To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey was a suitably chilly novel to read in January for our wellbeing reading group at GEH. Set in Alaska in the late 1800s the novel charts the story of Lieutenant Colonel Allen Forrester’s exploration of the Wolverine River with a small band of men. At the same time we follow his wife Sophie who is left behind at the Vancouver barracks, and learn of her life waiting for him to return. Told in epistolary style, the novel takes the form of letters, diary entries, newspaper clippings and photographs.
On the whole we enjoyed it. We liked the format and found the diary entries and letters fun to read and easy to dip into. Some felt that the current day letters between the owner of the diaries and letters and the museum he had gifted them to, didn’t add much to the novel. Everyone appreciated the photos and artefacts between the chapters and felt they enhanced the tale.
We were divided about which parts of the story we preferred. Our resident pragmatist preferred the story of the Alaskan river expedition, whilst our Jane Austen fan was drawn to the life of the wife left behind. Others liked the contrast between the two experiences. We discussed how historical fiction can be frustrating when it deviates from actual history, but we accepted that it is fiction! Our discussions also touched on the difficulties of writing characters set in the past but wanting to give them modern sensibilities to appeal to a modern audience.
There were some fantastical elements that we felt were a little extraneous to the plot. Stories such as women turning into geese, or a baby being born from a tree were mentioned but not given a great deal of significance, and so were a bit lost in the novel. The exception was the ominous Old Man/crow character, but most of us felt we would have enjoyed the story just as much without the fantasy.
We talked about other plot tricks and twists which I won’t go into here- no spoilers. Most of us would recommend the book, but we’re looking forward to reading something set a bit warmer!
Our next book is a classic mystery from the legendary Agatha Christie. Read the whodunnit with us and come along to our next meeting to tell us what you thought! Pick up a book in the Library at GETEC and join in!
Find out more about our reading groups here
Take a look at the blog posts for our previous reads here.
