A fortuitous selection from the used book store, judged by its cover. In the snow forest is a collection of three novellas, all of which follow their protagonists as they ponder their lives in mountainous regions of the United States (Montana, the Trinity Alps, and Wyoming respectively).
All three stories take place in October, which fits with their elegiac tone. It's cold with the threat of a hard season ahead. The hero of the first story, "Betty Hutton," is an ex-con headed west for a new start while wondering whether he has really changed. The title story concerns an injured logger who stays behind with the women when the rest of the men head out of town for work. The final story, "Menno's Granddaughter," takes a train journey to the small Wyoming town where a woman's ex-husband lived out the rest of his days.
I'm a sucker for remote Western towns and for characters struggling against regret. Parvin is able to communicate his characters' longings without making them too introspective, and there's a surprising hopefulness to the stories.
All three stories take place in October, which fits with their elegiac tone. It's cold with the threat of a hard season ahead. The hero of the first story, "Betty Hutton," is an ex-con headed west for a new start while wondering whether he has really changed. The title story concerns an injured logger who stays behind with the women when the rest of the men head out of town for work. The final story, "Menno's Granddaughter," takes a train journey to the small Wyoming town where a woman's ex-husband lived out the rest of his days.
I'm a sucker for remote Western towns and for characters struggling against regret. Parvin is able to communicate his characters' longings without making them too introspective, and there's a surprising hopefulness to the stories.
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