Written by Karen Fisher, Reviewed by Erica
A Sudden Country is the story of James McLaren, a Hudson’s Bay Company trader, and Lucy Mitchell, a remarried widow who is reluctantly journeying west along the Oregon Trail. Their two lives cross briefly and they are forced to confront their pasts, the present, and the future. Fisher’s gorgeous writing is spare but rich; there are no unnecessary words but the images and character development are surprisingly deep. Her poetic style perfectly tells of the harsh beauty of the western landscape, the difficulties the pioneers endure, and the complicated emotions that they experience. My favorite book so far this year.