Burn

By Peter Heller

Book Overview

From the best-selling author of The Dog Stars and The Last Ranger, a novel about two men--friends since boyhood--who emerge from the woods of rural Maine to a dystopian country racked by bewildering violence

Every year, Jess and Storey have made an annual pilgrimage to the most remote corners of the country, where they camp, hunt, and hike, leaving much from their long friendship unspoken. Although the state of Maine has convulsed all summer with secession mania--a mania that has simultaneously spread across other states--Jess and Storey figure it's a fight reserved for legislators or, worst-case scenario, folks in the capital.

But after weeks hunting off the grid, the men reach a small town and are shocked by what they find: a bridge blown apart, buildings burned to the ground, and bombed-out cars abandoned on the road. Trying to make sense of the sudden destruction all around them, they set their sights on finding their way home, dragging a wagon across bumpy dirt roads, scavenging from boats left in lakes, and dodging armed men--secessionists or U.S. military, they cannot tell--as they seek a path to safety. Then, a startling discovery drastically alters their path and the stakes of their escape.

Drenched in the beauty of the natural world and attuned to the specific cadences of male friendship, even here at the edge of doom, Burn is both a blistering warning about a divided country's political strife and an ode to the salvation found in our chosen families.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0593801628
• ISBN13: 9780593801628
• Release Date: August 2024
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.9" x 10.5"

Customer Reviews

Great book if you don’t care about an ending…

First off, I’m a big fan of Heller’s books. I own every one and have enjoyed them all. I enjoyed this one as well until the end. It just ended… with no resolution. As I had 50 pages left I was wondering how he was going to wrap it up in so short a time. Then 40, then 20… Then it was over. I see that he was trying to convey how important the uprising was to the people who were leading it. Most likely in reference to the current state of affairs in the USA today. But that’s it. No resolution to for either of the main characters for anything they were dealing with throughout the book. Nor is there any resolution for to the multiple (sometimes whiny) love stories that the main character complains about throughout the book. Peter Heller must have the worst love life history of anyone out there seeing as how that is a theme through most of his books. But in this one it only lended to the vulnerability of the character, and just left it at that… Had he bothered to write a few more chapters to tie up any of the themes running through it I would have been happier. If you haven’t read any of Heller’s books then go read Dog Stars or the River. Those are fantastic.