Whiteout

Brian Duren
Beaver’s Pond Press (2009)
ISBN 9781592982875
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.

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