The Sky Fisherman, by Craig Lesley



There are some books that identify who you are, where you've come from, the world from which you've grown out of and away from.  Often these are works of fiction that cut candidly and deeply into the authentic struggles of people.  The novel The Sky Fisherman, by Craig Lesley, is such a story.  Rich in its humanity and honesty, the book drew me out of my present and into the settings of my past, a world with which I identified very closely.

The Sky Fisherman is set in the rural Northwest largely in a booming lumber town flanked by a reservation and haunted by the subtle racism that can only be understood if you've read Lesley or experienced the setting for yourself.  The main characters are Culver Martin, a 16 year old boy hungry for identity and a father, his mother, Flora, a woman of opportunity who longs for a better life for herself and her son.  Culver's uncle, Jake, fishing guide and owner of a sporting goods store, and Culver's stepfather Riley, who drifts in and out of the periphery of the story offering subtle, menacing, overtones.  Many other characters take stage throughout the novel, bringing to life the rich, and often diverse, range of people found in the bars and cafes of the blue collar towns littered across the Pacific Northwest.

I love the novel for its authenticity.  The simple way Lesley writes about the complex nature of the relationship between residents of Gateway (the town from the novel) and the Native Americans on neighboring reservation is absolutely brilliant.  He offers no apologies on either side and is unabashed as the rich cultural tradition of the Indians collides head on with their white neighbors.  Nor does he try to play down the tension in the white perception of life on the "res", the not so subtle racism, and the institutionalized bigotry.

Part coming of age story, part journey of healing for a broken family with bitter secrets, part expose on the ongoing struggle of blue collar life and long climb Native Americans have off the reservations.  The Sky Fisherman is a rich and powerful novel.