Now Read This: 'To the Bright Edge of the World' by Eowyn Ivey

A couple of years ago, my husband and I were fortunate enough to go on an Alaskan cruise. For us, the highlight of that cruise was cruising through the incredible landscape of Glacier Bay while sitting in the comfort of our cabin deck. If you’ve had a similar experience, you may enjoy reading Eowyn Ivey’s book “To the Bright Edge of the World.”

Set at the end of the 19th century, the story revolves around Col. Allen Forrester who has received a commission to navigate Alaska’s seemingly impassable Wolverine River with only a small group of men. The Wolverine is the key to opening up Alaska and its huge reserves of gold to the outside world, but previous attempts have ended in tragedy. He leaves his pregnant new wife behind in Vancouver. While in Vancouver she writes letters to her husband and entries in a diary and, in an attempt to fill the long hours of waiting, she acquires photography equipment and learns how to capture nature on film.

Col. Forrester and his crew venture into the wilderness to map the interior of the newly acquired Alaska Territory, make contact with the inhabitants and collect information for future enterprises. His crew include the intellectually gifted Pruitt, the rough Sgt. Tillman, a trapper and his partner, an American Indian woman (who claims to have slit her husband’s throat) and a dog. But the strangest traveling companion is an old American Indian known as the Man Who Flies on Black Wings, who is reputed to be a raven who can take the form of man. They encounter danger, hardship and starvation during their yearlong expedition.

There is also a modern-day component to the story when, many years later, a descendant of the Forresters donates their journals and artifacts to a museum in a small town now on the expedition route. Throughout the novel, Ivey sprinkles the correspondence between the elderly descendant and the historian who is sorting through the gifts.

NoveList recommends Diane Smith’s “Letters from Yellowstone” as a similar read. If you enjoy “To the Bright Edge of the World,” you may want to read Ivey’s previous book, “The Snow Child,” which also takes place in Alaska and has a magical twist to it. The library owns a copy of all these books.

Happy readings!