The Long-Shining Waters by Danielle Sosin

In 'The Long-Shining Waters' Sosin tells three stories. 'But more importantly in a watery subconscious way, so that everything that has happened on or around the lake is held in the waters, which effects the people who live on its shores.' 'The premise that I ended up working with was that, the idea that Lake Superior is holding all of its history, literally as in the stuff that is down there, which there's a lot of,' Sosin said. She moved to Duluth specifically to write this novel, expecting it would take a year. Sosin grew up in the Twin Cities and her family often visited Lake Superior.

'Part of it, I think, is it's the combination of beautiful and seductive, and frigid and lethal.' says Sosin. But as anyone who has spent time near the lake will tell you, there's no easy answer. The battering wind eventually forces a common sense retreat to the car. 'They hit the rocks and fall back again, only to rise howling and leaping, hitting and falling back again, until one after another they paw over the rocks, escape from the churning water, pads icing up in the snow, yellow eyes and patches of grey fur blowing.' 'The waves like wolves leap over each other, toss sea foam from their open mouths,' she read. Gamely, Sosin huddled behind a rock as she read an appropriate section from 'The Long-Shining Waters.'

So a simple scheme to record an interview on a beach near Duluth became a exercise in wilderness survival as the wind howled off the water. Writing about Lake Superior can be a huge task - just ask Danielle Sosin, the Duluth-based author of 'The Long-Shining Waters.' It's a novel which intertwines the stories of three women living next to the big lake at different times in history.Īnyone who expects Lake Superior to co-operate with mere human plans is likely to be disappointed.

The Long-Shining Waters by Danielle Sosin