Evergreen, by Rebecca Rasmussen
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Evergreen, by Rebecca Rasmussen
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A BookPage Best Book of the Year It is 1938 when Eveline, a young bride, follows her husband, Emil, into the Minnesota wilderness. Though their cabin is rundown, they have a river full of fish, a garden out back, and a baby boy named Hux. But when Emil leaves to take care of his sick father, a dangerous stranger arrives, fracturing their small family forever and leaving Hux to grow up wondering if the wrongs of the past can ever be mended. Set before a backdrop of vanishing forest, Rebecca Rasmussen has written a luminous and emotionally charged novel about how one defining moment can echo through generations.
Evergreen, by Rebecca Rasmussen- Amazon Sales Rank: #640081 in Books
- Brand: Rasmussen, Rebecca
- Published on: 2015-06-23
- Released on: 2015-06-23
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 7.97" h x .75" w x 5.13" l, .81 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 352 pages
Amazon.com Review Amazon Q&A for EVERGREEN with author Rebecca Rasmussen
Q1.: EVERGREEN’s epigraph is a quote from Jose Ortega y Gassett, “Tell me the landscape in which you live, and I will tell you who you are.” How does this connection to place resonate throughout the novel?
Rebecca Rasmussen: As a person who has lived in eight different states so far in my life, I’ve had the fortunate experience of witnessing how place changes people. In Massachusetts, I used to snowshoe down my street. I was moodier then. After a long winter, there was nothing more enlivening than seeing the first magnolia blossoms in the spring. In Los Angeles, I’m a hundred feet from the 405. I’m so close I can give a traffic report. But the sun is always shining and the winds are always warm. I’m softer here. Less alone.
In EVERGREEN, the changes the characters go through are more pronounced than mine, perhaps because there are no modern conveniences to soften the transition when they move from an established town to the wilds of northern Minnesota in 1938. Electricity changes people. Running water. But so do swiftly moving rivers and old growth forests, night skies unmarred by city lights, industry. To my mind, this novel couldn’t take place anywhere else in the world but Evergreen.
Q2.: Do you ever dream of running off and living in the wilderness yourself?
RR: Oh, yes—ever since I was a girl and spent eight glorious summers at a rustic camp in northern Wisconsin. The lake was full of leeches, the cabins overrun with wolf spiders, and because nothing would ever dry there was a pervasive smell of mold. “L’eau de Camp,” my mother used to say. But it was also a magical place with towering pines and climax forests, frosty mornings and northern lights, a place where for the first time in my life I felt truly free. I learned how to build fires and navigate canoes through narrow sloughs. I learned how to swim and sail and shoot a rifle. I learned what I could do with my hands. What I could do with my heart. The northwoods is always with me when I sit down to write.
Q3.: Eveline, newly pregnant, moves into a small cabin in Minnesota with her taxidermist husband, Emil. How does she justify leaving her family, job, and hometown behind?
RR: Eveline is young and inexperienced at the beginning of the novel. She’s so newly married that she still gets a little thrill every time she says the words my husband. Emil is unlike any other man she’s met in the northwoods. He’s capable, but gentle. Determined, but kind. Other men try to woo her by leaving buckets of fish on her doorstep. Emil woos her with a butterfly. Even though she’s frightened to leave her family, love is what brings Eveline to the wilderness. Love is what gets her through her first winter.
Q4.: Eveline’s neighbor, Lulu, was “a tall, solid woman, made larger by her booming voice and the vigor of her coat.” How does this quirky woman become so important to Eveline? Even though they’re such opposites, how do they ultimately save each other, over and over again?
RR: When Lulu enters the novel, light enters with her. She’s a woman who knows who she is and what she’s worth. Eveline doesn’t know these things yet. She’s a new wife and mother. She’s still figuring out if she even belongs in the wilderness. After surviving a difficult winter alone with Emil, Lulu is a welcome guest the day she comes striding up to their cabin wearing a pair of men’s trousers and a ratty old fur coat. Lulu is feisty from the start. Unlike Eveline, she always says what she thinks. She’s tougher than any of the men in Evergreen put together. She’s got a heart the size of the forest.
The women become like sisters. They argue with each other. They laugh at each other. They save each other over and over again no matter what it costs them. In many ways, they are the true soul mates of the novel.
Q56.: Hopewell Orphanage is a terrifying place ruled by a fearsome nun, Sister Cordelia. What was your inspiration for this character and place? Why did you feel that Naamah needed to grow up there?
RR: Sadly, my inspiration for the orphanage in the novel was the way many—too many—orphans were treated at orphanages in both the US and abroad during the first half of the twentieth century. While I was working on this section, I read hundreds of heartbreaking accounts of men and women who’d grown up in places ruled by cruel nuns and priests and were still trying to survive those early experiences in their adult lives. In the accounts, so many of them were struggling to find happiness, peace, but couldn’t because of the abuse they suffered, often in the name of God. Naamah is one of these people. In the novel, she wants to be loved so much, and I wanted so much to give that to her.
Q6.: When Naamah, as an orphan at Hopewell Orphanage, sees a mother and daughter in town, she thinks, “The mother kissed the girl’s forehead in a way Naamah had always dreamed of being kissed. First by her mother, then by any mother, then anyone.” How does this passage explain so much about Naamah’s character?
RR: Naamah covets love, but she doesn’t understand it. Because of her experience with Sister Cordelia, who does love her in her own broken way, Naamah often puts herself in demeaning situations as an adult because she doesn’t have a sense of her real worth, only the one Sister Cordelia has shown her. She’ll let a roughneck man at a bar use her terribly, for instance, but at the same time be thinking of the blanket her mother left her with at the orphanage—the one with little ducks on it, the name Hux stitched into the corner.
Q7.: Even though the women in EVERGREEN are fiercely loyal to each other, two moms abandon their daughters in spite—or maybe because—of their love for them. What does EVERGREEN teach us about the struggle between committing and letting go?
RR: The women in EVERGREEN are the heart of this novel—almost everything that happens depends on them. It’s an enormous weight to have to bear and for the most part they bear it gracefully, with great love and compassion. The women in EVERGREEN are survivors. They’ve learned, oftentimes through events beyond their control, when to hold on with all they’ve got and when to let go. They’ve taught me a great many lessons, one of which is this: the world is still a hard place for women, but we are its lifeblood, we keep not giving up.
From Booklist Rasmussen has been steadily crafting a unique brand of midwestern literature that combines offbeat characters and timeless rhythms reminiscent of folk tales with touching story lines about the pain and hard-won joys of real life. As with her debut, The Bird Sisters (2011), in her new book, she shows her strong affection for the picturesque rural settings of yesteryear. In 1938, Eveline Sturm joins her German-born husband, Emil, in the northern Minnesota backwoods. Their isolated cabin is beyond rustic, and her only reading material is Emil’s taxidermy manuals, yet she decides to remain alone with their baby son, Hux, when Emil returns to Germany to care for his father. Years later, Eveline’s daughter, Naamah, the product of a traumatic rape, grows up amid cruelty in a Catholic orphanage. After reuniting with his half sister as an adult, Hux tries to help the beautiful, damaged Naamah recapture her lost childhood. In this character-driven saga of friendship and the thorny bonds of family, Rasmussen writes with wisdom and compassion about the people and places that shape us, for better and worse. --Sarah Johnson
Review "A large-hearted story of resilience, hope and forgiveness deep in the wilds of Minnesota." —Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train “Evergreen cements Rasmussen’s reputation as one of our most talented new writers.” —BookPage "A deeply moving novel of mothers and daughters—and mothers and sons—and the ties that bind.” —Chris Bohjalian, author of Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands “A book worthy of a blanket, hot cocoa, and a lit fireplace.” —San Francisco Book Review "Evergreen is a gem of a novel. The story unfolds with the potency and certainty of fable and explores, with exquisite grace, the redemptive power of love." —Tara Conklin, author of The House Girl“Evergreen reads like a brilliant collaboration between a novelist and a naturalist. Rebecca Rasmussen’s stunning eye for detail is perfectly matched by her understanding of how lives turn in an instant, decisions shape distant generations, and sometimes, if we’re fortunate, loyalties survive to save us against all odds.” —Robin Black, author of Life Drawing “Hope and the redeeming power of love are embedded in the fiber of this story: if it makes you weep, you weep from sorrow and joy at once.” —Santa Fe New Mexican “In an icy rural setting in northern Minnesota, several women struggle with the demands of motherhood. . . . Rasmussen crafts a world where [abandonment] is too complicated for quick dismissal or conclusion”—Minneapolis Star-Tribune “Rasmussen, with a deft touch, incites wave after wave of tension in a story that never allows the reader to forget just how much strength lies in the female spirit . . . Reminiscent of Bonnie Jo Campbell and Marilynne Robinson. . . . A novel that proves that Rasmussen’s literary star continues to rise in a way that is anything but quiet.” —Wisconsin State Journal Review“Evergreen is superbly written with engaging characters, realistic dialogue, and an honest look at what love and belonging means to a family.” —Portland Book Review “Rasmussen has been steadily crafting a unique brand of Midwestern literature . . . writ[ing] with wisdom and compassion about the people and places that shape us, for better or worse.” —Booklist “Evergreen is a beautifully written novel about love, family, perseverance, and grace. Similar to [Rasmussen’s] debut novel, The Bird Sisters, Evergreen hits hard with delicacy and strength.”—The Bay View Compass (Milwaukee, WI) “In powerful, spare prose, Rasmussen shows the long-term effects of a heartbroken mother’s decision. . . . Readers will find many reasons to root for good to win out, just as they will find much to admire in the well-drawn characters who want to belong, to live, and love, in the forest of Evergreen” —Historical Novel Society
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Most helpful customer reviews
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful. Some readers will like this and some won't By Neal Reynolds I very much wanted to like this. I guess the cover led me to expect more than there was inside. The characters were the main downfall. They were supposed to be quirky, or so I assume. Unfortunately, they became difficult for me to believe in. Ultimately, the plot just lacked anything to make it compelling for me.My opinion is one man's opinion and I don't want to scare readers away from it. I kinda liked the author even if I couldn't get into her book, if that makes sense. So hey, sample a library copy of this and decide if you want the book in your collection.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Rasmussen's sense of time, space and suspense, interjected into a heartbreaking tale, makes EVERGREEN a terrific story. By Bookreporter EVERGREEN, a novel that combines a touch of Midwestern folklore with a historical edge, is a lovely yet heartbreaking tale that tells the story of two siblings who are raised apart but are attempting to reconnect as adults within the back woods of northern Minnesota. Writing with raw emotion and a reverence for the simple life, Rebecca Rasmussen has produced a plot-driven story that integrates her characters effortlessly into the storyline while spanning three generations of a family deeply wounded by human frailties. And she accomplishes the latter effortlessly. While interjecting a theme of bittersweet redemption, we are consciously aware that home is where the heart is, and nowhere is this more evident than in her opening quote: “Tell me the landscape in which you live and I will tell you who you are.” (Ortega y Gasset)Without a doubt, this quote defines the basis for the story. The relationship between place and identity is undeniable. What are we really hoping to find when we leave one for the other? “Perhaps following to places where there are others, or where many others have been before, perhaps such a journey reconciles our sense of not belonging, to the mysterious continuity we share and make and are, with all mankind.” Through this “eloquence in prose,” we are reminded of what it means to know that “home is where the heart is,” no matter how many miles apart.Mixing this knowledge with exuberance for storytelling, Rasmussen is able to project mental images of her characters, making the pages of her story come alive, within the time and space of her plot, from conception to the end of the novel. And, unlike other stories dealing with human angst, there is very little physical conflict in EVERGREEN. While the characters wage emotional battles within themselves and with one another, no amount of plot is lost in translation because it is so beautifully written. In fact, we are constantly reminded of how the most devastating or important moments of our lives aren’t necessarily accompanied by dramatic fanfare. Many times, a small action can have the least expected or possibly the most significant of consequences.Told in four parts, EVERGREEN is a deceptively simple story that explores three generations of families living among the forests and rivers of Evergreen, Minnesota. Each one focuses on a year (give or take) in the life of the following characters: Eveline Sturm; her daughter, Naamah; Eveline's son, Huxley "Hux" Sturm; Naamah's daughter, Racina Runk; and Lilly, Reddie and Gunther Runk, Eveline’s lifelong friends. As the story unfolds, from 1938 to 1972, Rasmussen effortlessly displays the changes in her characters through environmental shifts thanks to her visions. We are able to imagine how a broken-down cabin with no running water or electricity becomes a real home with glass windows, and mental images of once-silent forests become more evident in our mind’s eye as the population increases. The hope of each one of these generations is on the line, as new pressures continue to affect the inhabitants, animals and landscape of a once-pristine wilderness.While sad, EVERGREEN is also uplifting. Yes, the characters have flaws, and, yes, some are not of their own making. But without these flaws, the essence of the book could not soar. With this in mind, and with Rasmussen’s keen eye for character development, the way these flaws are dealt with becomes acceptable, maybe even a little bit agreed upon. Understandably, though, if these choices weren’t made, then EVERGREEN would have been an entirely different book. For instance, if Eveline had moved from the outback to her parent’s home, would she have been safer? Would Hux and Gunther have become lifelong friends, by allowing Hux’s quiet strength and empathy to tame Gunther’s wildness? And would one of the outstanding characters, Lulu, have such an impact on everyone’s lives? Even the treatment that Naamah received from Sister Cordelia in the orphanage was so hard to take, but without a feeling of outrage at this injustice, Naamah’s major flaw never would have come to fruition, and the novel’s storyline would not have been written.With much compassion, Rasmussen has displayed an excellence in writing by sharing a homegrown story that envelops a moral compass, utilizing passionate and plain words --- highlighted by a need for human connection. Her sense of time, space and suspense, interjected into a heartbreaking tale, makes EVERGREEN a story that is hard to put down. With thought-provoking naivety, we are reminded that the basic need of the human psyche is to connect with others, even if we choose to live apart. And even though I would have liked to have known more about Racina’s relationship with her mother when they finally met, I am ready and willing to wait for the sequel.Reviewed by Donna Smallwood.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Evergreen by Rebecca Rasmussen By Readerly Set in the wilderness of Minnesota, this sophomore novel follows three generations of family, each beset with incidents that challenge their resolve and dedication. Beginning with a young bride moving to the wilderness to join her husband, followed by two generations of women struggling to understand why they were abandoned by their mothers, this eloquently-written novel captures the bonds between mothers and daughters, mothers and sons, and the love that binds us all together. —Jenn Lawrence, Bloggers Recommend
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