Since -- as recently intimated -- Bamboo Nation has a niche in American cultural consciousness that I can only aspire to, I aim to ape Prince Gomolvilas in all things. Hence I will borrow from one of Prince’s best attention-culling mechanisms: the giveaway!
First, the lure. I hope you recall when I reviewed here Garth Stein’s best-selling novel The Art of Racing in the Rain. Remember? Well now, just in time for St Patrick’s Day, Garth has written a new one for us. I’ve been awaiting his latest novel, whatever it would be, wondering how he could possibly follow up on such a sequel-proof story. No matter what the new book would be, it certainly be a surprise.
And he has not disappointed. Raven Stole the Moon is an out-and-out thriller, and a thriller of the best sort -- the atmosphere-heavy kind that introduces you to places, people and cultures that few come across on their own.
Again, the author’s feel for the Northwest is strong. His story starts in Seattle, but soon defects for a small town in Alaska where the indigenous Tlingit people and their bonds with unseen worlds are still strongly evident. The story’s hero, Jenna, is returning to the town of Wrangell as the scene of a turning point in her life -- it’s where her son was drowned. But she soon comes to realize that warring conspiracies seek both to reveal the truth or to hide it from her.
Warning: don’t read this book in bed at night if you have an early morning the next day! I rushed from chapter to chapter just to find out what would happen next.
And now for the giveaway. I have a brand new, never-before-read copy of Raven Stole the Moon to give you. True, the book was just released yesterday, so you can always bop on over to Powell’s…or you can leave a comment, any comment, on this post by Saturday morning, March 13. That day at noon I’ll randomly select one of the entrants, and someone will get her/his very own copy of Garth's latest. If you want to post anonymously, that’s cool -- just make your post unique enough that I have a way to give you a shout out, and we can go from there.
Buona fortuna!
