The Sky Manifest

August 19, 2013
The tragic loss of his wife and infant daughter sends Nathan Soderquist on a journey to the West. Nathan’s better instincts and the distractions of Canada’s majestic vistas too often prove unequal to his anger need for revenge. He soon finds himself dodging the police on his journey. What should have been a quest for healing transformation goes awry very early on, sending Nathan on an accelerating arc toward a brutal conclusion, yet despite his self-destructive urges, hope for redemption remains. Troubled voyages, grand tableaus, and personal transformations feature in Canadian narratives from the days of the voyageurs to Neal Peart’s moving Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road; by choosing that frame for his story, Panhuyzen (The Death of the Moon) embraces a long-standing Canadian tradition. Panhuyzen’s intricate mastery of words contrasts with his protagonist’s inability to master himself. The author demonstrates a remarkable talent in search of nuance; despite a tendency to reduce women to victims, hostages, and prizes, and a fondness for nigh-Chandleresque violence to motivate the plot, there is enough promise here to warrant close attention.

October 15, 2013
The deaths of his wife and daughter have left Nathan Sonderquist a broken man. Lonely and filled with a rage he cannot control, he embarks on a road trip across the continent. What begins as a desperate attempt to escape his pain turns into a series of violent encounters between Nathan and whoever happens to cross his path. But the lure of Canada's scenic vistas and the freedom of the open road are no match for an angry man with nothing left to lose. The violence escalates until Nathan's recklessness leads to an accident that leaves him physically broken. Finally able to resume his journey, first by bicycle and then on foot, another violent late-night encounter forces him to choose whether his final path will be destruction or redemption. Despite Nathan's penchant for trouble, Panhuyzen has created a character readers can't stop rooting for. With beautiful descriptions of the terrain and one man's inner landscape, The Sky Manifest is a deeply moving novel, the story of one man's gut-wrenching journey down a very difficult road.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)