I do not know why I was expecting some kind of psychological mystery. The blurb states that during a family day-out in the woods “something imaginably shocking happens” which will influence the life of the whole family. Maybe this confusion is due to the fact that I was expecting something else. I am so conflicted about my feelings that I cannot even answer to a simple question: Did I like the book? I even find it difficult to decide on the rating for this debut novel. I have been sitting in front of the screen for some time, staring hopelessly at the screen, hoping to find some inspiration on what to write in my review. In a wild emotional and physical landscape, Wade’s past becomes the center of Ann’s imagination, as Ann becomes determined to understand the family she never knew-and to take responsibility for them, reassembling their lives, and her own. In a story written in exquisite prose and told from multiple perspectives-including Ann, Wade, and Jenny, now in prison-we gradually learn of the mysterious and shocking act that fractured Wade and Jenny's lives, of the love and compassion that brought Ann and Wade together, and of the memories that reverberate through the lives of every character in Idaho. With her husband’s memory fading, Ann attempts to piece together the truth of what happened to Wade’s first wife, Jenny, and to their daughters. Henry Prize–winning author Emily RuskovichĪnn and Wade have carved out a life for themselves from a rugged landscape in northern Idaho, where they are bound together by more than love. ( From the publisher.A stunning debut novel about love and forgiveness, about the violence of memory and the equal violence of its loss-from O.

Henry Prize–winning author Emily Ruskovich.Īnn and Wade have carved out a life for themselves from a rugged landscape in northern Idaho, where they are bound together by more than love.

A stunning debut novel about love and forgiveness, about the violence of memory and the equal violence of its loss-from O.

Idaho emily ruskovich summary