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Pylväinen's novel is a marvelous picture of mid-nineteenth century Scandinavia. There's a lot of rich material here, but what stuck out to me was the way in which the novel explores the multi-layered effects of colonialism. At one point the native people (the Sámi) argue about the potential effects of decisions made by distant kings on their livelihood as reindeer herders. They are hardly ignorant or oblivious of the wider world. Rather, they can see all too well the impact of the encroaching settlers. While a love story takes center stage in the novel, the wider world of natives, settlers, and the changes in international politics that create intended and unintended consequences are all part of Pylväinen's wider stage.

Some novels grab you immediately and refuse to let you go until you have read through to the last page. James is such a novel. It's brilliant, astonishing, and packs an emotional wallop. I haven't read Huckleberry Finn in over 30 years, so I have no idea how closely Everett tracked to that book -- but it is irrelevant. As a sharp, funny, heartbreaking examination of slavery and life in nineteenth century America, James stands on its own, whether you have read Huckleberry Finn or not.

Wandering Stars is a novel that covers several generations of the family that featured in his first novel, There, There, although it is not necessary to have read that book to understand this one. The bulk of Wandering Stars focuses on the present generation, but the early chapters make explicit the fact that the later characters are still grappling with the appalling legacy of how Native Americans have been treated over centuries. Orange moves among different perspectives with ease, with some characters speaking directly to the reader in first person, and other chapters provided by an omniscient narrator. Orange has a gift for capturing small yet meaningful interactions between people, and writing eloquently how we support each other (not always willingly, not always perfectly), through grief, addiction, and loss.