West of Here

March 28, 2011
Evison's capacious novel toggles between glorious past and constrained present, the idealism of the settlers of the American West and their hapless descendants. Port Bonita fails to live up to the imagined splendor of the Western pioneers, becoming, instead, the place where the American Dream goes to dieâor, at the very least, to convalesce. Edoardo Ballerini is well-equipped to handle the blended tones of Evison's story, bouncing between hushed intimacy and a fierce growl. He steps delicately through the gruff talk of Port Bonita's inhabitants, pulling back into a poetic reverie for Evison's descriptions of the landscape and surroundings, reminding the listener that even in this world-weary city, something of America's magnificence remains. An Algonquin hardcover.

Starred review from June 1, 2011
Evison's debut novel, "All About Lulu"(2009), won a Washington State Book Award. The theme of this superb second novel is that people can try to reinvent themselves, but, whether or not they know it, they'd only be repeating history. The 19th-century characters in this beautifully complex tale set in a mythical Washington State town include a feminist conflicted by the demands of motherhood and her desire for a meaningful career, the proprietor of the local bawdy house, and the Klallam Indians. They are paralleled over a century later by other characters including an ex-con wanting to re-create himself in the wilderness, a parole officer seeking to save the ex-con from himself, and an environmentalist whose impending motherhood changes her attitude toward life. Actor Edoardo Ballerini's (www.edoardoballerini.com) narration is masterly—he clearly defines each character, and his ethnic accents are distinctive but not exaggerated. An excellent choice for all libraries; expect book club demand. [See Major Audio Releases, "LJ"1/11; the Algonquin hc also received a starred review, "LJ"10/1/10.—Ed.]—Nann Blaine Hilyard, Zion-Benton P.L., IL

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 1, 2010
A century after the late–19th-century settlers of Olympic Peninsula to the west of Seattle set out to build a dam, their descendants want to demolish it to bring back fish runs, providing one of the many plots in this satisfyingly meaty work from Evison (All About Lulu). The scenes of the early settlers track an expedition into the Olympic wilderness and the evolving relations between settlers and the Klallam tribe, provide insights into early feminism, and outline an entrepreneur's dream to build the all-important dam. By comparison, the contemporary stories are chock-full of modern woe and malaise, including a Bigfoot watcher and seafood plant worker who wishes to relive his glory days as a high school basketball star; an ex-convict who sets out into the wilderness to live off the land; and an environmental scientist who is hit with an unexpected development. Evison does a terrific job at creating a sense of place as he skips back and forth across the century, cutting between short chapters to sustain a propulsive momentum while juggling a sprawling network of plots and a massive cast of characters real enough to walk off the page. A big novel about the discovery and rediscovery of nature, starting over, and the sometimes piercing reverberations of history, this is a damn fine book.