Idaho

A woman named Ann lives in the mountains of northern Idaho with her husband Wade, who is losing his memory to early-onset dementia. As Wade's past memories slip away, Ann becomes consumed with understanding the tragic incident that occurred before she met him - an event involving his first wife Jenny and their two daughters. The narrative moves between different time periods and perspectives, spanning from the 1970s to the 2020s. Ann pieces together fragments of Wade's fading memories while imagining the lives of Jenny and the girls, trying to reconstruct what happened on that fateful day at the mountain. Through research and quiet observation, Ann seeks answers about her husband's former family while caring for him as his condition deteriorates. The stark Idaho landscape serves as both setting and mirror for the characters' internal struggles with memory, loss, and forgiveness. The novel explores how humans cope with the unknowable spaces in our lives - the gaps where answers should be but aren't. It raises questions about the nature of memory itself, and whether understanding the past is less important than finding peace in the present.

Readers note the lyrical, atmospheric writing style but struggle with the novel's slow pacing and fragmented timeline. Many praise Ruskovich's descriptions of Idaho's landscape and her handling of memory and grief. What readers liked: - Beautiful prose and imagery - Complex character development - Subtle exploration of forgiveness - Authentic portrayal of rural Idaho life What readers disliked: - Unresolved plot threads - Confusing narrative structure - Too many perspective shifts - Lack of closure for central mystery A common complaint is that the book "promises a mystery but delivers a meditation," as one Amazon reviewer states. Multiple readers mention feeling frustrated by deliberately withheld information. Ratings: Goodreads: 3.6/5 (18,000+ ratings) Amazon: 3.9/5 (1,000+ ratings) LibraryThing: 3.7/5 (300+ ratings) Professional critics gave more favorable reviews than general readers, with literary publications highlighting the prose while consumer reviews focus more on plot satisfaction.

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🌲 Emily Ruskovich grew up in the Idaho Panhandle on Hoodoo Mountain, a remote setting that deeply influenced the atmospheric wilderness portrayed in the novel 📚 The book won the 2019 International Dublin Literary Award, one of the world's most prestigious literary prizes, earning Ruskovich €100,000 🎯 The novel's central mystery—why a mother would kill her young daughter—was inspired by a true crime story Ruskovich heard on the radio while driving 🖋️ Ruskovich wrote much of the novel while teaching at the University of Colorado, far from the Idaho landscape she was depicting 🏔️ The story spans nearly fifty years across the rugged terrain of northern Idaho, weaving together multiple timelines and perspectives to explore themes of memory, loss, and redemption