The High Divide, Lin Enger
The High Divide, Lin Enger
1 Rating(s)
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The High Divide

Author: Lin Enger

Narrator: Patrick Lawlor

Unabridged: 10 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/23/2014

Categories: Fiction, Sagas, Western


Synopsis

In 1886, Gretta Pope wakes one morning to discover that her husband is gone. Ulysses Pope has left his family behind on the far edge of Minnesota's western prairie, with only the briefest of notes and no explanation for why he left or where he's headed. It doesn't take long for Gretta's young sons, Eli and Danny, to set off after him, following the scant clues they can find, jumping trains to get where they need to go, and ending up in the rugged badlands of Montana.

Short on money and beleaguered by a treacherous landlord, Gretta has no choice but to seek out her sons and her husband as well, leading her to the doorstep of a woman who seems intent on making Ulysses her own. While out in the Western wilderness, the boys find that the closer they come to Ulysses's trail, the greater the perils that confront them—until each is faced with a choice about whom they will defend, and who they will become. Enger's breathtaking portrait of the vast plains land- scape is matched by the rich expanse of his characters' emotional terrain, as pivotal historical events—the bloody turmoil of expansionism, the near total demise of the bison herds, and the subjugation of the Plains Indians—blend seamlessly with the intimate story of a family's sacrifice and devotion.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jessaka on March 15, 2018

When Greta and her teo sons woke up the next morning he was gone. It couldn’t have hurt more, but Greta knew that Ulysses was leaving, maybe it was the way he acted the night before, the fight they had had, or something he had said. Her youngest son by 5 years ran off to find him, but his brother El......more

Goodreads review by Cher 'N Books on April 12, 2015

2 stars - Meh. Just ok. I didn't find this one to be deeply moving and it certainly was not gripping, so the synopsis is a bit misleading. I liked it enough to read through to the end though I never felt very connected to the story and the ending was far from being a saving grace. For me, it was a pa......more

Goodreads review by Julie on August 18, 2023

One morning in the late summer of 1886, Ulysses Pope walks away from his family, leaving behind a note that reads only 'A chance for work, hard cash.' His disappearance forces his family — wife Gretta, teenaged Eli and 10-year-old Danny — out of their northwestern Minnesota home and Gretta into the......more

Goodreads review by Schuyler on February 02, 2015

Lin Enger has written a classic novel of family disorder in nineteenth century United States centering in the vastness of Minnesota, the Dakotas and Montana. It’s not a new story; a man driven by hidden urges leaves his wife and young boys and disappears. That wasn’t uncommon for the time as poverty......more

Goodreads review by Carol on July 01, 2015

This is a story of a journey, a man's quest for redemption. Ulysses leaves his home in Western Minnesota in 1886, without telling his wife or sons. He simply disappears into the Dakotas. With little to go on, his young sons go after him without a word to their mom. Then Gretta, Ulysses wife also lea......more