I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
Year Published: 2024
Country of Origin: United States
Genre: Adventure fiction, dystopian
Despite climate change having ravaged much of Earth somewhere in the near future, aspiring musician Rainy has lived a content life with his bookseller wife, Lark. When he finds her murdered, Rainy sets out on a voyage across Lake Superior (which happens to be sentient, its weather conditions changing with mood) in a spiritual quest to find connection with her. He encounters many people, islands, and a dystopian society throughout his journey, and each element comes together to make his journey feel like a personal-scale Odyssey, with the motivations of a postmodern Orpheus. The characters will compel you — each is purposeful and complex: this includes Rainy (and his wife, despite her being dead); Kellan, a fleeing convict; Molly Thorn, an enigmatic author; and even Sol, Rainy’s unexpected young companion on the lake. Though the dystopian trope may seem played-out in recent fiction, Enger’s take on it feels less distant and importantly eerie, as it incorporates the concepts of literacy and illiteracy as crucial parts of this system, connecting easily to the story of a bookseller’s wife. The voice in Enger’s novel was my favorite part — while quiet and ethereal at times, it had brutal moments that hit with the force of the lake’s great storms. Rarely do I find an author with such appealing command of tone, and thus I must recommend it.
Opening Line: “Here at the beginning it must be said the End was on everyone’s mind.”
Favorite Line: “A belligerent crewcut approached Lark’s desk barking that reading was ‘a dark art,’ and she lowered her voice, saying it was the darkest of all and wouldn’t he love to try it?”
Why I Like It: Anything reminiscent of mythology interests me, and although this is not as timeless
Read If You Like: The Hero’s Journey, Fahrenheit 451, the message behind Orpheus and Eurydice.