Washington Post on The Land of Dreams
Running two stories — one unfolding in the present, the other in the past — Sundstøl explores how the region’s history affects the present. He sketches a picture of this stretch of the Upper Midwest from the 17th century to the heyday of the Grand Portage in the 18th century and the shared tenancy of Indians and voyageurs, on through British and American dominion over the region and the subsequent expulsion of the Indians to reservations. Treaties, deeds and maps redefined land and water, and “the world as it actually existed was erased and conjured into a dark spirit world.” That shadowy realm of vanished people inhabits Lance’s imagination and eventually invades his conscience as a past crime flickers through to color the present-day murder investigation.
By: Katherine A. Powers
Story Date: 2013-10-22T00:00:00