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Lark Ascending by Silas House

Lark Ascending (Algonquin) is the long-awaited seventh novel by master storyteller Silas House. His prose is finely crafted, carefully honed, thought and emotion provoking and as lyrical as a haunting Celtic elegy. He is, in short, one of the most important writers in the English language today.

Mississippi has its Faulkner; Alabama boasts of Harper Lee, Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams. Each of our 50 states has literary luminaries whose works deserve to be read and celebrated. 

GENRE DEPARTURE FOR SILAS HOUSE

There seems to be a mass media misconception that Kentucky is in a flyover zone populated by semi-literate yokels. Contrary to this, the Commonwealth since its founding in 1792 has produced a rich heritage of fiction and nonfiction writers and journalists who are true literary giants. Author talks and book signings held throughout Kentucky are exciting events, often attended by capacity crowds. 

Among the many praise-worthy contemporary authors, there are two stand-outs, who are nationally known and lauded superb storytellers as well as environmental and social justice advocates and activists, Silas House and Wendell Berry.

In 2018 at a Southernmost author talk/book signing, Silas referred to his then-current work in process which became Lark Ascending with the statement, “It’s real different for me; it’s hard to talk about because it feels so clichéd to say it’s set just a few years in the future but I’m not thinking of it like a dystopian book, it’s more of a parable book. It’s about a young man walking across Ireland. I don’t know if it’s going to work or not but I’m going to finish it. And I already have my next novel in mind. My problem is I always have plenty of ideas, it’s just having enough time to do it is my problem.”

It’s safe to say Lark Ascending is an astonishing departure that is certain to be a best-selling crowd pleaser. 

FUTURE DESTROYED BY CLIMATE CHANGE

The author may identify Lark Ascending as a parable, perhaps a contemporary updated version of Job’s story, but I suspect most readers will still define it as dystopian fiction. It is darker and certainly violent at times and may surprise long-time fans of his earlier works. 

The protagonist and narrator Lark is now a frail, 90-year-old man being cared for by others and has been asked to tell the harrowing story of his life as a boy and young man. The novel is set sometime in the future when unheeded warnings and signs of climate change have wrought havoc and the planet earth is on fire. The country/continent of Australia has been consumed by flames after years of drought.

Extreme right-wing fundamentalists are in control of the United States and have rescinded civil and human rights including marriage equality. Those in opposition or who question current authorities and defy the plethora of restrictions have been seized and sent to “refugee” camps where they were executed, including Lark’s beloved aunt and her wife. 

All dogs, cats, and other household pets were outlawed and eliminated.  Weapons for home defense have been seized making armed rebellion impossible.  Armed militia and enforcers patrol the land and drones control the skies, tracking people and shooting bullets with deadly accuracy. The fires are continually spreading and devastating the United States.

Imagine a world without electricity or gas, cars or public transportation, phones, appliances or supermarkets. You become wholly dependent on your skills and instincts to survive and provide your own food, shelter and clothing for yourself and your loved ones. 

SURVIVAL INSTINCT PUSHES A FAMILY TO IRELAND

Lark and his parents fled from Maryland to Maine where they formed a small family group with a woman named Phoebe, her daughter Sera and son Arlo who is Lark’s age. Lark’s father was a doctor and his mother, a herbologist; a horticulture specialist who raised food and saved seeds which helped them survive in the wilderness and served later as a bartering tool.

They had a scant handful of books that they read until they were memorized and tattered. They sang every song remembered, worked together and lived, in harmony, yet warily, ever fearful of being hunted. 

Lark and Arlo matured into teenagers and fell deeply in love. They moved into a separate hut where they shared magical, halcyon days of music, love and laughter. Those two years were their best of times filling them with hope. 

Lark’s mother spoke of Glendalough in Ireland as a possible safe haven. She described Glendalough as a place between the veil, a land between the physical material world and the spiritual realm. Ireland had remained as the one country which still accepted immigrants.  

Their idyll in remote Maine ended abruptly and tragically. Lark’s immediate family set out by foot for Nova Scotia and boarded an overcrowded small sailing vessel bound for Ireland. He was the sole survivor when the boat was sunk off the coast of Ireland. 

Silas House has used this excerpt from Theodore Roethke’s poem In a Dark Time as an evocative preface: “In a dark time, the eye begins to see.”

DESPERATION FORCES STRANGERS TOGETHER

There was no time to absorb or mourn too many deaths witnessed. Lark clings to faint hope and his mother’s words “don’t give up” as he endures tremendous suffering throughout his journey by foot across the breadth of Ireland. The country is no longer welcoming to strangers. He nearly starves and is parched from thirst while experiencing disturbing, often violent trials dodging betrayers and bullets that threaten his immediate survival. 

Despite the urgency of his escape and dire condition, Lark retains an almost mystical connection to nature around him, being mindfully aware and observing his natural surroundings, plants, birds and small animals. He thinks of fragments of poetry and keeps songs alive in his heart. 

Eventually, he encounters two small miracles in the forms of Seamus and Grace whom he meets on different days. Seamus, identified by a collar around his neck, is a remarkable beagle. He, too, serves as a primitive narrator, speaking in dog voice. He trusts Lark because of memories of his former master and friend who disobeyed orders to turn over his faithful dog and kept him hidden by training him not to bark.

Grace, who is searching for her son, joins with the young man and his dog in the long slow walk to Glendalough and sanctuary. Hope triumphs. I wept.

DOG AS A METAPHOR FOR THE DIVINE

In 2013 at a Warren County Public Library author talk about his novel Same Sun Here, Silas House read the essay called The Knowing that he wrote for NPR’s This I Believe series. It certainly applies to the loyal Seamus in Lark Ascending as well as his own canine companions.  

Here is an excerpt:  “I believe that if more people were like dogs, we’d all be a whole lot happier … My dogs also know that giving and receiving affection is the most important thing in life … Dogs embody love … I know that some people will think it’s a sin to think an animal has a soul but I do. I don’t care what anybody says or thinks. Because, if anything in this world is close to God, it’s a dog.”

In 2018, when speaking about Southernmost, he said: “Throughout the book animals represent the divine or the God of your own understanding.”

Read Lark Ascending attentively, consider your own hopes and struggles and share this significant book with others. Author Emily St. John Mandel in her blockbuster novel Station Eleven and Silas House have both touched a deep, resonant core of emotion and a reminder to render service to others.

About Silas House:

Silas House is the nationally bestselling author of several novels, a book of creative nonfiction and three plays. He is a former commentator for NPR’s “All Things Considered”. His writing has appeared recently in TimeThe AtlanticEcotone, The AdvocateGarden and Gun, and Oxford American.

House serves on the fiction faculty at the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Creative Writing and as the NEH Chair at Berea College.
He is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, the recipient of three honorary doctorates, and is the winner of several awards.

House was an executive producer and a subject in the documentary Hillbilly (available on Hulu), which won awards from the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Foreign Press Association. As a music journalist, he has worked with artists such as Kacey Musgraves, Kris Kristofferson, Lucinda Williams, Jason Isbell, Senora May, Leann Womack, Charley Crockett and John R. Miller.  House is also host of the popular podcast “On the Porch“. Find out more here.

Lark Ascending by Silas House
Publish Date: September 27, 2022
Genre: Fiction, Thrillers
Author: Silas House
Page Count: 288 pages
Publisher: Algonquin Books
ISBN: 978-1643751597
Linda Hitchcock

Linda Hitchcock is a native Virginian who relocated to a small farm in rural Kentucky with her beloved husband, John, 14 years ago. She’s a lifelong, voracious reader and a library advocate who volunteers with her local Friends of the Library organization as well as the Friends of Kentucky Library board. She’s a member of the National Book Critic’s Circle, Glasgow Musicale and DAR. Linda began her writing career as a technical and business writer for a major West Coast-based bank and later worked in the real estate marketing and advertising sphere. She writes weekly book reviews for her local county library and Glasgow Daily Times and has contributed to Bowling Green Living Magazine, BookBrowse.com, BookTrib.com, the Barren County Progress newspaper and SOKY Happenings among other publications. She also serves as a volunteer publicist for several community organizations. In addition to reading and writing, Linda enjoys cooking, baking, flower and vegetable gardening, and in non-pandemic times, attending as many cultural events and author talks as time permits.

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