Elemental: Fire and Water

Craig Lesley's novel set in Oregon, The Sky Fisherman, reminds me of at least two of the other States books. Hot on the heels of the Alabama craziness, this is a story of a boy whose father died in the Lost River and whose ambitious mother is married to a man whose career with the railroad has been shunted to a sideline. She eventually leaves him to move to a town where her first husband's brother lives, to have him help her raise Culver. So this is a story of a boy seeking a male role model, all of whose flaws, even crimes, temper his maturation. For the blog's purposes, here is a story where one of the characters intentionally selects the place to define her son's history and opportunities.

It also has a parallel story of the local Indian reservation, reminiscent of Alexie Sherman. The juxtaposition of the town's and tribe's police force as they deal with major arson and catastrophic floods sets the speed of the book, relying on Native American time and perspective of events and land.

Because the plot develops so languidly and many mysteries remain unsolved at its conclusion, the book is haunting. The story does have a decidedly male perspective: they work in a sporting goods store, take people out on the Lost River as fishing guides, volunteer as firefighters. Women, other than Culver's mother, who is a tad one-dimensional in her ambition, play supporting roles to the much more actively engaged men ... maybe with the exception of the hobos. It is a rugged book, where place is a challenge and a struggle to master after pitting oneself against the elements and the storms from personal failings.