White River Crossing 9781398505063 Paperback

A breathtaking and cinematic novel about the lust for gold and its bloody consequences, set in the unforgiving landscape of the sub-Arctic Canadian wilderness, from the acclaimed author ofThe North WaterLikeThe North Water, with which it shares much DNA,White River Crossingmoves at a propulsive lick, its bloody meat marbled with cruelty and violence. McGuire does not let us look away: the clumsy amputation of a gangrenous arm is described in almost voluptuous detail, while the desolate beauty of the vast landscape is summoned with a sharp precisionGuardianMcGuire can construct an enthralling narrative, while sensitively handling the upheavals caused by colonial arrogance and overreach. His characterization can also be masterly. [..] An expertly told thriller thats also a classic colonial adventure storyTelegraphLike Hilary Mantel in herWolf Halltrilogy, McGuire achieves a cinematic intimacySpectatorA ragged fur peddler arrives at a remote outpost of the Hudson Bay Company in the winter of 1766 with a lump of gold, claiming that there is plenty more like it further north at a place called Ox Lake. The outposts chief factor, Magnus Norton, dreams of instant riches and launches a secret and perilous expedition to find the treasure and bring it back.Led by a family of native guides, the party of prospectors includes Nortons brutish deputy, John Shaw, and Thomas Hearn, the insular and intellectual first mate from the factorys whaling sloop. During their long journey north, Shaws callousness and arrogance lead him to commit an act of sexual violence whose disastrous consequences will only fully emerge once they reach their final destination. There, amidst the bleak beauty of the Barren Grounds, as Nortons carefully crafted plans begin to fall apart and the brutal arctic winter starts to descend, Hearn is forced to make a choice that will define his character and determine his future forever.Utterly captivating,White River Crossingtransports us back to the furthest edges of the eighteenth-century British empire where two radically different worldsindigenous and Europeancollide with calamitous and deadly results.