The Barrens, Kurt Johnson
The Barrens, Kurt Johnson
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The Barrens
A Novel of Love and Death in the Canadian Arctic

Author: Kurt Johnson, Ellie Johnson

Narrator: Erica Sullivan

Unabridged: 7 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/07/2022

Synopsis

This riveting debut is at once a white-water adventure, coming-of-age novel, and tale of tragic love—and an extraordinary father-daughter collaboration.Two young women attending college decide to have a summer adventure canoeing the rapids-strewn Thelon River that runs 450 miles through the uninhabited Barren Lands of subarctic Canada. Holly made the trip once before with a group of skilled paddlers she trained with at camp, and she wants to share that experience with her friend and lover, Lee, believing it will draw them closer. But a week in, Holly, the risk-taker, falls while taking a selfie near the edge of a cliff. She is left injured and comatose, and soon dies. Their locator beacon for summoning rescue was smashed in Holly’s fall. It remains to Lee, the inexperienced paddler, to continue the grueling and dangerous trip alone, to save herself and return her lover’s body to civilization and Holly’s family.In their relationship, Holly and Lee had always told each other stories; Lee had called Holly a “storyist.” Storytelling helps Lee endure the rigors of her journey and engage her grief as she explores her relationship with Holly while chronicling her own coming-of-age off the grid in Nebraska with her estranged eco-anarchist father, who is now serving time in prison.

About Kurt Johnson

Kurt Johnson grew up spending summers on a remote island near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, first with his parents and later with his wife, Stephanie, and then their daughter, Ellie. He lives in Minneapolis.

About Ellie Johnson

Ellie Johnson paddled the 450-mile Thelon River with three other women at the age of seventeen. The novel is based in part on that canoe trip as well as her real-life experiences growing up as a gay woman. Ellie is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota and lives in St. Paul.

About Erica Sullivan

Read by Erica Sullivan, Kate Mulligan, Traber Burns, Jim Meskimen, Donald Corren, Paul Michael Garcia, and Arthur Morey

Reviews

Goodreads review by Bandit on December 22, 2021

Looks like I’m the first person to rate and review this book and in this instance I’m glad to do so, because I enjoyed this novel and think it deserves an audience. Interestingly enough, this is a father/daughter collaboration about (among other things) a pretty unconventional father/daughter relati......more

Goodreads review by Brittany on May 05, 2022

Thanks to NetGalley & Arcade Publishing for an eARC of this book. The following review is my honest reflection on the text provided. 3.5 stars The Barrens is an unforgettable backwoods adventure story, with a slightly morbid twist. Lee is an incredibly complex protagonist; her entire life is one lo......more

Goodreads review by Stephanie on February 09, 2022

I was able to read an advance copy of this book. It was a story set in a place that i was unfamiliar with and i enjoyed learning more about the Thelon and its surroundings. The relationship between Lee and Holly was poignant and moving. I was really empathizing with Lees plight as the book progresse......more

Goodreads review by Anna on December 30, 2021

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to Netgalley. 2.5* rounded up. I honestly expected more of an exciting story of love, loss and survival from this book judging by the premise, but for the majority of time it felt like a monotonous diary-like tale. Everything is told from Lee's......more

Goodreads review by Lori on May 10, 2022

One of the best books of the year! Once you start, you will not be able to stop. Exciting (I am never going on this kind of trip) with a vivid storytelling arc that makes it impossible to stop reading. Have never read any thing like this book. Made me smile, cry and think. Just loved every word, eve......more

Quotes

“The Barrens is a bravura work, propulsive in its storytelling, simultaneously economical and fulsome, and as restrained as it is brimming with unspoken wisdom. It demands a wide audience.” Peter Geye, Minnesota Book Award–winning author

“The Barrens grabbed me from the opening pages and never let go. A riveting adventure story written by a father-daughter team who clearly have wilderness chops.” Michael Punke, author of The Revenant

“A deeply compelling tale, told in vivid, elegant but concise prose, The Barrens carried me along, swiftly as the river at the heart of the story. The central character, Lee, will break your heart, although she’ll have none of it. Love, loss, life, and death, against a landscape as raw and ancient as the human heart. Most highly recommended.” Jeffrey Lent, author of In the Fall

“The Barrens is the raw and moving story…I’ve rarely come across a text that is so visual, and so tangible. The Barrens is a vivid portrayal of the Canadian subarctic, and of the human drive to persevere.” Alex Messenger, author of The Twenty-Ninth Day

“As harrowing as the whitewater adventure it chronicles, The Barrens is an epic tale of wilderness survival and death in the techno age. The writing throbs with presence…Co-authors Kurt and Ellie Johnson reveal the pulse of identity, born of the stories we weave. A mesmerizing, devastating read.” Carol Bruneau, author of Brighten the Corner Where You Are

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