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A review by beckykphillips
I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Experiencing a very midwest apocalypse through our main character, Rainy, was...delightful, which feels weird to say about a post-apocalyptic novel, but the point stands.
I Cheerfully Refuse starts off with us meeting Rainy and his wife, Lark, and following them through their lives as we learn about how the world has changed after a pandemic and other atrocities, including the villainization of reading. Lark has partnered up with a bread baker and sells books to the people of Icebridge, a small town right next to Lake Superior. Things take a turn when Lark brings in a skellite, Kellen, who disappears during her 36th birthday. The adventure that ensues does an incredible job of exploring grief, found family, and some of the most irritating bureaucratic nonsense (the bridge scene made me INCREDIBLY irritated) you could ever hope to find in an apocalyptic story.
Inanimate objects have a way of becoming characters of their own in this story. I really appreciated the centering around Lake Superior and how mercurial the lake is - and if this piques your interest, I highly recommend checking out Geo Rutherford's many stories on Lake Superior. In the same vein, Flower becomes a character in its own right, and I became so attached to the vessel as the novel continued. Rainy is a wonderful narrator and guide through this world that Leif Enger has so artfully created.
I highly recommend this book. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Recorded Books for the copy.
I Cheerfully Refuse starts off with us meeting Rainy and his wife, Lark, and following them through their lives as we learn about how the world has changed after a pandemic and other atrocities, including the villainization of reading. Lark has partnered up with a bread baker and sells books to the people of Icebridge, a small town right next to Lake Superior. Things take a turn when Lark brings in a skellite, Kellen, who disappears during her 36th birthday. The adventure that ensues does an incredible job of exploring grief, found family, and some of the most irritating bureaucratic nonsense (the bridge scene made me INCREDIBLY irritated) you could ever hope to find in an apocalyptic story.
Inanimate objects have a way of becoming characters of their own in this story. I really appreciated the centering around Lake Superior and how mercurial the lake is - and if this piques your interest, I highly recommend checking out Geo Rutherford's many stories on Lake Superior. In the same vein, Flower becomes a character in its own right, and I became so attached to the vessel as the novel continued. Rainy is a wonderful narrator and guide through this world that Leif Enger has so artfully created.
I highly recommend this book. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Recorded Books for the copy.