Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
What could undo the tightest bond between two sisters, sisters who knew and loved each other better than anyone?
Set in the 1920s in Oklahoma, Prairie Fever follows the relationship of two young women who fall in love with the same man. Every day, Lorena--beautiful, pragmatic, ambitious--and Elise--dreamy, artistic, funny--ride a horse across the brutal prairie to their school, a single blanket wrapped around them. Their lives, circumscribed by the remoteness of the landscape and the tiny sphere of their family and town, are intricately bound together.
When Elise gets stranded in the snow and is permanently damaged by extreme frostbite, the dynamic between the sisters changes in a way that couldn't have been predicted, and the teacher who had been in love with one of them realizes he actually loves the other. The only thing worse than a love triangle is a love triangle with your sister. But what if the man you fall in love with severs by necessity your closest relationship? Gorgeously written, heartbreaking, and often very funny, this is a moving story about getting past the past.
Synopsis
"The most beautiful novel I have read in quite some time. The language is that graceful and original, the events and characters that spellbinding and funny and moving, and always the melancholy beauty and mysterious power of the open prairie shine through." --Tom Drury, author of Pacific
Set in the hardscrabble landscape of early 1900s Oklahoma, but timeless in its sensibility, Prairie Fever traces the dynamic between two sisters: the pragmatic Lorena and the chimerical Elise. Their connection to each other supersedes all else, until the arrival of a schoolteacher sunders the sisters' relationship as they both begin to fall for him. With poetic intensity and the deadpan humor of Paulette Jiles and Charles Portis, Parker reminds us of how our choices are often driven by our passions. Expansive and intimate, Prairie Fever tells the story of characters tested as much by life on the prairie as they are by their own churning hearts.
Synopsis
"Michael Parker has captured a time, place, and sisterhood so perfectly it hurts to turn the last page. A riveting, atmospheric dream of a novel." --Dominic Smith, author of The Last Painting of Sara de Vos 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.