Prudence: A Novel

(Paperback)

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Frankie Washburn returns to his family's rustic Minnesota resort for one last visit before he joins the war as a bombardier, headed for the darkened skies over Europe. But before the homecoming can be celebrated, the search for a German soldier escaped from the POW camp across the river explodes in a shocking act of violence, with consequences that will reverberate years into the future for all of them and that will shape how each of them makes sense of their lives.

Reviews

Praise for PRUDENCE:

What does it say about our troubled times and David Treuers considerable talents that his World War II-era novel speaks to the present moment in American history with more eloquence and complexity than the nightly newscast Inequalities of race, class, gender and sexual orientation; the treatment of captured combatants; the Escheresque ethics of bombing civilians a world away; the culture that allows white people to shoot people of color with impunity; all this, and much more besides, resonates through Treuers tender and devastating book[A] master class on suspense, shifting perspective and conflicting desire. Anthony Marra, The Washington Post

[Prudence is]at once both blunt and hushed in tone, wielding a sledgehammer while walking on tiptoes.each new page breeds both familiarity and partly because of that familiarity the capacity to surpriseBy taking us one step backward for every two steps forward, Treuer doesn't just unravel the plot we might expect; he prompts us to interrogate the assumptions racial, sexual and otherwise that build up those expectations in the first place. NPR

David Treuer is a literary shape-shiftertrue to form, his latest book, Prudence, is unlike all its predecessors: a tightly plotted hybrid fiction that combines elements of a mystery, a literary romance and a Greek tragedy. Chicago Tribune

"So good that when you get to the end, you'll want to reread the beginning to see how the author set his magic in motion...This gorgeously restrained novel has much to say about race, class, gender, sexuality, love and war through the stories of men and women whose fates become urgently important to us. More

David Treuer beautifully captures a place and an era. . . . Treuer imbues mundane moments with reverence And he masterfully weaves into the narrative minor characters who have major resonance. Seattle Times

Treuers writing is supple, his story intricate. That its set against the backdrop of one of the most tumultuous periods in history makes it all the more haunting and powerful. Out

In Prudence, natural-born storyteller David Treuer spins a vivid, sorrowful tale [A] master craftsman of evocative scenesPrudence is evidence that Treuers literary powers continue to grow. He knows people and goes to places foreign to most American writers, and his stories deeply honor the unremembered, to whom he dedicates this book.Minneapolis Star Tribune

In succinct, finely tuned prose, Treuerreveal[s] [an] intimacy [that] in this time and place is truly a love that dare not speak its name. Treuer depicts its growthrealistically and tenderly. Milkwaukee Journal Sentinel

[In] Prudence, the characters transcend historyTreuers novel captures in [a] careful, lustrous narrative, a time in which passion was restrained in public yet extravagantly expressed in writing. He not only sets his book in the early 20th century, he channels authors of that era the writers he sees as his stylistic cousins. MinnPost

"So intricately plotted, so filled with strong characters, it should win major awards. St. Paul Pioneer Press

Prudence is an intricate ensemble piece; exploring themes of loss, desire, race, war, and the secrets we keep, through the point of view of five beautifully realized charactersIn clear, uncluttered prose, Treuer guides us through 10 years [and] multiple voicesgorgeous. Portland Oregonian

David Treuer's experience writing about Native American history and culture is apparent in this analysis of race and memory. Huffington Post

Magnetizing and richly original[with] extraordinarily affecting characters Treuers trenchant and compassionate novel glimmers with natures potent beauty, fresh historical detail, and scrupulous insight. Booklist (starred review)

Achingly moving speaks volumes aboutintegrity, culpability, and resilience in the face of collective tragedy. Publishers Weekly

A self-assured, absorbing story[that] explores the darkness at our cores Kirkus Reviews

Thoughtful and engaging a well-told tale with realistically portrayed characters[and] a voice that is low key but forceful[and] elevate[s] this story to a powerful level.Library Journal

"David Treuer's novel Prudence is a wondrous and mesmerizing narrative--intricate, seductive and wholly gratifying." Toni Morrison

"This is a beautiful, somber, unlikely love story, as pure as the Minnesota landscape against which it is tragically played out." Edmund White

A haunting, brilliant, richly layered novel of intersecting and interlocking destiniesa novel that reminds us just how complicated American history really is, whether played out in the halls of Princeton, the battlefields of Europe, or the creeks and lakes of Ojibwe land. I can't recommend it highly enough." Jess Row

"Prudence is an excellent, page-turning mystery, and at the same time delves deeply into characters whose lives are rarely portrayed in our literature. David Treuer is a truly original and necessary voice in American fiction."Dan Chaon

What a magnificent, heartbreaking, important novel. Prudence is beautifully orchestrated in its movement through time, with tenderly wrought characters, startling collisions, and a spellbinding spiral of disclosures. Joanna Scott

With language that is tender yet masculine, charged but unsentimental, David Treuer has imagined a truly American story and landscape. It is full of questions about identity, loyalty and place. I was taken and remain taken by this novel. Percival Everett

Praise for REZ LIFE:

[Treuers] upbringing on an Ojibwe reservation in Minnesota makes him adept at delving behind stereotypes of Indian life and infuses his account with passion and meticulousness.The New Yorker

Blends memoir and history to reveal what life on a reservation is really like - neither the festival of dysfunction nor the oasis of noble, nature-loving stoics that many non-Indians imagine. [A] blistering, illuminating, ultimately hopeful book.Kate Tuttle, Boston Globe

An affecting portrait of his childhood home, Leech Lake Indian Reservation, and his people, the Ojibwe.The New York Times

"An invaluable study and vivid account of problematic life on our reservations by a writer--a very good writer!--raised 'on the rez' who knows what he's talking about only too well and also knows how to tell a story, lots of stories, that document and effectively banish a number of misconceptions still held by white society. Highly recommended." Peter Matthiessen

Applied to a book, the word important can glaze the eyes. An important book sounds like an earnest, educational one you should read, when you get to it, someday, maybe. Rez Life is important in the word's best sense -- one you'll want to read if you're at all curious about contemporary American Indians. It's important in the way Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee was when it came out in 1970, deeply moving readers as it schooled them about Indian history in a way nothing else had.Pamela Miller, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Treuer sees all the poverty, the gangs and the alcohol, but he also sees great beauty in some of the last places untouched by commercial development. He hears the stories of his people in the language of his people, and he sees the pride of survivors.Neal Conan, NPR

Praise for THE TRANSLATION OF DR. APELLES:

"Deeply crafty, shape-shifting. . . . [Treuer] seems to want to do for Native American culture and literature what James Joyce did for the Irish: haul it into the mainstream of Western culture through sheer nerve and verve." The Washington Post

"The Translation of Dr Apelles . . . provides new layers of information and meaning with every pass. This Escher-esque craftsmanship dazzles." The Seattle Times

David Treuer is mounting a challenge to the whole idea of Indian identity as depicted by both Native and white writers." The New York Times

Praise for THE HIAWATHA:
"Treuer is truly an original voice."The San Francisco Chronicle

Praise for LITTLE:

"Mr. Treuer's accomplishment is a wonder. Out of the seasons and landscapes of a Minnesota reservation David Treuer has forged a strong intricate narrative complete with the intimate voices of fully realized characters."Toni Morrison

Author Bio

David Treuer is Ojibwe from the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota. The author of three previous novels and two books of nonfiction, he has also written for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, Slate, and The Washington Post, among others.He has a Ph.D. in anthropology and teaches literature and creative writing at the University of Southern California.