Whale Songs and Wildflowers: Trapped in the Dark with Author Cynthia Reeves
- Whale Songs and Wildflowers: Trapped in the Dark with Author Cynthia Reeves Teri M Brown 33:23
My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Cynthia Reeves, author of the book The Last Whaler. Cynthia Reeves is the author of three books of fiction: the Arctic novel The Last Whaler; the novel in stories Falling Through the New World, winner of Gold Wake Press’s Fiction Award; and the novella Badlands, winner of Miami University Press’s Novella Prize. Her short stories, essays, and poetry have appeared widely. Most recently, her short story “The Last Glacier” was featured in If the Storm Clears, an anthology that concerns the sublime in the natural world.
Her lifelong interest in the Arctic began in childhood reading tales of doomed Arctic explorers. But it was her participation in the 2017 Arctic Circle Summer Solstice Expedition, which sailed Svalbard’s western shores, as well as three subsequent residencies in Longyearbyen and a trip around Iceland’s Ring Road, that have inspired her writing since then. Cynthia earned an MFA from Warren Wilson College and taught creative writing at Bryn Mawr and Rosemont Colleges. Find out more at cynthiareeveswriter.com.
In my book review, I stated The Last Whaler is a historical fiction that looks at the will to survive in the harshest circumstances. We follow Astrid through her journal entries, while we follow her husband, Tor, through his journal entries ten years later. The back and forth allows the reader to see Astrid struggles in real time as well as Tor’s reflections – and all the things he missed.
Astrid is strong-willed and vibrant. She is educated and dedicated. She wants – very much – to move on beyond a tragedy. A summer spent with her husband, a whaler, on a remote island, seems to be the ticket. She will revive her relationship. She will study the flora. She will find forgiveness for herself. Except, the Arctic has other ideas.
This story, beautifully told, explores mental illness, religious faith, man’s impact on the environment, and the solace of storytelling. You won’t want to miss it.
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Website: https://www.cynthiareeveswriter.com/
FB: @cynthia.reeves.921
IG: @cynthia_p_reeves
X: @cynthiapreeves
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Purchase The Last Whaler on Amazon:
Paperback: https://amzn.to/3WxCDBv
Ebook: https://amzn.to/3WBlSpa
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Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com
FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor
IG: @terimbrown_author
X: @terimbrown1
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