by Leif Enger, 2008
Monte Becket, a postman in Minnesota circa 1910, writes a best0selling novel, Martin Bligh, and then tries to write another one. He starts 7 novels, doesn’t finish any of them. He and his wife, Susannah, a painter, and son, Redstart, live by a river. One day out of the mist rows Glendon, a boatmaker-hobo, rowing, standing up. Monte seeks him out and befriends him. Glendon decides he must go back to Mexico to apologize to his wife, Blue (Arandeno) for leaving her about 16 years ago. He asks Mone to go with him. Susannah says it’s okay. Monte and Glendon get on a train. There begins the adventure.
They meet Hood Roberts, a young man, who accompanies them on their journey. They make it to the Hundred and One, a traveling cowboy circus, where Hood breaks a wild horse and falls in love with a Mexican girl, accidentally kills an actor, and goes on the run too. Charles Siringo, a terribly mean old Pinkerton agent who has been after Glendon for years, kidnaps Monte and they go after Hood. Monte tries to save Hood and does except Hood has to go back to town for some delicious cinnamon pastries. Charles Siringo shoots him dead on the street. You think Charles is going to die of a stroke. Monte leaves to find Glendon, finds him in California where he has found Blue with her Husband, Claudio, a very nice man dying of cancer. Monte stays on the orchard with Glendon, helping Glendon. They begin to build a boat. Monte writes to Susannah and asks her to move out to California. She and Redstart do and Susannah paints for Claudio. After Claudio dies, Susannah paints a picture of the boat Glendon and Monte made with Blue on it and a horse. Redstart says it should be the label on the orange crate. They call the oranges ‘Claudios,’ from the trees from Rarotonga, the only trees that survived 3 hard winters.
Siringo had shown up, unbelievably, to take Glendon away, Glendon went willingly, Arandano forgave him and spent the rest of her time trying to get him out of prison. Monte, Susannah, and Redstart stay there? I guess, and Monte now has the story to write his 2nd novel. Hood Roberts was the “So Brave, Young, and Handsome.”