July 2, 2008

No Country for Young Men

“Undiscovered Country,” by Lin Enger

Summer raises important questions. Beach or pool? (No doik, Sandy Ass.) Cup or cone? (Another easy one, Licks-a-lot.)

And, finally: to read or not to read?

Take the high road — especially if it’s through Lin Enger’s Undiscovered Country, a suspenseful Hamlet reinvention, coming out tomorrow. First-time novelist Enger sets the stage in the frigid Minnesota woods, where 17-year-old Jesse discovers his father dead during a hunting trip.

When his pop’s ghost appears, Jesse pegs the death on his smarmy (and somewhat murderous) Uncle Clay. Enger’s characters and prose are modern, but his themes (justice, jealousy, loyalty, forgiveness) are true to the Bard.

He plots revenge, dodging resistance from both a troubled girlfriend and his mother along the way. Throw in hair-raising scenarios — a water silo stakeout, a fiery dispute in an abandoned restaurant — and you have a story that’s hard to put down.

No question about that.

Available online at amazon.com or your local bookstore.