I have read both Nearness of the Wild and the initial companion novel to Nearness- Perdita.
I loved both of these novels. I love the characters- Perdita, Marged, Alan, the old ornithologist, the doctor, the ‘Indian’ agent, the list goes on. I love the place – the water, the trees, the rocks all became characters in the story. And I love the pacing. I wanted to keep reading and I did. I stayed up late and I got up early. I gobbled it up all of it too quickly.
Both of these novels are multi layered -part history,part place making, part social commentary, part dream. Scharper is a master creator of place,character and feeling.
Here’s my advice; go to the bookstore. Buy both these books, go home, make yourself a cozy spot and dive in. You are in for some deep and satisfying reading pleasure.
I loved both of these novels. I love the characters- Perdita, Marged, Alan, the old ornithologist, the doctor, the ‘Indian’ agent, the list goes on. I love the place – the water, the trees, the rocks all became characters in the story. And I love the pacing. I wanted to keep reading and I did. I stayed up late and I got up early. I gobbled it up all of it too quickly.
Both of these novels are multi layered -part history,part place making, part social commentary, part dream. Scharper is a master creator of place,character and feeling.
Here’s my advice; go to the bookstore. Buy both these books, go home, make yourself a cozy spot and dive in. You are in for some deep and satisfying reading pleasure.
For me, reading, Perdita (both times) was like going on a journey to a different world.
I read this novel when it was first published about a decade ago, and then this winter when the author released Nearness of the Wild, the companion novel, I reread Perdita.
In both Perdita and Nearness, Scharper ushers her readers into a real place -Georgian Bay- past and present- but this Georgian Bay is infused with a supernatural - haunted lighthouses, ghosts and an impossibly aged protagonist- all mixed in with mystery and yes, some romance. What makes this novel so unusual is that the reader becomes engaged not just with the people in Scharper’s story, but also with the place- the land,the rocks, the trees, the water- all of these natural elements become characters. Perdita is nature inspired literary fiction and offers the reader free passage, not just to a story and the people in it but also to a magical place and all that is powerful about that place.
So if you’re looking for a recommendation here it is;get a copy of Perdita, get a copy of Nearness of the Wild and dive in . I know you will find yourself on a journey to somewhere you have never been before.
I read this novel when it was first published about a decade ago, and then this winter when the author released Nearness of the Wild, the companion novel, I reread Perdita.
In both Perdita and Nearness, Scharper ushers her readers into a real place -Georgian Bay- past and present- but this Georgian Bay is infused with a supernatural - haunted lighthouses, ghosts and an impossibly aged protagonist- all mixed in with mystery and yes, some romance. What makes this novel so unusual is that the reader becomes engaged not just with the people in Scharper’s story, but also with the place- the land,the rocks, the trees, the water- all of these natural elements become characters. Perdita is nature inspired literary fiction and offers the reader free passage, not just to a story and the people in it but also to a magical place and all that is powerful about that place.
So if you’re looking for a recommendation here it is;get a copy of Perdita, get a copy of Nearness of the Wild and dive in . I know you will find yourself on a journey to somewhere you have never been before.