Idaho, Ruskovich Emily

Finalist for the New York Public Librarys Young Lions Fiction Award

Ann and Wade have carved out a life for themselves from a rugged landscape in northern Idaho, where they are bound together by more than love. With her husbands memory fading, Ann attempts to piece together the truth of what happened to Wades first wife, Jenny, and to their daughters. In a story written in exquisite prose and told from multiple perspectives--including Ann, Wade, and Jenny, now in prison--we gradually learn of the mysterious and shocking act that fractured Wade and Jennys lives, of the love and compassion that brought Ann and Wade together, and of the memories that reverberate through the lives of every character in Idaho.

In a wild emotional and physical landscape, Wades past becomes the center of Anns imagination, as Ann becomes determined to understand the family she never knew--and to take responsibility for them, reassembling their lives, and her own.

Praise for Idaho

You know youre in masterly hands here. Emily] Ruskovichs language is itself a consolation, as she subtly posits the troubling thought that only decency can save us. . . . Ruskovichs novel will remind many readers of the great Idaho novel, Marilynne Robinsons Housekeeping. . . . A] wrenching and beautiful book.--The New York Times Book Review

Sensuous, exquisitely crafted.--The Wall Street Journal

The first thing you should know about Idaho, the shatteringly original debut by O. Henry Prize winner Emily Ruskovich, is that it upturns everything you think you know about story. . . . You could read Idaho just for the sheer beauty of the prose, the expert way Ruskovich makes everything strange and yet absolutely familiar.--San Francisco Chronicle

Mesmerizing . . . an] eerie story about what the heart is capable of fathoming and what the hand is capable of executing.--Marie Claire

Idaho is a wonderful debut. Ruskovich knows how to build a page-turner from the opening paragraph.--Ft. WorthStar-Telegram