In Memory of Hawks & Other Stories from Alaska

By Irving Warner

Short Fiction. Irving Warner is a rare find. His stories are filled with the subtlety and power of the great American masters -- Raymond Carver, Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty, John O'Hara, Irwin Shaw. He has the touch (Jack Olsen, author of THE BRIDGE AT CHAPPAQUIDDICK and NIGHT OF THE GRIZZLIES). Richard felt confident he was going to die. The fuzziness returned, and the voices dulled out to warbles again. Slowly he became much warmer, and the figures moved above him more rapidly. He watched them unitl a lightness took hold of him and lifted. Rather than be frightened, he enjoyed the rapid lifting sensation; above him Richard saw an intense blueness. He became incredibly warm and, knowing things would soon be over, closed his eyes and concentrated on the feeling that now took hold of him, kindly, but irrevocably. (In the Islands of the Four Mountains). Highly recommended for all libraries with strong literary collections (Library Journal).

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0965141349
• ISBN13: 9780965141345
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Pleasure Boat Studio
• Length: 207 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

The Beauty and the Beast of the Place

Two sorts of people write about Alaska: 1) those who take their journalistic or literary talent on a whirlwind tour of the state, then compose an account of `first impressions,' contrasting what they see with what they know of other places, and 2) those who endure Alaska and write from the gut about the beauty and the beast of the place.Warner is definitely of the latter sort. If you want la-de-da accounts of what people from cities THINK Alaska and Alaskans are, accounts which will maybe confirm your own first impressions of the Great Land, then this book is not for you. If, however, you want to get as close as possible to Alaska without flying a Cessna into a mountainside or freezing on a mudflat, this book is your ticket. I know because I was a resident of Alaska for 20 years, and became well acquainted with the land and the people. The only common denominator of these well-crafted and diversely set and plotted stories is Alaska. They are not all about pretty topics, nor do the protagonists always survive. But the stories are no stranger than life itself in the Far North, and they are entertaining. A couple of years ago, a visiting German friend of mine picked up this collection and could not put it down for two days until it was finished, which put quite a damper on our visit. Warner's tales have broader literary value than your run-of-the-mill, sled-and-igloo saga, in that they aptly analyze universal human motivations and emotions under adverse circumstances. Simply put, they are a literary treat. I strongly recommend this book

Superb

This collection captures the "real" Alaska. Years ago I was a wildlife biologist in the Alaskan bush, and these stories are haunting and evocative of that time. Any reader interested in how the Great Land affects genuine people at work, at play, and just trying to keep alive or sane when working in the elements will enjoy these. Warner's well-crafted work is wonderful, and imparts a flavor of wild Alaskan and the inevitable adventures on airplanes, boats, as well as the type of characters I met in the Alaskan outback.In many ways the texture of these stories reminded me of Charles Frazier's best-selling book Cold Mountain. While a very different type of fiction, Warner's work and Frazier's work carefully record the small things that are going on in the natural world around the characters. It is a quality -- one also evident in Hemingway -- that I enjoy and admire.It is hard to say which story I enjoyed best -- the namesake was wonderful, as was the Journal From the Bay of Islands (in part because my wife and I are big fans of Ecuador). And Fever and Islands of the Four Mountains are superb. We are fortunate that a man with Irving Warner's talents and experience has spent so much time writing these great gems.

The soul of real-life Alaska

I've lived in Alaska for over 20 years, watching it grow from "the last frontier" to a virtual suburb of Seattle. This book brings back memories--and gut feelings--of what life in Alaska was like: the wilderness shorn of romanticism, indifferent to human life or death; the strange and powerful characters with all their mix of good and bad who shaped everyday experience; the reality that must seem mythical to anyone who hasn't lived it. Warner's characters are true-to-life and evoke memories of many people I've known here. "In Memory of Hawks" is a must-read for anyone who wants to recall what Alaska was like in the 70s or who wants to know how it feels to be alive at the fringes of civilization.