kynwulf - Softcover

Kania, M R

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0615433413 ISBN 13: 9780615433417

Publisher: Snow River Press, 2011

Synopsis

Alex Kynwulf looks different from most people, a lot different. Fresh out of college, against all the odds, Alex finds a job on the Sleeping Deer Ranger District of the White Cloud National Forest in the little town of Goldburg, Idaho. Working for the U.S. Forest Service is a new adventure for Alex, often more than he would like. Tormented by his inability to act with purpose and need, Alex struggles with a unique inertia and fumbles in and out of love as fate moves him toward the one big thing. "Kynwulf" is an unconventional book, with strong, emotional storytelling. The narrative is a contemporary story of life, love and landscape, set in the fictional small town of Goldburg, Idaho, a back-water Forest Service community in Central Idaho, and headquarters for the Sleeping Deer Ranger District of the White Cloud National Forest. The characters in "Kynwulf"comprise an offbeat cast, with a ripe blend of humor, sex, pathos and irony wrapped up in each of them. Alex Kynwulf, a recent graduate from back east, and his on-again, off-again cowgirl girlfriend, Angelica Kowalski, are the main characters. The supporting cast includes: Big Stanley, the extra-large size District Ranger, Buck Twiddle, the tough as nails fire management officer, Kloyd Spurr, the sometimes devout Mormon mule-packer, Sandy Spotts, ex-Las Vegas showgirl, turned office clerk, Dugout Dan, the ice-cave hermit, The Gold Dust Twins: Charley and Darrel (born three years apart), Howie and Nedra, the altruistic trust fund kids and town yuppies, Chester M. Riddles, the socially-challenged Forest Supervisor; Fast Eddie, Argo, Harmon and Yellow-Glasses Bob, the roustabouts on the boat crew; and Teffonie VanWinkel, the six foot tall, Lacrosse All-American from Bucknell, the toughest brawler, bar-none, in Elkhorn County. "Kynwulf"is also a novel of the western landscape. The unique cultural and physical landscapes of Idaho figure prominently. The wildfires, geology, vegetation, wildlife, and the wondrous scenic beauty of Idaho, all of the landscape descriptors, are accurately and informatively presented in an easy narrative style. The novel explores, with the help of many unique, humorous situations, the universal idea of random chance as the definitive driver of the really important life experiences. Alex has found himself adrift after college, unable to get into medical school or find a real job. A large, shy young man, with most unusual facial characteristics, Alex also has a personality quirk that has limited his social life, particularly with women. Fighting wildfires, running rivers, wrangling horses and packing mules, is all an new deal for Alex, as is his ever more serious relationship with Angie Kowalski, a girl he has almost nothing in common, but is drawn toward to in almost magnetic pulses of emotion. The story is authentic, the characters are alive, and the setting is pure Idaho. More descriptions and excerpts from the novel are available at: www.kynwulf.net

About this title

About the Author

Michael R. Kania has worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a Landscape Architect, a Firefighter, a Fire Staff Officer and a District Ranger in Alaska, Oregon, Utah and central Idaho. He is a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow and lives just over the mountains from Goldburg, Idaho.

Edition details

• Publisher: Snow River Press
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0615433413
• ISBN 13: 9780615433417
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352