The Wilding by Benjamin Percy

Benjamin Percy was here for the Nature of Words a few years ago. He resides elsewhere, but has written short stories and now a novel set in Central Oregon. Percy grew up hunting in Central Oregon and that tends to be a big focus in his stories. In The Wilding a father, son, grandfather hunting trip takes some strange turns.

Justin, the father, reluctantly agrees to go hunting with his dad and brings along his twelve year old son. Justin, in his everyday life, is an English teacher at Mountain View High School. He is not getting along that great with his wife Karen and she’s rather relieved to see them go for the weekend. They head out to Echo Canyon in the Ochocos; it’s the last weekend before destruction of the area begins for a golf course community.

And, then, this is where the book becomes two distinct stories. One story follows the hunting party weekend, which rapidly deteriorates, especially when they realize something is hunting them. In juxtaposition to this Karen is simultaneously being stalked. It is interesting to compare the possible dangers in the forest to those in the city of Bend.

Here Percy captures how Justin can go from mild-mannered English teacher to exultant hunter throwing around deer viscera:

“Justin feels gripped by a reckless idea. The darkness of the woods and the thrill of the hunt and the wildness of his father have torn away some protective seal inside him; he cannot control himself. For a moment, just a moment, he forgets about his mortgage payment, his shaggy lawn, his Subaru and the groaning noise it makes when he turns left, his desk and the pile of ungraded papers waiting on it. All of that has gone someplace else, replaced by an urge, a wildness.”

The Wilding is a worthwhile read. It gives some insight into hunting, something I have never been tempted to do, and am even less likely to do after reading this. It also examines a culture shift that is going on in the west, where previously open wild areas are being turned into havens for the wealthy. I also reviewed and enjoyed Percy’s short story collection The Language of Elk.

Tomato Rhapsody by Adam Schell

Tomato Rhapsody is a novel set in 16th century Tuscany. It is a fairy tale for adults. It was fun to read and it seems like the author probably had fun writing it. From the very first page we know who is the villain in the story, as well as who is the fool.

The author offers asides like this one:

“A romance’s conflict, unlike a love story, stems not from self-created issues of pride, but from the more severe burdens that family and society place upon the lovers. ‘Tis why the romance is predisposed to tragedy, for the whittling away of one’s vanity is often a comical affair, but the confronting of deeply held societal and familial prejudices, resentments, laws and traditions is an altogether different and all too often tragic set of challenges.”

The romance is this case involves a young Jewish tomato farmer, Davido, and a young Catholic olive grower, Mari. The tomato is new to this region of Italy and thought to be the “love apple” or what tempted Adam and Eve in the garden. The townspeople are afraid to try it. There are many descriptions of food in the book including the invention of pizza.

There are a myriad of other characters, including a very unusual priest and a Duke playing at being a farmer. The ways their lives entangle with the rest of the villagers and the main characters is entertaining. The villagers common use of rhyme in everyday speech would probably make this a fun book to read aloud.

Here the fool explains why he will not eat a tomato until the priest has eaten one a day for 13 days:

“'So, let the priest eat twelve, plus one. Then we’ll wait a twelve-plus-one-day week and at the feast we’ll have the truth we seek. So on the day of our patron saint, let us judge then if he be healthy or faint.’”

The author is currently a Bend resident and has done some readings around town. I haven’t made it to any, but I would guess they’d be fun.