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a beautifully written & (at points) heartbreaking book, but not what I was expecting -- & frankly, not what I'd concluded from other reviews. I have seen this discussed as a thriller with dystopian overtones. There is some of that, but the overall vibe is mainstream with more concern for lyrical prose than for action -- or, indeed, for a fully realized ending.

The general plotline (no spoilers!) involves two lifelong friends on a fall hunting trip in Maine, who find themselves trapped in an increasingly perilous military/political situation. While watching them try to get themselves clear of this, we learn a great deal about their pasts, their friendship, & their complicated family situations, along with a few moments of shocking violence. (Warning for readers like me: something bad happens to a dog, too late to quit reading.) There is wilderness survival, gorgeous nature writing, & some extremely relevant observations about our country's problems. However, at the end, the reader is left with more loose ends than I felt completely comfortable with.

I suspect I was not the ideal reader for this one, though I did appreciate the writing & was genuinely moved by the ending, incomplete though it was. YMMV, definitely.









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Comments

[rattfan]

When someone starts talking about lyrical prose, to me that's a warning sign!

I never like books that aren't *about* anything. And speaking as a person who reads a lot of apocalyptic/dystopia fiction, we like to see exactly what's going on, diagrams optional :-)

Odd point I've noted about apocalyptic literature; they may destroy the country/world/lives of their characters, but if a particular animal shows up, it's generally going to be all right.