THE PILLAGERS' GUIDE TO ARCTIC PIANOS

An imaginative, generations-spanning novel set in the Arctic territory.

In her expansive, exciting, and all-around excellent debut, Shaw toggles among the perspectives of people from multiple generations of an adventurous Arctic-dwelling family. Among those perspectives is that of the family’s progenitor, Moose Bloomer, who traveled to the Arctic territory as a boy, with his mother and stepfather, as part of a homestead expedition. The expedition required each household to bring with them “at least one pianoforte” to show their “good faith in the establishment of a Habitable Civilization.” Shipped from the mainland and dragged across the permafrost, many of these fancy pianos were lost to the elements, as were some of those who brought them. Generations later, Moose’s great-great-great-great-grandchildren, Milda, Finley, and Temperance Spahr, live with their parents, Fry T. Spahr and Viola Bloomer, in a quirkily cozy house perched on stilts above the rising waters of Wild Beard Fjords, a kayak ride away from where Moose’s expedition first landed in Disillusionment Bay. The family subsists (barely) on whatever they can find, farm, or trade, as well as on money Viola brings in piloting the family floatplane. When a lucrative market opens up for the old pianofortes, the Spahrs begin to hunt them. Unpredictable and immersive, the plot extends both forward and backward in time from the present day and introduces us to a host of endearing characters. Adding to the urgency are the destabilizing, encroaching effects of climate change on the family’s place and prospects: They are perpetually compelled to adapt. Throughout, Shaw sure-footedly traverses slippery emotional terrain and dives deep below the surface as she explores strong undercurrents of family and home.

This moving, charmingly idiosyncratic novel, set upon icy terrain, is sure to melt hearts.