Leif Enger's I Cheerfully Refuse was a thrilling, strange read. Following Rainy's journey as he looks for his missing wife was captivating, with beautiful descriptions of Lake Superior. I particularly enjoyed Enger's writing and the variety of his characters.

Set in a not-so-distant dystopian future, Leif Enger’s forthcoming I CHEERFULLY REFUSE is a rollicking adventure story set on Lake Superior. It’s a big-hearted novel with an unlikely hero – protagonist Rainy embodies the empathy and compassion and motivation robbed of a society run by a wealthy and malevolent ruling class.
Rainy is a musician and his beloved wife, Lark, runs a bookshop out of a local bread shop, steadily growing her inventory of used books through donations. Reading has grown out of fashion and is discouraged by the billionaire class – led by the country’s first proudly illiterate president. When Lark comes upon a rare and unpublished manuscript by her favorite author, Molly Thorn, entitled I CHEERFULLY REFUSE, she garners some unwelcome attention from a dark and menacing figure who visits the shop.
When Rainy and Lark take in a boarder, their life is upended. Kellen is a scrawny, young fugitive on the run after escaping from his withering life as an indentured servant to the “astronauts” – a small group of billionaires who own nearly everything, including the airwaves, the waterways, and of course, all mineral rights. Just as Rainy begins to think of Kellan as the younger brother he never had, Kellen disappears.
After a devastating event, Rainy escapes to his sailboat, hoping to reach an idyllic shoreline where he and Lark once dreamed of the future. But the enemy is in pursuit and Rainy has something he wants, though at times he is uncertain about what that might be.
Along the way, Rainy encounters Sol, an orphaned waif of a girl, who sorely needs protection and escape, and she accompanies him on his journey. The two form a family of sorts, on the run from their evil interlopers but equally resourceful and determined.
I CHEERFULLY REFUSE is Enger’s magnum opus -- his language and dialogue are musical and imaginative, and his characters are charming and intrepid. I adored this lyrical, literary story. Highly recommended for fans of PEACE LIKE A RIVER and THE BIG FISH.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! I Cheerfully Refuse is beautifully written, with compelling characters and a healthy mix of reality and that which is unexplainable. After Rainey’s quiet life with his late book-selling wife Lark is flipped upside down, he takes a renovated sailboat onto Lake Superior, fleeing a bevy of nefarious characters who haunt him throughout his journey. I loved Rainey’s voice and point of view, a hopeless romantic at heart with a well-developed sense of empathy and pragmatism. He wants a simple life, spent playing his bass, basking in the glow of his beloved Lark. He handles the wild change in his circumstances with as much grace as can be expected, and his goal to sail to The Slates in search of his late wife was really touching. Rainey comes across a diverse cast of characters throughout his sailing, and I found it really interesting to see how different communities had adapted to the dystopia of America in the distant future.

I found the world-building to be a bit lacking, though I’m sure it was purposeful. I wish there had been a little bit more context to some of the more political/societal aspects of this dystopian story, and the first third of the book was slightly slow for me.

That being said, this was a 4 star read for me!! This book is filled with lovely prose, an exciting sailing adventure, and the refusal to give in to pessimism and a doomsday mindset even in the face of a changing world.

I Cheerfully Refuse
by Leif Enger


I was enchanted by Leif Enger’s much anticipated release, I Cheerfully Refuse. Set in a not-too-distant America in which society has broken down, fresh food is in short supply, climate change has had devasting consequences, books and booksellers are considered treasonous, the populous is proudly illiterate including the newly elected President, and the country is ruled by “Astronauts” a class of unscrupulous billionaires. The infrastructure has failed, the economy has collapsed and many resort to indentured servitude where they are overworked, underfed, and subject to compliance trials. Laborers who escape are hunted down and severely punished.

Rainy, and his bookseller wife Lark, have managed to eke out a simple but happy existence. Both are quixotes, curious, kind and not always sensible. Known to take in boarders, they give shelter to Kellan, a young man on the run. Kellan’s presence triggers a tragic event. Shattered and heartbroken, Rainy sets off in his old boat on the unpredictable and unforgiving Lake Superior. It is an Orphean quest, wherein he believes he will be reunited with his beloved Lark. Rainy will take on a young passenger, encounter many perils, rely on his trusty guitar, the kindness of strangers and his own zest for life to survive.

I Cheerfully Refuse is a protest letter, an ode to literature and music, and an appeal to our innate optimism for the future. Be prepared to feel all the feels in this tender, hopeful and immersive odyssey.


Many thanks to the author @LeifEnger, @GroveAtlantic Press and @NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

At once a love letter to literature and music and boating, this novel paints a gorgeous, yet eerie picture of the upper Midwest in a not so distant future.

A mysterious man with no last name shows up at Rainy and Lark’s doorstep with a nitrous tank and a lost galley copy of “I Cheerfully Refuse”– and so begins the epic in which Rainy will partake, full of despair, hope, and revenge.

After the tragic loss of his wife, a manhunt is pursuing Rainy who hops aboard his boat and sails into the volatile waters of Lake Superior. As he begins his own odyssey with the hopes of catching a glimpse of his late wife on the Slate Islands, he sails to several places where he meets new friends and enemies and begins to piece his life slowly back together.

Leif Enger’s writing beautifully illustrates the landscape with a very apparent love for the upper Midwest. His vision of the future isn’t that outlandish, where the rich are polluting the earth, weather is becoming more intense, and pharmaceuticals are controlling everything.

I loved the element of the story that Rainy was being pursued the entire time. It raised the stakes. I enjoy how the story ends up tying back together, though I felt like it took a long time to get there. The characters along the way are compelling, and really contribute greatly to Rainy’s character development.

Willow is one aspect that serves as a quiet antagonist– a drug that kills the user but promises to transport them to a better life. This was heartbreaking, and stays with you throughout the story.

One element of the story I cannot overlook is how Rainy’s wife Lark’s bookshop was partnered with a bakery, and it was called Bread. I absolutely loved this little detail, and would absolutely shop at a store like this.

I enjoyed reading this work by Leif Enger and would certainly read him again! I loved his writing style and the story itself which was both heart-wrenching and full of hope. It’s an ode to all the stories of seafaring travels and hints at a future that could come with devastating consequences.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for lending me a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

I will admit, I almost quit this one. I am not in the mental space for too complex dystopian societies and i worried that where this was headed. But actually it just happened to be a dystopian setting but was more an adventure story, family drama, etc. I really did get hooked by these characters. I flew through it towards the end and will be recommending to friends.

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #ICheerfullyRefuse. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I'm finding it hard to describe this book. It's a character study set in a not to distant dystopian America about the human spirit and it's drive to survive and find connection. The story is more internal and introspective and while I liked the characters and writing, I really wanted more plot/detail - about Lark & Rainy's relationship and how/why society was collapsing.

Not entirely my kind of book, but an interesting read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC of this book.

I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book by the end. The first forty percent of I Cheerfully Refuse was paced very slowly and was just too much. I think most of it could have been condensed to produce the same understanding and emotions.

When Rainy leaves his home, the story picks up. It becomes high stakes and exciting. The synopsis of the book is misleading, and I was completely caught off guard by the catalyst for his exit from his life. He meets some very interesting people along his journey, and it very much becomes a matter of survival. In a world that seems to have very little to care about, Rainy manages to find meaning and hope. His ability to carry on and move forward with his life could be considered inspiring. At some points, I found it a bit infuriating that he didn't seem to be angry enough.

I do have to say, the ending was a tad bit disappointing. I was happy about the outcome, but the chain of events that led to it was anti-climactic. I was expecting more of a crescendo at the end, and it fell a bit flat for me. Overall though, this was a solid science fiction/dystopian story that I was happy to have read.

In a near future dystopia where reading is frowned up and resources are scarce, Rainy heads out into Lake Superior after experiencing horrific personal life.

I was drawn to this novel because of Lake Superior, a lake that has my soul.

Sometimes, literary fiction sinks, but this time it just coasts right in. This book is immersive, contemplative, poignant, emotional, funny, and makes you want to set sail.

The book definitely hits the nail on the head in terms of boating and the lake. While the first part of the story takes place on land, a great deal of the last two-thirds is on or near the water. As someone who loves being on the water, I enjoyed these parts immensely.

The language the book uses to describe the lake, in particular, is lovely and evocative. These moments of lofty prose are well-balanced - it doesn’t feel stuffy or pretentious. This could also be because the book is quite funny at times, at least the first part. After the first 20% or so it gets very serious for awhile, but there were a few parts in the earlier pages that had me laughing. I never knew where the book was going plot-wise and small details mentioned earlier in the story are woven into the ending in a way that feels organic and natural.

The tone is entrancing because it’s much like the sea - it ebbs and flows. We have moments of lightness, of calm, of reflection, and moments of despair, high tension, and sorrow.

The characterization of Rainy is so well done. He’s immensely likable because he’s just a normal dude who wants a quiet, normal life. He’s had his issues in the past, but he’s not some Mel Gibson rage-fuelled alpha man out for vengeance. He’s tough and resilient, but he’s also clever and sweet and caring. The supporting characters - Lark, Sol, a few others - are also well-developed. This is a story where a wife dies but it’s not fridging. While it’s told in Rainy’s perspective, Lark is a fully developed character. When she dies - it’s in the blurb, I’m not spoiling anything - it’s heartbreaking for the reader as much as for Rainy, as she seemed like such a cool, nice woman. It’s not a revenge plot but a grief plot.

The world-building is fascinating because we aren’t really told what the state of the world is, but we’re left to infer that the world has grown steadily more dystopian and run-down, with the mega-rich living in safety and security while everyone else ekes out a living. Yet, Rainy and Lark are happy in their small town with their simple life. The novel shows how humans, despite what social media and the news makes you think, really just want to live their lives and enjoy their food and company and, well, nature. The lake, despite its roughness, is a thing of beauty as well, a place of freedom and adventure.

If you love the water and beautiful language, you should check this out.

As always with Leif Enger, this is an immersive and compelling story. The characters have depth and are believable, and the likable and the not-so-likable are nuanced, which I appreciate about his writing. Post-apocalyptic stories have always fascinated me, and this one was no exception. Also, the descriptions of Superior and the surrounding area were almost like an ode to the lake, and having grown up in Minnesota, I especially appreciated that part of the book.

Leif Enger’s novel Peace Like a River is one of the most memorable reading experiences I’ve ever had. I Cheerfully Refuse was no different. It will stick with me for a long time. The writing read like a song, the story, the characters, and the setting of ‘somewhere in the near future’ all blended together beautifully for a singular reading experience. I have never been sailing but feel like I have now since reading this book. I loved the unexpected twists and turns, the exploration of what it means to live and what it means to grieve. I truly loved it and will be recommending it to everyone I know.

A beautiful, dystopian novel.. by the author of Peace Like A River!
The world has changed, evil people are in charge including police.. fresh food very limited, a comet is coming that brings illness, books and booksellers are treasonous, climate change has brought dead bodies up to float on Lake Superior. Things are so bad that many of the population have acquired access to “Willow” a pill they can take to peacefully kill themselves.
Rainy, a musician…takes to Lake Superior in an old boat of his to escape the predators that killed his wife Lark in their home. This then becomes quite an adventure with huge challenges and hardships.
He comes across a nine year old girl, Sol at one of his stops on land who was being abused by an evil man and she comes along on the rest of his journey.
Loved the characters… even Lake Superior seemed like a character!
A novel with s huge heart!

Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic/Morgan Entrekin for the Arc!

DNF, loved Enger's Virgil Wander, but I am not the reader for this book. Giving it a middle-of-the-road rating because I couldn't read past 10%, so not fair to pan it.

This was both depressing and hopeful. It's the world we know and the world we don't, having teetered into disrepair. There's harsh words for people who scorn science and books and education and what happens when we fall to far into nationalism and fundamentalism. Rainy is who we go on this wild and sad and beautiful and devastating adventure with and I couldn't have asked for a better guide. I hope that this future remains a fiction though.

In this beautiful, haunting novel, set in a near future dystopian America, society has collapsed. Catastrophic climate change, crumbling infrastructure and economic collapse has led to a country run by a handful of malevolent billionaires, where many people are proudly illiterate, including the President. Many work now for the billionaire class in indentured servitude, where they are underfed and only fall further into debt. Those who try to escape are hunted down and punished severely.

Rainy, a house painter and part time musician has nevertheless made a good life for himself in a small town on the shore of Lake Superior. His wife, Lark is a rescuer and seller of books and so is delighted when a man called Kellan walks into her store with an unpublished copy of ‘I Cheerfully Refuse’, the last book written by her favourite author. Young and scrawny with a damaged hand, Kellan is also looking for somewhere to stay and accepts Lark’s offer to rent their attic, even though Rainy suspects he is an escaped labourer.

Not long after Kellan’s arrival, Rainy’s pleasant life is shattered and he is forced to flee in his old sailing boat, taking on Lake Superior and her violent and unpredictable storms, hoping to see Lark again at the Slate islands they once visited. His journey becomes a quixotic odyssey as he flees from one place to the next, battling storms, finding hidden bays, encountering violence and lawlessness and helping downtrodden victims along the way.

Enger’s beautiful flowing language is richly lyrical, even at the darkest of times, and I could go on reading it forever. Although frequently pushed by men and nature to the brink of despair, Rainy is a man who can still see the good in people and the beauty in his world, never losing his sense of hope in finding a better future. Highly recommended!

A very well crafted story with beautiful prose. In the not too distant future Rainy and his wife live along Lake Superior and are thrust into a new but normal dystopian life. I loved the characters, the travels, the love for books, the connection of now to dystopia. But the writing! This book begs to be annotated and highlighted! I loved writing and connection of the heart to physical things and thoughts. A book that meanders, but speaks to the reader along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the gifted eARC of this book.

“I Cheerfully Refuse” is a beautifully crafted dystopian story taking us on protagonist Rainy’s journey as he sails the Great Lakes when life as he knows it doesn't fit an ever changing world any longer.

The story begins with a picturesque romance between Lark and Rainy who live a happy married life in Icebridge and have lots of love to give to one another. But the idyll is short lived.

“We’d got past our early days together and no common warnings had flashed. Not that I’d have noticed—I was lost already and wanted to spend it all on her, the days and nights, the whole foresee-able.”

Lark runs a bookstore and comes across a rare edition never seen before. Kellan, the person who brings it in, is on the run from a drug kingpin dealing suicide pills and stays with Lark and Rainy temporarily.

And so it goes that the darkness reaches their home. Grief and threat ensues, and Rainy sets sail in search of Lark, of lost love, of the world as it once was.

The story is a beautiful mix of dystopian novel, mystery, and even a bit of a thriller. It held my suspense throughout.

But more than just those well executed tropes, I enjoyed the lyrical writing, the beautiful descriptions of nature, the stunning way the emotional journey was told. While the dystopian aspect of the book gives the impression that people aren't really all that alive, that humanity is drawing to a close, it's that inner world in Rainy, Lark, and a girl named Sol that's full of magic and wonder.

The book also weaves literature into the narrative as a forgotten and even mistrusted art, making this novel a multifaceted work of literary fiction with many beautiful layers.

“By this time of course reading itself was slipping into shadow. There was a sinuous mistrust of text and its defenders. The country had recently elected its first proudly illiterate president, A MAN UNSPOILT as he constantly bellowed, and this chimp was wildly popular everywhere he went.”

I loved this gem. It's quiet. It's powerful. Beautiful, lyrical, special.

I'm so grateful to Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for the Advance Reader's Copy. I quoted a few beautiful passages of the text - these are subject to change in the final publication.

Not my cup of tea. Struggled to turn the pages & wasn’t interested in this fictional introspective story. Thank you, NetGalley, for this advanced copy.

I Cheerfully Refuse is by far the most charming, optimistic dystopian novel I've encountered. Enger capably writes a story that is both heart-rending and heartwarming, a tale that confronts the darkness of the world without losing hope in the solaces of found families and friendships. Full of adventure and exciting twists, I Cheerfully Refuse is a novel that invites us to appreciate the power of imagination and storytelling in helping us to create lives worth living, even in the most dire of circumstances.