Legends of the North Cascades
By Jonathan Evison (Algonquin Books, 2021)
Genre: Fiction
Pages (print): 338
Via: Library
Ever grab a book that surprised the stuffin’ outta you? You thought it was about one thing. But it turned out to be something else entirely?
That happened to Her Royal Momness and I the other day. Swooping into The Book Place, Mom only had about five minutes to snatch some new-to-her titles off the shelves. So, cuz she loves the Northwest and the Cascades are like, Totally Pawesome, she took a chance on an unfamiliar title and an author we’ve never heard of.
When the cloak of night descended, and they were awash in the light of the stars, spattered cold and white across the bowl of night, the world seemed all at once larger and more mysterious.
Were we ever surprised. Like this:
The Basics
Is “Cave Dave” Cartwright “some kind of bogeyman”? A “nutter”? Or a “goddang folk hero”? That depends on who you’re talking to in the small rural town of Vigilante Falls, Washington.
After three tours in Iraq with the USMC, one-time hometown football hero Dave Cartwright comes home to a wife and daughter he barely knows. Battling severe PTSD and a host of other demons, Dave pretty much falls apart after his wife dies in a car wreck. He also finds himself alone with his seven-year-old daughter, Mirabella, aka: Bella. Bella begins to drift further and further into self-imposed isolation and mental exile.
So, Dave retreats into a high mountain cave deep in the North Cascades with Bella and their cats. Meanwhile, the story glides back and forth between two distinct and very different epochs – one modern day and one prehistoric. The Cartwrights battle to survive in the present day. S’tka and her son N’ka battle to survive during the Ice Age. All are “cave dwellers.”
Then Dave’s kid brother Travers and his wife Kris insist Dave bring Bella back to the city so she can live with them. It’s “for her own good,” they say. Dave resists. To put it mildly. And Bella refuses to leave her dad. It’s not long before a battle royal brews. And not just with the fam.
Scene stealer: Judy Cartwright. Aka: “Nana.”
Things go pretty well for dad and daughter over the summer. But things start getting dicey as winter sets in. Downright dangerous. And as the months wear on, Dave begins drifting into La La Land. Bella drifts into the icy, ancient past and the “otherness” of long ago. She also starts acting like a cat.
Shifts
The story shifts to thousands of years earlier with S’tka and N’ka. Their long trek across glacier fields to find food and an elusive – imaginary? – “clan.” This part slows the narrative considerably. Endless descriptions of cold, exhaustion, and hunger too often teeter on the rim edge of redundancy. Also, the back-and-forth between present day and the Ice Age is often abrupt to the point of whiplash.
Getting back on track, author Evison tells the story from multiple different viewpoints, usually in the first person. These include “cameos” by secondary characters such as “fed” ranger Paulson; Dale Duvall, owner of Dale’s Diner; Duane Barlow, fellow Marine; Sheriff Dale; and CPS caseworker Moseley. While the story centers largely on Bella, the addition of multiple secondary voices adds a richness and intensity to the narrative that’s fortifying and invigorating.
A Little…
This book is a little Hatchet. A little Grizzly Adams. Maybe a dash of Little House in the Big Woods. Ditto Julie of the Wolves. And I Am Still Alive. Her Momness didn’t particularly care for the initial chapters. Almost tossed it. But the writing is generally robust, eloquent and articulate. Sturdy. The author skillfully crafts beautiful word pictures that capture the essence of the region in living Technicolor. Besides. A sweet furry face we all know and love persuaded The ‘Ole Curmudgeon to keep going. So, Mom did.
Mountains and valleys, shadow and light, the pitiless freeze and the merciful thaw. Change waws ceaseless, the seasons countless, the outside forces of the world relentless, and yet nothing was permanent, not Ace Hardware, not Vigilante Falls, not even the North Cascades.
Moments
Good thing, too. Because while Legends has its moments – and its rough edges – it surprised us. We wound up discovering a gem of a multi-layered story. Yes, it’s about a struggling vet who retreats into isolation after three tours in Iraq. It’s also an outdoor adventure/survival story. On more than one level. On another level, it’s about family. Community. Faith. Courage. Loyalty. Loss. Mental health. In both the modern era and the Ice Age.
Bonus points: There’s a deep reverence and respect for The Great Outdoors in general and Washington’s North Cascades in particular that we like, Totally Love-if-ied. So, we wound up liking this story more than we thought one of us thought she would. Hi, Mom.
Pages & Paws 