Disclaimer: I received an arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Prairie Fever

Author: Michael Parker

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommended For...: Historical Fiction

Publication Date: May 21, 2019

Genre: Historical Fiction

Recommended Age: 16+ (romance, sexual content, slight gore)

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Pages: 320

Synopsis: Set in the hardscrabble landscape of early 1900s Oklahoma, but timeless in its sensibility, Prairie Fever traces the intense dynamic between the Stewart sisters: the pragmatic Lorena and the chimerical Elise. The two are bound together not only by their isolation on the prairie but also by their deep emotional reliance on each other. That connection supersedes all else until the arrival of Gus McQueen.

When Gus arrives in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma, as a first time teacher, his inexperience is challenged by the wit and ingenuity of the Stewart sisters. Then one impulsive decision and a cataclysmic blizzard trap Elise and her horse on the prairie and forever change the balance of everything between the sisters, and with Gus McQueen. With honesty and poetic intensity and the deadpan humor of Paulette Jiles and Charles Portis, Parker reminds us of the consequences of our choices. Expansive and intimate, this novel tells the story of characters tested as much by life on the prairie as they are by their own churning hearts.

Review: For the most part this was a well done book. The world building was fantastic and I loved the setting it took place in. The writing was very well done and easy to follow along with and the plot was intriguing.

However, I didn’t like the love triangle between the two sisters. One, I don’t like love triangles at all and two, I thought it was really kinda creepy. The book was also a bit too slow for me.

Verdict: It was a well done novel!

Lorena and Elise, the Sisters whose story the author tells in Prairie Fever live in a very rural area miles away from the closest neighbors, town, etc. We are immediately stuck by the closeness of these sisters as the book opens. Even though they are teenagers, their Mother is pinning them into a single blanket in preparation for the frigid 4 mile ride across the prairie to their school. We are also told about how they huddle together in a single cot to keep warm. They hang on each other's every word, and are each other's best friend and playmate. Lorena is the oldest, and smart, but sometimes considered to be rude. Elise is extremely intelligent, but is considered by those who don't know her to be "slow" because she is fanciful to the degree that she talks to her horse. She imbues him with a life and a personality, even insisting he knows the way. Lorena declares that Elise is not slow, but "Scheming". "I saved her life so that she might ruin mine." A new young School Teacher moves to town and both girls develop crushes on him. However, this book is more than a romantic triangle. An accident and a perceived betrayal cause a 20 year separation in their relationship.
The symbolism and syntax of the prose lend themselves to this story, especially to Elise's fanciful way of thinking and writing letters to her dead horse.
"Safety pins" stitch the sky together, as well as hold the Kiowa blanket that keeps the girls warm and on the horse. "The actions got lost in the words they chose to defend, explain or apologize." One of the early characteristics Lorena identifies about a suitor is, that he uses words as he does dollars, a trait she appreciates, since her estranged father felt the need to give voice to everything. While reading, I began highlighting passages where "Word' or a similar term was used and it seems that communication, orally, in thought, or imagined is a recurring underlying theme.
This is my first Michael Parker book, but it won't be my last. He is definitely a very gifted writer.
Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for providing this advance copy.
#PrairieFever #NetGalley

Powerful and well written. I really enjoyed this one! There is just something about life on the prairie that speaks deeply to me. Highly recommended!

I appreciate the opportunity to read an early copy of this one. As someone with a close relationship with her sister, I was intrigued by the synopsis and was looking forward to the story of these two sisters in rural Oklahoma. Unfortunately, this one did not work for me. The writing was fine, I just didn't find the story particularly interesting. I decided not to finish reading this one, but it may work for someone else.

RATING: 3 STARS
2019; Algonquin Books

Michael Parker's novel, Prairie Fever is beautifully written. His descriptions allow the reader to see the 1900s Oklahoma in this book as another character. The characters are also well written and realistic. I rated this novel three stars because I just could not get into the story itself. I am not a huge fan of love triangles, especially when it is sisters. I was not fan of any of the characters, but was invested in them because they were realistic and interesting. This was a fair book, and has me interested in reading more by Parker.

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***

{ @algonquinbooks #partner }
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Michael Parker’s ‪PRAIRIE FEVER‬ is a touching story of sibling rivalry and reconciliation.
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It’s winter, early 1900s in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma and Lorena and Elise Stewart have personalities that could not be more different. Lorena is pragmatic, detail oriented, and studious where Elise, the younger sister, is impulsive, imaginative, and savant-like. Both are sharply intelligent and have a shared sense of humor. The two sisters are the best of friends until one day a teacher, Gus McQueen, comes into town. Gus is keen on both girls but eventually needs to decide which one to pursue. Unfortunately, this predicament tears apart a sisterly bond for years and years to come.
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The story is told in the third person, focusing on Elise, Lorena, and Gus. The prairie setting is unforgiving and plays a big part in the narrative as well. Parker’s writing is elegant, lyrical, and peppered with a dry sense of humor. My favorite part of the novel are the newspaper articles as well as the letters written by Elise. She is such a compelling character and quite the dreamer. Although it was a slow start for me, overall I enjoyed this one! ★★★

Published by Algonquin Books on May 21, 2019

Prairie Fever begins in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma in 1917. Elise and Lorena had two brothers who died of typhoid, deaths their father blamed on prairie fever, a phrase Elise associates with life, not death: prairie dog villages; the way the prairie wind “makes everything slap and creak and whistle.” When the novel begins, Elise is 15 and Lorena is a year older. Both sisters are precocious and improbably eloquent, resulting in entertaining dialog as they try to one-up each other during the ride to school on a horse named Sandy. Elise seems to live in her imagination (she is certain that Sandy knows the way to all destinations and often travels along ocean beaches). Lorena purports to be reality based, although she doesn’t “believe that some things have to be real and that makes them not real.”

Each day when the sisters arrive at school, they are unpinned from their blanket by their teacher. Gus McQueen is 19, a new arrival in Lone Wolf. He was raised by his aunt in North Carolina and was recommended for the teaching job by his own teacher, thanks to McQueen’s talent for memorization.

Prairie Fever’s first dramatic moment occurs when Elise, in reaction to Lorena’s cruel comment, decides to leave class and ride Sandy to a neighboring town in a blizzard. Searching for Elise with Lorena clinging to his back, McQueen is transformed by a combination of love and desire, and perhaps a kind of spiritual awakening. Elise is also changed by the experience, losing some fingers and toes and part of her nose.

McQueen believes that his life repeatedly forces him to select “the lesser of two bad choices,” but sometimes he feels guided (in a literal sense) by his dead brother. McQueen’s choice between the Stewart sisters drives the novel’s plot. The girls are much alike but different in key aspects. Gus loves them both but realizes that he only hears the “true cry” of one sister.

Prairie Fever is not a modernized Lolita. Even today, the age of consent in Oklahoma is 16 and McQueen does not pursue either sister while she is still in school. He is only a few years older than the girls, and given the time frame in which the story unfolds, there is nothing creepy about his intentions. McQueen is, in fact, quite proper and something of a sweet bumbler in his courtship.

One sister eventually goes to Texas and the other to Wyoming, both described as dismal places albeit for different reasons. The novel’s second part consists of letters that the sisters write to each other while pretending to write to someone else. The letters are filled with subtle and (in Lorena’s case) biting humor, making them a joy to read.

The last part jumps ahead a couple of decades, allowing the reader to see what has become of Gus and the two sisters. The story’s drama initially concerns the triangular relationship among the sisters and Gus. After both sisters settle into life, the drama concerns the rift that develops between the sisters and whether they will be able to restore their bond. A story of that nature could easily become a soap opera, but there is no melodrama here. Prairie Fever is instead an honest portrayal of complex characters living simple but meaningful lives. Their approaches to a difficult (and perhaps impossible) reconciliation are based on a true understanding of the conflict between love and pride.

While the story is always interesting, it is the prose and the characters that captured by attention. The writing is of award-winning quality. McQueen is a decent man, as is a rancher who later enters the story as the husband of one of the sisters. Growing up with “prairie stretching to the horizon,” unbounded by conventions, has given the sisters the gift of free thought. Yet they both struggle with their imaginations as they question whether and when it is best to replace knowing with pretending.

Few books make me fall in love with characters, but the frankness, eloquence, and imaginations of both Lorena and Elise make the characters memorable. They are spirited and stubborn but mostly motivated by wisdom and kindness. I understand Gus’ dilemma in trying to decide which sister to wed. I loved them both.

RECOMMENDED

During the harsh winter of 1916 the Stewart sisters (Elise, 15, and Lorena, 17) ride their faithful horse to school no matter the weather. Their young teacher, Mr. McQueen, meets them and helps them off the horse and into the school room every day. The three are the central characters of the novel and we'll see how their lives intertwine and go off in different directions according to the choices they make. I was drawn in by Michael Parker's storytelling - the humor he injected in the day-to-day as well as the brutality of life on the prairie that many didn't survive. I laughed when the sisters recited stories from the local newspaper. It reminded me of my own small, hometown newspaper that often had a younger me rolling my eyes at the headlines and articles considered newsworthy. Overall, an enjoyable read. Recommended to fans of the author and historical fiction.

The Stewart family is living in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma, in the early 1900's and the living is hard. The prairie stretches forever, but it's not necessarily easy farming land. The winters are brutal with biting winds and blizzards that blow up out of nowhere. The family has lost two small sons to 'prairie fever' or typhoid and only the daughters are left. Lorena is seventeen and Elise is fifteen. They feel alone in the world; their mother has never recovered from their brothers' deaths and their father is a big talker, little action buffoon who drags them from state to state on whatever whims move him along.

Every day the two sisters saddle up Sandy, their horse, and ride the miles into town to school. Their teacher is Gus McQueen, a man just a few years older than them and with little education or aptitude for teaching although kind and interesting. Lorena is organized and focused, the best student in school as well as the most beautiful. Elise is different; she sees the world through dreams and odd takes on common views. Most don't understand her or the depth of her feelings for those she loves.

When Gus and Lorena ride out in a blizzard to go after Elise who has taken off on what seems to her a necessary adventure, things change. They rescue Elise right before death and Gus' relationship with the girls changes forever. He and Lorena become a couple, but down the road, he ends up falling in love and marrying Elise instead; an act that creates a lifelong rift between the two sisters.

Michael Parker has a talent for bringing characters to life and leaving readers not only interested in other times and the difficulties people had then, but with lifelong friends in their minds. No one reading about Elise will forget her quickly and the stories of life in those earlier times shows starkly the difficulties of communication and how distance meant something back then that it doesn't mean in our hurried world. The story unfolds slowly giving the reader time to sink into the time period and get to know each character. This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

Unfortunately, try as I might, I could not get into this book. The writing style did not allow me to settle into the story and I had to put the book aside for the time being.

I appreciate the chance to read this and I'm sorry it didn't work for me.

Riotously funny at times, Prairie Fever has a homespun tone reminiscent of Marilynne Robinson’s Lila/Gilead/Home books. Michael Parker’s characters are vividly drawn and pursue complicated relationships in Oklahoma of the 1910s. This book is marred by quite a few anachronisms (“Paris runways”, “sonic boom”, “Alberta Clipper”, and more), but the descriptive passages and dialog ring true.

There are plenty of stories about the American west in which white settlers go a little crazy—plenty of nonfiction stories, too. But I think that Prairie Fever, by Michael Parker, is the first time I’ve met a manic pixie dream girl in the barely colonized American west. This novel centers on two sisters, Elise and Lorena, who are temperamentally opposites but who complete each other. Lorena is the practical older sister with a penchant for correcting other’s grammar. Elise is….a very odd girl who never thinks about the consequences of her whimsy. Her actions lead to a terrible loss and a long estrangement. I have to say, I was not nearly as charmed by Elise as many of the characters in this novel are; I am firmly on Team Lorena.

We meet Elise and Lorena as they are making their way to school on a frozen Oklahoma morning. It’s so cold that their mother pins them into a blanket so that they can ride in some comfort. They have to be unpinned at the other end by the teacher, Mr. Gus McQueen. Their first conversation in the book tells you everything you need to know about these two teenagers. Elise speaks in quotes from their local newspaper, focusing on the odd and mildly amusing. Lorena makes the occasional comment and correction. She indulges her sisters interests, but does at least the minimum to keep her sister grounded in reality. Their mother is still a bit lost in her grief for their two brothers, who died of “prairie fever” years before. Their father is only interested in the next get rich scheme. The sisters only have each other to keep each other safe—which basically means it’s up to Lorena to keep her sister safe.

Elise does something incredibly stupid near the beginning of the book. Her “accident” leads to frostbite for herself and the mercy killing of their faithful horse who was injured in the storm that took Elise’s toes and ring finger. I was willing to go along with Elise’s whimsy somewhat (even though I found it annoyingly twee), but I found that I could never forgive her for causing the death of her horse. Throughout the rest of the book, I saw Elise just compounding her error by refusing to take responsibility for any of her actions. I was more willing to forgive Elise for “stealing” Mr. McQueen from Lorena than I was for riding off on a horse in the middle of a blizzard. Love happens by genuine accident all the time. Doing something anyone with sense would consider nigh suicidal and then never acknowledging one’s culpability is another matter entirely.

What redeemed Prairie Fever for me was the loving descriptions of the harsh landscape. Being a westerner myself, I could empathize with all of the characters’ admiration for the sunsets, the big skies, and the way that life can grow in a place with extreme weather. I also softened on the book as Elise started to lose some of what I thought of as affectations and grow up a bit and as Lorena’s life followed a trajectory that ended up punishing her more than it did her family and Elise. That said, I’m not sure I can recommend this book to other readers unless they have a high tolerance for tweeness. Some readers love a manic pixie dream girl. I just find them exhausting.

When I first found out about this book I was intrigued. I really enjoy books written in this time period on the great plains. Unfortunately, this one did not work well for me. Everything seemed to be all over the place. It was hard to tell what was happening and what was in Elise's imagination. In the beginning she is 15 but the way she acts, she felt so much younger. I wasn't quite sure if she was meant to be an eccentric type character with an extremely vivid imagination or if she had something else going on. Did she actually believe the things she talked about or did was that her way of coping with the vast, empty Oklahoma landscape? I have no idea. It honestly got a little annoying to read her portions of the story. It's really sad what happens between the two sisters but also a little bit frustrating because in a way they kind of let it happen to themselves. I don't want to say too much about what happens between them but you can probably guess what comes between them from the book summary. Overall this book just did not work for me. But if you check out Goodreads, I seem to be in the minority so if you find the summary interesting I would say you should give it a try.

Life is hard in the 1900's Oklahoma plains but you won't hear complaints from Elise and Lorena. They recite the local paper to bide their time pinned into a blanket on their trusty stead, Sandy who trudges off to school in weather that even the hardiest ranchers would cringe at. Elise possesses a rare wit while Lorena tries to be the model of decorum. The sisters are their own best friends until a young schoolteacher tears an unjumpable divide between them. This refreshing western does not read like a typical western but appeals to a much broader audience and is a must for lovers of Larry McMurtry and NEWS OF THE WORLD. Sweet, funny and completely Southwestern area tough, its delightful characters will worm their way into your heart forever. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

I did enjoy this book. The descriptions of Oklahoma were very vivid as were those of the two sisters. The plot moved right along as the relationships played out.

It took awhile for me to warm to the three main characters of Prairie Fever, but once I did, I was completely involved and invested in their lives. I feel this book will appeal to readers who enjoy Larry McMurtry and Ivan Doig. It would probably appeal to men and women alike.