Whiteout

by Brian Duren

Book Overview

Living comfortably in Paris with his French lover, Claire, Paul believes he has left his past behind. But when the phone rings in the middle of the night, and a voice he hasn't heard in years tells... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592982875
• ISBN13: 9781592982875
• Release Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Bookhouse Fulfillment
• Length: 390 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

The traumatic impact of hiding family secrets

Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (01/10) After his college graduation Paul Bauer returned to Paris where he had earlier spent a year of study in hopes of finding a new life and a new beginning as a freelance journalist. He left behind a mother suffering from depression, an alienated sister, an older brother subject to mood swings, and the wilds of the Northern Minnesota woods and the below-zero temperatures of unmercifully long winters. "Whiteout" has many of the elements of a psychological thriller, the tension of unexpected rage, bitterness, the oppressing atmosphere of long dark days of silence without social interaction, often resulting in half-crazed personalities. However, it is truly a story about self discovery. An unusual Christmas greeting from his mother came in the form of a photo from her childhood and his parent's forty-nine-year-old wedding announcement. There was no note or letter of explanation. This left Paul confused. Recurring dreams of a young child walking through blinding snow added to his unrest and curiosity. Desperate phone messages from his sister Christine, regarding their mother's illness, were left unanswered. When the call came that his mother had died. Paul left his girlfriend Claire, in Paris, to return to attend the funeral. In a chance conversation with Ruth, a former friend of his mothers, and while renewing friendship with Stone, a former helper at the family lodge, Paul was confronted with unanswered questions regarding his father's death in a whiteout snowstorm thirty-five years earlier. These questions set in motion a determination to discover answers, in pursuit to discover his personal identity. Duren has uniquely touched on the feelings of loneliness and emptiness often found with families, the haunting impact of family secrets on the participants and the innocent victims, when faced with circumstances beyond their control. He describes the "utter futility of being alive" as experienced by these victims. Paul looked for answers to his pain by finding purpose and significance for life. The novel has a balance of suspense, conflict, romance, and magnificent descriptions. Duren carries much of the plot with stimulating dialog. He describes old photographs and uses past correspondence to help his protagonist piece together answers to his plaguing questions. Duren's writing brings a sense of lyrical prose, intense drama, and an interactive look into one's self. "Whiteout" is Brian Duren's first novel and is destined to establish him as a gifted storyteller as well as create a loyal reader base looking forward to future novels.

Sonata in chiaroscuro

White and black can both hide truth and Mr. Duren uses both elements to create an engaging tale of mystery set in the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota. In the first movement of this sonata, the lavish and loving description of the lakes and woods is accompanied by a counterpoint of tension and dread as the protagonist (Paul Bauer) returns to his home and family from self-imposed exile in Paris. His conflicted feelings about the return are counterbalanced by renewal of the intimate relationship he once had with the wildlife, the water, and the trees as they moved through seasonal changes. The desire for truth regarding his family and the dynamics that estranged one and all from each other leads him deeper and deeper into the unknown where violence lurks in the unraveling of each family tie. Conflicts and questions long frozen in time surface and refuse to return to the murky depths of denial. The second movement is lyrical in that Paul's parents speak through their letters to each other - a brilliant use of the epistolary to move the narrative forward - answering many of Paul's questions but raising many more. In the third movement, the suspicions and fears unearthed by his tireless search confront Paul in a tense, violent contrapuntal exchange that resolves one doubt only to spawn another. As in a whiteout or similar loss of perception, he may be walking in circles; or in going beneath the surface of a placid lake with foreboding he may lose all sense of the vertical. The fourth movement finds recapitulation and a certain degree of resolution but Mr. Duren leaves much to the reader to decide and consider long after the final words are read. "Whiteout" captures the beauty and the violence of the lakes and woods of northern Minnesota where short winter days and long, dark nights provide the perfect crucible for distilling the full range of thoughts, feelings, and emotions which dwell in all of us and where alchemy can only go so far in controlling the final outcome.

Beautiful writing light up a dark story

You don't have to live in Minnesota or have visited one of its many north woods lodges to know how perfectly the author knows not just the people but the landscape. Written in finely crafted prose, Whiteout is the story of a family, a secret, and the lengths people will go to so that innocents can stay that way. Paul Bauer grew up at his family's fishing lodge, the youngest of three children being raised by a sometimes unstable mother. He hardly knew his father, who died in a blizzard when Paul was just four. There's not a lot that ties Paul to his mother, brother and sister and so he eventually makes a good life for himself as a journalist in Paris, living with his lover, Claire. But when Paul's mother dies and he returns home to meet the obligation of the funeral, he is drawn to stay at least long enough to draw out why his sister and brother are so wounded. Over weeks and months, the true nature of the family spins out as the seasons change and the north woods goes silent. As with most families, the secrets (when they finally emerge) are shocking and tragic and answer so very many questions. This book lives up to so many standards--great writing, deep characters and fabulous storytelling. A wonderful debut from a talented writer!