The publisher’s description of this book states that it is for fans of Karen Russell. Since I have read and enjoyed two of Russell’s books, I decided to give it a try. Kendra Langford Shaw does indeed treat the human condition similarly to the way Russel does. The storyline and preposterous situations also remind me of Russel. The novel begins with the introduction of a contemporary family living off the grid in the remote Territory of the Arctic. Finley, nine-year-old son of Viola and Frye Spahr, almost drowns while trying to retrieve a piano from Disillusionment Bay. Early in the novel, Viola, the pilot of the floatplane that provides income for the family, dies and leaves her husband and three children, Finley, Milda, and Temperance, to care for each other as well as their sinking home and their octopuses, sea lions, and other local resources used for food and trade.
Little makes sense until we learn that the first settlers of the area, who came with promises of land guaranteed by the Homestead Act, traveled with their valuable pianos. The piano represents the cultural refinement that homesteaders had hoped to bring to their new homes. Pianos can also represent the range of human emotions: joy, sorrow, hope, and more, with a variety of dynamics, tempos, pitches, and intensities. The pianos also served as storage areas and beds, and they survived for years in the frigid waters of the Arctic. Shaw is great at combining historical events, such as the Homestead Act, with creative situations, like transporting pianos as they blaze paths across arctic lands. Her story covers multiple generations of families who have hopes and aspirations for a better life while navigating changing landscapes, past, present, and future.
Besides the prominent storylines, which include the perspectives of the early settlers, Shaw masterfully invites the reader to examine human nature and the motivations behind the basic hunter-gatherer disposition, possibly the very fabric of humanity. There is a line in the book that supposes that Old Testament scribes were perhaps the earliest homesteaders. One storyline focuses more on the first settlers and their primal search for the promised land. The reader can sympathize with the pain of a boy named Moose as he trudges along, trying to meet the expectations of the men on the journey, as they face increasingly treacherous terrain. There are plenty of religious allusions, and a significant element of the narrative centers on a family building a church, preaching, and then welcoming back a prodigal brother. And of course, the contemporary family and its descendants are choosing to hunt abalone, kelp, and octopuses for nourishment.
Shaw employs much symbolism in the names she gives to the characters, the land, and, of course, the pianos. Two of the fortepianos (pianos made before 1830) were named Napoleon and Ahab—names after two extraordinarily ambitious characters, one real and one fictional, whose hubris leads to tragedy. There is a Mayflower family choir in the religious storyline, as well as the Resurrection Mountains and Jubilation House. The music metaphors are also sprinkled throughout the text. Music would elevate the land to a homeland worth having, and there was a melody of routine and a symphony of life. Of course, all of this aligns with the overarching message of climate change, rising tides, and rapid environmental change. The multiple generations of family members are painfully aware that the earth is changing before their eyes, and they react differently to the values of nature, family, and subsistence.
