12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant!, September 4, 2005
This review is from: Waiting for White Horses (Paperback)
Waiting for White Horses encompasses an important time in the life of Dr. Grant Thorson. He and Dr. Will Campbell, two old college friends, met in dentistry school years ago and they love nothing more than spending time together, duck hunting in northern Minnesota.
Much of the story centers on Grant Thorson. He has experienced a time of great loss and transition. His emotional legs are weak and Will supports his friend as he negotiates his new life.
This is a lovely book about friends, family, life, love and hope. And nature adds to its beauty and lushness. I didn't want the story to end and yearned for more of the characters and their lives. I laughed and I wiped a tear or two. It tugged at my heart and hasn't let go. Waiting for White Horses is simply beautiful. Nathan Jorgenson is a master storyteller and made me love learning about hunting. This book is brilliant and holds a special place in my personal collection.
Armchair Interviews says: Waiting for White Horses is a must read and a novel you'll want to keep and read again.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Learning Life Lessons on Spider Lake, April 4, 2005
This review is from: Waiting for White Horses (Paperback)
Waiting For White Horses is not about white horses. Indeed, they don't show up until the last third of the book ... and they probably aren't what you're expecting anyway.
The novel contains quite a bit of duck hunting and fishing on a placid lake in Minnesota ... but it's not about that either.
It's certainly not a political drama, although the President of the United States plays a pivotal role.
Mostly, this is a book about family, friends and lovers, what binds them together and what tears them apart. If you read it, you will quickly get caught up with the characters' lives, loves and pain. You will not be able to help yourself. It doesn't matter if you've ever set foot in a boat, held a fishing rod or pulled the trigger on a rifle.
Waiting For White Horses follows a pivotal year in the lives of Grant and Will, two old college friends who enjoy nothing better than spending their free time in a duck blind, harrassing and joking with each other. Their unique relationship is beautifully and hilariously detailed almost from the first page and serves as the hook that pulls the reader deep into the narrative.
The focus is really on Grant, who has recently suffered the first personal loss of his previously-charmed life, and is trying to regain his emotional bearings. Even as Grant reels from this tragedy, he quickly finds himself on an emotional roller-coaster, facing difficulties and surprises from every direction. He seeks calm and comfort in past relationships, but nothing seems to offer the stability he craves.
No one enjoys the experience of grief and upheaval, but almost everyone has to find a way to cope with it eventually. (Those that don't have died too young and thereby caused others grief.) The first impulse is to say that life is not fair, but eventually one is forced to admit that life isn't even supposed to be fair. That's not why we're here. That is what Grant has to learn through the course of this novel.
The seriousness of this theme is leavened by a remarkable sense of humor. When Will and Grant get together, they are irrepressible, childish and utterly charming. Many of the situations in the story also contain elements of the absurd while remaining firmly grounded in reality. Life is just ridiculous sometimes, and author Nathan Jorgenson captures that beautifully.
And I haven't even mentioned the love story!
Waiting For White Horses is a compelling, thoughtful read for anyone interested in the nature of life, the power of love or the mystique of duck hunting.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Our Town, January 28, 2005
This review is from: Waiting for White Horses (Paperback)
On a trip through a Kitchigami library the other day, a friend urged me to read this book. She said this novel was based in KitchiLand. So, I got this book without asking what it was about or in what genre it might land. And like high flying ducks over Leech Lake, it takes a while to land. But when it does, it is a wonder to behold. It's about life. And death. And the bonds we make on our journey between the two.
Author Nathan Jorgenson has taken major artistic liberty with Walker geography. We do not have a street named "Main Street, " the main street - named Minnesota Avenue- does NOT abut the Lake and there is no such restaurant/bait shop there. Some of the characters in this firstbook lack depth and explanation. But those are small fish compared to this monster Muskie of a book. I just wish they would kill the cormorants.
/TundraVison, Amazon Reviewer
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