Prairie Fever by Michael Parker

What a remarkable book! I felt pulled into Michael Parker’s novel Prairie Fever after reading the first chapter. Parker’s literary capabilities stun in this compelling story about two sisters who are tested by the punishing life on the prairie and the complex emotions of their hearts.

At its most basic, this story is a love triangle. The Stewart sisters: Lorena 17 and Elise 15 who live in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma in 1917, both fall for the new school teacher. Gus McQueen, 18. Their father is a farmer who keeps his distance. Their mother is bereft after the death of their two brothers. Nonetheless, each morning she helps Lorena and Elise mount Sandy, their horse, for the 4-mile trek to school. 

Parker’s writing is gorgeous and evocative. “Winter mornings, their mother kissed them both on the forehead, pinned the blanket around the two of them, and slapped the horse’s croup. Lorena held the reins. Elise wrapped her arms around her older sister’s waist and both girls shut their eyes against the icy wind of the prairie. Inside the blanket, they warmed themselves with words. Off they would go into the world, whispering things with and without words, protected from the cold by the heat of their bodies and the blanket of sky.”

Despite their different demeanors, Elise and Lorena have always completed each other. Lenore is precise, stubborn and severe, while Else is whimsical, impulsive and dreamy. The sisters’ connection is secure and their love for each other deep. But when the new teacher Gus McQueen arrives at their one-room schoolhouse, both Lenore and Elise eventually are attracted to him, causing friction in the sisters’ relationship. Their inner lives and external paths are changed forever. 

Language, grammar and spelling delight all three characters. They understand the limitations of words to express the deepest of feelings. The narrator offers, “Thank goodness everyone was trying to tell you something else entirely, for if the world were made up only of what actually came out of people’s mouth, Elise would prefer the frozen eternity of heaven.” The book also addresses some existential issues. The sisters repeatedly ask each other, “ What do you think is the point of life” Lorena answers herself, “The point of life is to know your limitations.” 

I won’t say which sister marries Gus, but two decades after the betrayal, some healing and forgiveness occurs between the sisters. Here is a quote from the end of the novel. “Dusk had come to her and Elise watched it and sang the buried songs to Lorena. Against the icy wind, Sandy struggled, but they were all safe and warm beneath the blanket of sky.”

If you are looking for a book with a lot of action, this is not the book for you. However, if you are interested in characters that struggle, think and change, you are in for a treat. Grace moves through this novel.