All Around Me Peaceful
Delta Books, 1989
Summary
During an elk hunt, Becky Carlsson and her husband Finn separate and circle around to meet at an appointed time and place. An early October snowstorm comes in, and Becky doesn’t show up. Finn reports her disappearance, and a search team is organized by the county sheriff. Snow hampers the early efforts, but the search continues. Nelson gives four differing perspectives, not only of the search and the difficult terrain, but also of Becky and Finn as individuals and as a couple. Secrets are revealed, and speculation is rife. The sheriff, Becky’s sister, a wilderness expert, and a marginal friend all have their theories about Becky, as well as their struggles to manage their own lives. This novel explores the intricate tapestry of a small mountain community, where lives intersect, fracture, and heal.
Critical Praise
“Add Nelson’s name to such fictional chroniclers of the rugged West as Thomas McGuane, Richard Ford, and Jim Harrison.”
—Booklist
“This fine novel is a patient mosaic, seemingly random at first but building inevitably to a conclusion in which all the diverse elements conjoin. In every sense it is a mystery, the most important involving people who struggle to understand a life that presents itself as meaningless. … Nature, history, individuality—these are the materials of myth, and when I call All Around Me Peaceful mythic realism, I mean that Nelson’s eye for detail, at its best, brings these and similar forces into a harmony that makes us feel that we are being shown eternity in a grain of sand.”
—Gary Davenport, The Sewanee Review
Quotes from Book
“But freezing to death wouldn’t be so bad,” Becky said. “The Indians believed it was the best way to die. If you could not die in battle, you went up into the mountains in the winter. When the cold comes on you, you feel weary and peaceful. Under me peaceful, over me peaceful, all around me peaceful.”
From All Around Me Peaceful
“Lorraine got up again and went to the bookshelf, as if she’d seen something she wanted. She examined a few titles, then stood by the bed and looked out the window. “Becky used to say you knew things,” she said.
“I read books,” Shanks said. “That’s not the same thing.”
“She was impressed by the way you talked.”
“I didn’t mean to impress her.”
“No, I didn’t say you did. But she admired you.” Lorraine turned around and faced Shanks. “She knew cowboys and hunters and Finn’s friends. She’d never encountered anyone else like you.”
From All Around Me Peaceful