by David Treuer
First published 1999
Simon comes back to Minneapolis twenty years after everything went wrong. His mother brought him here from the reservation after he committed a terrible act that changed multiple lives forever. Meanwhile, Lester had discovered love in an old train car during those same turbulent times. Now Simon's return sets events in motion that will finally address what happened decades ago. The weight of his crime has followed him across the years, and Minneapolis holds both his family ties and the consequences he has avoided. His presence disrupts the careful distance that time had created. The city becomes the stage where past violence must be reckoned with. Simon faces the people and places connected to his transgression, forcing a confrontation that has been building for twenty years. The resolution he triggers will determine whether the damage he caused can ever truly be resolved.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: past-haunts-present, redemption-arc, second-chance
Setting: Minneapolis
Period: 20 years ago, present day
310 pages · Hardcover · Picador USA
Content warnings: violence