To the Bright Edge of the World, Eowyn Ivey
To the Bright Edge of the World, Eowyn Ivey
3 Rating(s)
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
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To the Bright Edge of the World
A Novel

Author: Eowyn Ivey

Narrator: John Glouchevitch

Unabridged: 13 hr 27 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/02/2016

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included

Synopsis

An atmospheric, transporting tale of adventure, love, and survival from the bestselling author of The Snow Child, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

In the winter of 1885, decorated war hero Colonel Allen Forrester leads a small band of men on an expedition that has been deemed impossible: to venture up the Wolverine River and pierce the vast, untamed Alaska Territory. Leaving behind Sophie, his newly pregnant wife, Colonel Forrester records his extraordinary experiences in hopes that his journal will reach her if he doesn't return--once he passes beyond the edge of the known world, there's no telling what awaits him.

The Wolverine River Valley is not only breathtaking and forbidding but also terrifying in ways that the colonel and his men never could have imagined. As they map the territory and gather information on the native tribes, whose understanding of the natural world is unlike anything they have ever encountered, Forrester and his men discover the blurred lines between human and wild animal, the living and the dead. And while the men knew they would face starvation and danger, they cannot escape the sense that some greater, mysterious force threatens their lives.

Meanwhile, on her own at Vancouver Barracks, Sophie chafes under the social restrictions and yearns to travel alongside her husband. She does not know that the winter will require as much of her as it does her husband, that both her courage and faith will be tested to the breaking point. Can her exploration of nature through the new art of photography help her to rediscover her sense of beauty and wonder?

The truths that Allen and Sophie discover over the course of that fateful year change both of their lives--and the lives of those who hear their stories long after they're gone--forever.

"An epic adventure story that seems heir to the tradition of Melville's own sweeping and ambitious literary approach to the age-old struggle of humans versus nature . . . An absorbing and high-stakes read." -- Kathleen Rooney, Chicago Tribune
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
A Washington Post Notable Book
A Goodreads Choice Award Nominee
A Library Journal Top 10 Book of the Year
A BookPage Best Book of the Year

About Eowyn Ivey

Eowyn Ivey is the author of The Snow Child, an international bestseller published in thirty countries, a Richard and Judy Bookclub pick, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and winner of a British Book Award. Her second novel, To the Bright Edge of the World, was longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award, and was a Washington Post Notable Book. She is a former bookseller and lives in Palmer, Alaska.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Angela M on July 30, 2018

I wanted to read this book because The Snow Child is such a beautifully told story and Ivey's writing is so captivating . Although this one is a very different kind of story, it is gripping and beautiful as well and told in a unique way. It's a different kind of narrative consisting of journal entri......more

Goodreads review by Kevin on January 07, 2020

"Ivashov and his men were sleeping in their sleds when, at a prearranged sign, the Midnooskies crushed each of the men's skulls with axes." At first glance this is a story that I shouldn't like: it's essentially an account of an expedition into the frozen wilds of Alaska, expressed in the form of......more

Goodreads review by jessica on May 11, 2021

epistolary novels usually arent my kind of thing (i didnt know this was one before i picked it up), so im surprised that i enjoyed this. i think it helps that there is an outside plot/reason as to why the letters, journal entries, photographs, artifact logs, sketches, and army orders are being compi......more

Goodreads review by Always on June 12, 2017

I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did because the premise makes it seem like it's going to be slow and tedious but wow I was so drawn into the story when I actually started reading it. The writing was fantastic and I enjoyed all the characters. Sophie was particularly enjoyable for me.......more

Goodreads review by Candi on December 20, 2020

4.5 stars “I found myself inadequate in the face of it… I begin to try to comprehend: gray rivers that roar down from the glaciers, mountains and spruce valleys as far as the eye can see. It is a grand, inscrutable wildness. Never are the people here allowed to forget that each of us is alive only by......more

Quotes

Praise for TO THE BRIGHT EDGE OF THE WORLD:

"To the Bright Edge of the World moves seamlessly through different times and different voices to depict an often harrowing journey that leads the central characters to question all that they 'have known as real & true.' Ivey's novel is a dazzling depiction of love, endurance, courage, and wonder, and a worthy successor to The Snow Child."
—Ron Rash, author of Serena

"Beautifully told...a page-turner, a fascinating story that is broad in its scope as it is compassionate in its message...Ivey has created a world that is dangerous and beautiful, worrisome and satisfying, all in a novel that readers will not soon forget."
—Jim Carmin, The Miami Herald

"Powerful...Ivey is a gifted storyteller and a lyrical prose stylist...remarkable."
—Amy Greene, New York Times Book Review

"An epic adventure story that seems heir to the tradition of Melville's own sweeping and ambitious literary approach to the age-old struggle of humans versus nature...an absorbing and high-stakes read."
—Kathleen Rooney, The Chicago Tribune

"To the Bright Edge of the World is a glorious feast of American mythology. In it, Eowyn Ivey's Alaska blooms vast and untouchable, bulging with mystery and wonder, and lit by an uneasy midnight sun. On this haunted stage, the lines between man and beast are blurred, and Ivey has etched her most compelling characters: the incorruptible, determined Sophie Forrester, who wrestles with the rules of men and polite society; and her husband, the explorer Allen Forrester, who struggles mightily against the uncivilized Alaskan wilderness with its ragged teeth. Gorgeously written, utterly un-put-downable, To the Bright Edge of the World sweeps its reader to the very brink of known territory, and presents that bright edge in stark relief: gleaming, serrated, unforgiving. As with The Snow Child, Eowyn Ivey has once again written a magical, breathtaking novel that I just cannot put out of my mind."
—Jason Gurley, author of Eleanor

"An exceptionally well-turned adventure tale...Heartfelt, rip-snorting storytelling."
—Kirkus (Starred Review)

"Eowyn Ivey is a deft craftswoman, attentive to the shape and heft of her sentences...[she] fashions characters who come to warm and vivid life against her frozen Alaskan landscapes...What could be a better beach read than an arctic adventure?"
—Geraldine Brooks, Guardian (US Edition)

"A stunning and intriguing novel combining the epic adventurous sweep of Alaska with minutely beautifully observed details--the reader finishes it wiser and richer."
—Rosamund Lupton, author of Sister and The Quality of Silence

"All the pleasures of a great novel are here--the well-crafted sentence, the deft pacing, the compelling plot, and characters that we care passionately about. Add to those already significant achievements a few eerie hints of the supernatural, some nail-biting mystery/thriller drama, the understanding that's gained from historically accurate details, and the endorphin rush of a love story. And then consider that the novel's construction provides yet another pleasure, the pleasure of the puzzle, as the reader gets to participate in the assemblage of journal entry, letter, drawing, and artifact, therefore co-creating this epic Alaskan adventure. How can one novel contain such richness? Eowyn Ivey is a wonder."
—Tom Franklin, author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

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