The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 12 May 2001
by Barry Lopez
A winter count is a native American tradition of recording the passage of years with symbols that depict certain events. In this book, Barry Lopez creates a collection of stories that mark moments in time. While the stories are fictional, they have a strong personal and historical tone. There are moving moments in snowy New York City, mysteries in the Dakota plains, magical meetings on faraway beaches. Each story brings out an intimate connection between human life and that of the Earth and its animal life. They are little, well-drawn pictures of that interaction. They beg readers toward heightened awareness of the living world around them, even in the concrete canyons of our largest city. Though there isn't really any driving narrative here, each story is quite lively and rich. Lopez's writing calls for multiple meditative readings. His point of view calls for an enhancement in our relationship with the environment that supports us. One may even look back on this book as a modern winter count, almost as tales of one person's significant moments in a well-observed life.
(Barry Lopez was awarded a 1986 National Book Award for Arctic Dreams.)
Also by Lopez: [The Rediscovery of North America] [Of Wolves and Men]