Peter M. Leschak

A short book about the Minnesota woods and the author's life there in the 1970s and 80s. I got this one from an indie bookstore, where they had a display of inexpensive "mystery books" wrapped in brown paper for adventurous bookbuyers willing to take a chance based on nothing more than a very brief description. (Which, in this case, I think was something along the lines of "nature writing.") To be honest, I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this experience, as I figured, well, these are probably just books they're looking to get rid of, right? But I was very pleasantly surprised! I ended up enjoying this one a lot. The author has a likeable sense of humor, a real appreciation for the rugged country he lives in with all its beauties and difficulties, and an attitude that's a pleasant mixture of thoughtful and irreverent. Reading this hasn't left me with any kind of desire to pick up and move to Minnesota -- personally, I regard any place where the temperature is capable of dropping to -57 Fahrenheit as completely unfit for human habitation -- but I was quite happy to pay it a vicarious visit.… (meer)