Scan barcode
xterminal's review
5.0
Debra Allbery, Fimbul-Winter (Four Way Books, 2010)
Back in the early- to mid-nineties, I can't exactly remember when, at a library used-book sale, I stumbled across a then-obscure book by a then-obscure writer and, since it was cheap, I picked it up despite having never heard of either the book or the author who wrote it. That book was Debra Allbery's Walking Distance. I can count on one hand the number of books I've re-read in the past ten years. Walking Distance is the only book I've not only re-read, but re-read twice, since 2000. Needless to say, it's one of my all-time favorites. But time went on without a second book from Allbery, and I resigned myself to the idea that such a book would never, actually, appear. And then, roundabout the middle of last year, I can't exactly remember where, I stumbled upon an article, or a press release, or a webpage, something like that, that told me that Debra Allbery's second book was coming out in October of 2010. Almost twenty years since Walking Distance. Needless to say, I jumped at it, but I had to wonder: had I built this thing up too much in my head? Was I bound to be disappointed?
The short answer: no. Fimbul-Winter, Allbery's first book in two decades, is just as exquisite as Walking Distance.
“The sky hovers close here, its gray blanket
flying just over our heads, fastened down
a few miles to the north. It pulls away
along the horizon at sunset, the light there
flaring riotous, or else blind mute yellow.
A raised window, a breathing space.”
There are about a hundred thousand things I want to tell you about why you should read Debra Allbery, and none of them are coming out right. Is it enough to tell you she's a national treasure, one of our best living writers? Read this. It's only January, but I guarantee you this will make my Best Reads of the Year list. **** ½
Back in the early- to mid-nineties, I can't exactly remember when, at a library used-book sale, I stumbled across a then-obscure book by a then-obscure writer and, since it was cheap, I picked it up despite having never heard of either the book or the author who wrote it. That book was Debra Allbery's Walking Distance. I can count on one hand the number of books I've re-read in the past ten years. Walking Distance is the only book I've not only re-read, but re-read twice, since 2000. Needless to say, it's one of my all-time favorites. But time went on without a second book from Allbery, and I resigned myself to the idea that such a book would never, actually, appear. And then, roundabout the middle of last year, I can't exactly remember where, I stumbled upon an article, or a press release, or a webpage, something like that, that told me that Debra Allbery's second book was coming out in October of 2010. Almost twenty years since Walking Distance. Needless to say, I jumped at it, but I had to wonder: had I built this thing up too much in my head? Was I bound to be disappointed?
The short answer: no. Fimbul-Winter, Allbery's first book in two decades, is just as exquisite as Walking Distance.
“The sky hovers close here, its gray blanket
flying just over our heads, fastened down
a few miles to the north. It pulls away
along the horizon at sunset, the light there
flaring riotous, or else blind mute yellow.
A raised window, a breathing space.”
There are about a hundred thousand things I want to tell you about why you should read Debra Allbery, and none of them are coming out right. Is it enough to tell you she's a national treasure, one of our best living writers? Read this. It's only January, but I guarantee you this will make my Best Reads of the Year list. **** ½
More...