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Playing with Wildfire
"The broad sweeping compassion of this polyvocal novel takes my breath away." —CAMILLE T. DUNGY, author of The Story of a Black Mother's Garden When a wildfire bears down on a mountain community, residents are forced to gather for safety—resulting in a tangle of love and lust that pulls people from their isolation, friendships that form across political divides, and a new hope for rethinking the ways humans inhabit the burning planet. Playing with Wildfire is a literary landscape that is an experiment in an astrology report; a grant application-turned-love-story; a phone call from Mother Earth; an obituary for a wildfire; a burned mountain’s conversation with a lone woman and an injured bear. Every story captures how fire affects the human psyche and life, and how destruction can lead to renewal.
250 pages, Paperback
Published February 13, 2024
31 people are currently reading
283 people want to read
About the author
Laura Pritchett
21 books224 followersLaura Pritchett's seventh novel THREE KEYS is now available. Booklist has this to say: “A dedicated environmentalist and acclaimed nature writer, Pritchett’s keen observations of the world…are wondrous and lyrical, grounding her heroine’s journey in beauty and grace.”
Kirkus has this to say: “Engaging…thought-provoking and insightful. A satisfying examination of one woman’s journey of self-discovery.”
Pritchett is also the author of PLAYING WITH {WILD}FIRE (Torrey House, 2024), THE BLUE HOUR (Counterpoint, 2017), RED LIGHTNING (Counterpoint, 2015) STARS GO BLUE (Counterpoint, 2014), SKY BRIDGE (Milkweed Editions, 2009), and HELL'S BOTTOM, COLORADO (Milkweed Editions, 2001).
Known for championing the complex and contemporary West, giving voice to the working class, and re-writing the “Western,” her books have garnered the PEN USA Award, the Milkweed National Fiction Prize, the WILLA, the High Plains Book Award, several Colorado Book Awards, and others.
She’s also the author of one play, two nonfiction books, and editor of three environmental-based anthologies.
She developed and directs the MFA in Nature Writing at Western Colorado University, one of the few in the nation with a focus on environmental and place-based writing.
She earned her Ph.D. from Purdue University.
Her work has appeared in The New York Times, O Magazine, Salon, High Country News, The Millions, Publisher’s Weekly, The Sun, Brain, Child, and many others.
She is also known for her environmental stewardship, particularly in regard to land preservation and river health. You can find out more at her website www.laurapritchett.com or www.makingfriendswithdeath.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
June 9, 2024
5 stars
*Highly Recommended*
short review for busy readers: I’ll just say it: this is an important novel. It’s experimental, non-linear and polyvocal, but what it has to say about the impact of climate change on normal people in general, and the changing face of the American west in particular, is very real and crucial. It’s not always an easy read - there’s a lot of anger and destruction – but it’s a phenomenal work in its scope, intelligence and timeliness.
in detail:
I recently did a deep-dive on Laura Pritchett's work, reading Stars Go Blue, Hell's Bottom, Colorado and this one in rapid succession.
Pritchett is the chair of one of the few Creative Writing departments in the world that focuses on “nature writing” and fiction dealing with climate change/disaster (University of Western Colorado).
As she says in the end notes, we hear about the state of the climate all the time on the news, but it’s suspiciously absent in the wider world of literature. She’s trying to change that with her programme and her own books. And indeed, nature and change is a very large part of her fiction.
I’ll get to the praise in a minute, but first I’d like to express my only critique of this fabulous, incredible piece of literature – it’s damn lefty and has PBS, NPR and Democrat stamped all over it.
The characters all believe that *everyone* accepts that climate change is real and that *everyone* is out for climate justice and the end of racism and fair treatment of minorities & immigrants etc etc etc.
There’s only one grumpy old guy character who reads like a stand-in for the majority of reactionary conservative Republicans. And he’s framed as a lonely bastard nobody likes who just wants a little love and for someone to finally be nice to him (because he can’t be nice to others first). I have trouble buying that so many ranchers and country folk are that libby - esp with their fear of big government - but I’ve never been to Colorado, so I bow to those more in the know.
With that out of the way…
Told in short episodes that bounce around a small rural community in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, "Playing with Wildfire" tells the tale of the worst wildfire in Colorado history.
We visit the POVs of:
* people packing their bags and running for their lives as their neighbours’ houses burn
* firejumpers thinking through how wind can revive or kill a fire and the science behind fighting monster fires
* ranchers driving in from hours away with stock trailers to get cattle, horses and goats off the mountain even though they have their own herds to see to
* Mother Earth manning a crisis hotline
* people offering fire refugees free coffee, showers and their front yards to pitch a tent
* people digging up skeletons to say goodbye to their history
* a mountain having a conversation with a disaster-shocked resident
* people angry about the lack of government interest or action re climate change attempting to make Washington listen
Through all of this disaster, fear, panic, loss and death, normal life doesn’t stop.
* The waitress at the village’s only cafe is pregnant and dealing with her abusive, elderly father.
* Two teenagers fall in and out of love.
* A middle aged woman suffering from climate depression suddenly finds a new boyfriend.
* An elderly local historian must sell her land along with an historic cemetery to developers because she can’t pay the property taxes any more.
* An impoverished man wonders if he can safely eat the roadkill deer he just found…after all, it’s still warm.
* A firejumper proposes to his firejumper girlfriend in the middle of a burning forest.
We look in on the life and thoughts of this character, then that, then that one over there. We hear their fears and worries. How they see the world around them changing, what they want to happen and what they think they can accomplish themselves.
It's in the contrasts –the small/ the huge, human/ nature, normal/ crisis - that this novel come spectacularly to life.
The range of voices, of insights and of individual fates is impressive. So is the writing which is straightforward, tangible and vivid.
Highly, highly recommended for readers interested in climate change impact, fans of experimental literature and those who enjoy anything to do with the Rocky Mountain states in the US.
*Highly Recommended*
short review for busy readers: I’ll just say it: this is an important novel. It’s experimental, non-linear and polyvocal, but what it has to say about the impact of climate change on normal people in general, and the changing face of the American west in particular, is very real and crucial. It’s not always an easy read - there’s a lot of anger and destruction – but it’s a phenomenal work in its scope, intelligence and timeliness.
in detail:
I recently did a deep-dive on Laura Pritchett's work, reading Stars Go Blue, Hell's Bottom, Colorado and this one in rapid succession.
Pritchett is the chair of one of the few Creative Writing departments in the world that focuses on “nature writing” and fiction dealing with climate change/disaster (University of Western Colorado).
As she says in the end notes, we hear about the state of the climate all the time on the news, but it’s suspiciously absent in the wider world of literature. She’s trying to change that with her programme and her own books. And indeed, nature and change is a very large part of her fiction.
I’ll get to the praise in a minute, but first I’d like to express my only critique of this fabulous, incredible piece of literature – it’s damn lefty and has PBS, NPR and Democrat stamped all over it.
The characters all believe that *everyone* accepts that climate change is real and that *everyone* is out for climate justice and the end of racism and fair treatment of minorities & immigrants etc etc etc.
There’s only one grumpy old guy character who reads like a stand-in for the majority of reactionary conservative Republicans. And he’s framed as a lonely bastard nobody likes who just wants a little love and for someone to finally be nice to him (because he can’t be nice to others first). I have trouble buying that so many ranchers and country folk are that libby - esp with their fear of big government - but I’ve never been to Colorado, so I bow to those more in the know.
With that out of the way…
Told in short episodes that bounce around a small rural community in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, "Playing with Wildfire" tells the tale of the worst wildfire in Colorado history.
We visit the POVs of:
* people packing their bags and running for their lives as their neighbours’ houses burn
* firejumpers thinking through how wind can revive or kill a fire and the science behind fighting monster fires
* ranchers driving in from hours away with stock trailers to get cattle, horses and goats off the mountain even though they have their own herds to see to
* Mother Earth manning a crisis hotline
* people offering fire refugees free coffee, showers and their front yards to pitch a tent
* people digging up skeletons to say goodbye to their history
* a mountain having a conversation with a disaster-shocked resident
* people angry about the lack of government interest or action re climate change attempting to make Washington listen
Through all of this disaster, fear, panic, loss and death, normal life doesn’t stop.
* The waitress at the village’s only cafe is pregnant and dealing with her abusive, elderly father.
* Two teenagers fall in and out of love.
* A middle aged woman suffering from climate depression suddenly finds a new boyfriend.
* An elderly local historian must sell her land along with an historic cemetery to developers because she can’t pay the property taxes any more.
* An impoverished man wonders if he can safely eat the roadkill deer he just found…after all, it’s still warm.
* A firejumper proposes to his firejumper girlfriend in the middle of a burning forest.
We look in on the life and thoughts of this character, then that, then that one over there. We hear their fears and worries. How they see the world around them changing, what they want to happen and what they think they can accomplish themselves.
It's in the contrasts –the small/ the huge, human/ nature, normal/ crisis - that this novel come spectacularly to life.
The range of voices, of insights and of individual fates is impressive. So is the writing which is straightforward, tangible and vivid.
Highly, highly recommended for readers interested in climate change impact, fans of experimental literature and those who enjoy anything to do with the Rocky Mountain states in the US.
February 12, 2024
It is so important in this era of fire to turn to books that do more than report, more than explain, more than lament. We need books that fully engage with the complexity of fire and do so in an equally complex way. In "Playing with Wildfire," Laura Pritchett does just this. She uses several forms of craft to tell the stories of a town and the people effected by a fire. She shows how fluid and adptive writing can be--and how, like some fires, it can leave a mosaic pattern on the landscape (and in the readers mind) that allows for empathy, understanding, and possibility.
I will use this book to teach nature writers. To inspire writers. And to give a master class in writing.
I will use this book to teach nature writers. To inspire writers. And to give a master class in writing.
October 15, 2025
I love these experimental type books because they aren’t so quotidian and as an avid reader I think that’s something to always be on the lookout for.
February 4, 2024
A devastating and beautiful book. As someone who lives in California, I admired the way the author captures individual and community trauma and connection that builds around wildfire events. Magnificent nature writing, and a (wild) experimental form. There are so many voices that aren’t usually heard in tragedies like this but that are heard here. I loved it.
February 25, 2024
A community of voices take turns telling their experiences as a nearby wildfire rages in their mountain neighborhood. The map sketched on a napkin (pgs 14-15) anchored my understanding of the people and the geography.
Thanks to the good folk at Torrey House Press for making this their first production of 2024.
Thanks to the good folk at Torrey House Press for making this their first production of 2024.
April 13, 2024
Joins Kent Haruf's novels at the top of the list of Colorado fiction. Centered on a (semi) fictional mountain town threatened by a (m0stly non) fictional wildfire, Playing with (Wild)fire juxtaposes a dozen or so perspectives and styles to add a crucial voice to the literature of environmental catastrophe. Fully realized and deeply moving. Pritchett's not naive or sentimental, but she refuses to succumb to despair.
March 25, 2024
What an excellent portrayal of emotions and life during the Cameron Peak Fire! As a mail carrier in the Poudre Canyon, I can truly say Laura was able to capture the landscape and sense of community perfectly. Definitely worth a read, especially if you want to re-examine that crazy year and remember the turmoil and emotions that the fire and COVID caused.
September 17, 2024
I grabbed this book from the library because it had a cool title and I liked the way the cover felt and pages turned. Maybe you can’t judge a book by its cover, but I did a good job judging it by these seemingly insignificant things.
Playing with (Wild)fire takes place in Colorado in what I assume to be either 2020 or 2021. It’s during COVID and on a mountain that is on fire—the biggest in the state’s history during a year where giant fires raged all around the western US. The story is told through the eyes of a large cast of characters and by using prose, poetry, and some experimental hybrids of the two.
Pritchett wrote a radical book without being obvious about it. She talks about the role of fire throughout time and how bad we’ve (read: the government and industry) have messed things up by not having controlled burns and putting out too many fires. She also talks about the role of climate change in all this, and how our “leaders” refusal to acknowledge it in any real way has put us all in this horrid hellhole.
While I wish there would have either been less characters or that the book would have had twice the number of pages, the way Pritchett wrote about rural life, neighborly relations, loneliness, love, heartbreak, and a host of other topics made it so I really can’t complain. I was hooked from the first page and rode all the twists and turns with eagerness.
She’s written a few other novels, along with nonfiction, and edited a few anthologies to boot. She’s been added to my ever-growing list of authors to obsess over.
Playing with (Wild)fire takes place in Colorado in what I assume to be either 2020 or 2021. It’s during COVID and on a mountain that is on fire—the biggest in the state’s history during a year where giant fires raged all around the western US. The story is told through the eyes of a large cast of characters and by using prose, poetry, and some experimental hybrids of the two.
Pritchett wrote a radical book without being obvious about it. She talks about the role of fire throughout time and how bad we’ve (read: the government and industry) have messed things up by not having controlled burns and putting out too many fires. She also talks about the role of climate change in all this, and how our “leaders” refusal to acknowledge it in any real way has put us all in this horrid hellhole.
While I wish there would have either been less characters or that the book would have had twice the number of pages, the way Pritchett wrote about rural life, neighborly relations, loneliness, love, heartbreak, and a host of other topics made it so I really can’t complain. I was hooked from the first page and rode all the twists and turns with eagerness.
She’s written a few other novels, along with nonfiction, and edited a few anthologies to boot. She’s been added to my ever-growing list of authors to obsess over.
April 13, 2024
One of the most creative books I've come across in a long while. Its a constellation of human stories born out of the approach of unimaginable wildfire coming down the mountains. Stories of intimacy, meaningful questions, subtle humor are born. Interconnected. Through them, it challenges us to think about ourselves, others, the planet. The future. (And even How to propose marriage if youre a smoke jumper. Smiley face here.) It's a great book and I highly recommend it. It is wonderful reading.
May 13, 2024
As in The Blue Hour the characters in this book tell (or think) their own stories. Pritchett is so very good at giving each character life and at seeing into their souls. And we are so lucky to see them all in their wholeness. The mountain is also a character as is climate change. The fire is simply an expression of climate change. I'll be rereading this one to spend more time with these people.
March 30, 2024
I was so thrilled to get this book finally as I love this author and it’s written about massive fire that occurred where I live. I loved the poetry in this book and it was a pleasant surprise to find it. I also love that a whole chapter was dedicated to the little town I live in, Laporte. The author captures the fear, anxiety and oppressive dread that comes when experiencing a fire of this magnitude. I also liked the social commentary interspersed. I’m someone who loved good characters in books and I might have enjoyed it more if there were less characters and more character development. But I think the depth and sometimes, chaos of this book is intentional as it’s trying to deliver a lot in one book.
December 25, 2024
This is probably the most important fictional book I read all year. Wow. It looks at real events and climate change from perspectives of different characters and is very worth reading.
February 29, 2024
My review is in the form of a cento poem.
Holy-Moly
burned pine needles-still in the shape of pine needles
reasons to stay in
a) the covid and
b)the ash and
c) the mountain lion in the neighborhood
mountain lions prefer deer but will eat
llamas and children
and that is how humans lived all along
Ah-ha! I know where my flash drives are
keep one foot in the black
her aching paw burned on black
river dreaming of eating rose hips
hazardous
the proximity principle
to get you f...ers out
will likely involve
some experimental forms and techniques
aspen trees serve as an oracle
the bad behavior of this nation
is causing us more than
our fair share of suffering
he hated the rich out of proportion
to what made sense
that's why laborers don't like recreators
to our mind
it has to do with giving back
doing something
of words
of intention
daydreams tell us to
the extent we are not living
and precession is a big deal
As long as two good hearts
are involved
keywords
biological inheritance,
artistic pursuits,
recreation,
children,
and lovers.
we wasted this middle part
we wasted this time, and it got worse
stop going for the green chemical-infused lawns
understand the value of a place
we can dig into the past,
discover the limitations, we can not do it.
the door to the mountains
is a vortex of love
we have free speech but not frank speech
you can get to the substance in small,
innocent-seeming tidbits, and several levels of truth
can be revealed. A connective device.
And speak up with metaphors.
because sometimes, you have to keep
packing the same thing again and again and again
perhaps it is the limitations of the heart
that saves the heart,
and is the piecing which loosens,
a little what those limitations are
look at our past history of saying things were safe
I want to commune with the past
and future people of this place
all the beautiful souls who have loved
and walked this valley
activity manifests the essence
surely, some action or kindness
is better than nothing
what do most of us want?
to see the hurt done to us in this world
we want someone to care
that's something
consider all that humans have done
to this place before
obituary
so, your population, your size, your impact,
your legacy-in all
these ways, you have been oh-so-successful
if I could choose the mountain mused, I suppose I'd
like to be under the sea again
the mountain watched the bear wander
in search of a new den,
watched the woman in her den
all bundled up in a blanket
the moon crossing
in its various forms, full and half and fingernail.
we sleep to wake, and we rest so we can heal,
and that we scramble for survival
until our blink is done
There is much healing to be done
some of it would only happen after nature
had taken her own sweet and necessary time.
Holy-Moly
David Gallipoli
Holy-Moly
burned pine needles-still in the shape of pine needles
reasons to stay in
a) the covid and
b)the ash and
c) the mountain lion in the neighborhood
mountain lions prefer deer but will eat
llamas and children
and that is how humans lived all along
Ah-ha! I know where my flash drives are
keep one foot in the black
her aching paw burned on black
river dreaming of eating rose hips
hazardous
the proximity principle
to get you f...ers out
will likely involve
some experimental forms and techniques
aspen trees serve as an oracle
the bad behavior of this nation
is causing us more than
our fair share of suffering
he hated the rich out of proportion
to what made sense
that's why laborers don't like recreators
to our mind
it has to do with giving back
doing something
of words
of intention
daydreams tell us to
the extent we are not living
and precession is a big deal
As long as two good hearts
are involved
keywords
biological inheritance,
artistic pursuits,
recreation,
children,
and lovers.
we wasted this middle part
we wasted this time, and it got worse
stop going for the green chemical-infused lawns
understand the value of a place
we can dig into the past,
discover the limitations, we can not do it.
the door to the mountains
is a vortex of love
we have free speech but not frank speech
you can get to the substance in small,
innocent-seeming tidbits, and several levels of truth
can be revealed. A connective device.
And speak up with metaphors.
because sometimes, you have to keep
packing the same thing again and again and again
perhaps it is the limitations of the heart
that saves the heart,
and is the piecing which loosens,
a little what those limitations are
look at our past history of saying things were safe
I want to commune with the past
and future people of this place
all the beautiful souls who have loved
and walked this valley
activity manifests the essence
surely, some action or kindness
is better than nothing
what do most of us want?
to see the hurt done to us in this world
we want someone to care
that's something
consider all that humans have done
to this place before
obituary
so, your population, your size, your impact,
your legacy-in all
these ways, you have been oh-so-successful
if I could choose the mountain mused, I suppose I'd
like to be under the sea again
the mountain watched the bear wander
in search of a new den,
watched the woman in her den
all bundled up in a blanket
the moon crossing
in its various forms, full and half and fingernail.
we sleep to wake, and we rest so we can heal,
and that we scramble for survival
until our blink is done
There is much healing to be done
some of it would only happen after nature
had taken her own sweet and necessary time.
Holy-Moly
David Gallipoli
March 8, 2024
I think I just read the Arthurs compilation of meandering notes and writings, scribbles, that got compiled into a book, just before getting tossed into the waste basket. Some of the writing about the mind meanderings of victims while contemplating why a wildfire chose their forest and grasslands to burn were insightful, the random thoughts and meanderings did not come together for me in a meaningful or teaching/learning manner. Why I struggled to the end I'm not sure.
February 25, 2024
One of the best books I’ve read, ever. So creative and imaginative. As someone living a county away from the Cameron Peak fire, who suffered only a fraction of the smoke and weariness of that summer of fire, this book was visceral to read. Laura has captured it all so unbelievably well. What a triumph of an accomplishment as an author!
July 17, 2024
A friend of mine recommended this book to me because I'm interested in things related to climate change, and because it was a good novel. So I read it, and quite simply, I agree this is a very good novel. It is about a mountain community going through a record breaking wildfires, and according to the author's note at the back it is based, in parts at least, on the Cameron Peak Fire, Colorado's largest wildfire. Still, it's fiction, not nonfiction.
It is an unusual novel. There aren't any central characters. Instead the novel comprises of short chapters, or short stories, flash fiction even, each seen from one characters perspective. So one sees the events of the novel with the eyes of the community, or at least many people from that community. Some chapters are more connected than others, there are even a few that are directly linked, but on the whole it is a more fragmented story telling than one would find in a more lineal novels. I think that fits the subject matter really well. Events like these affect whole communities, and not just a few individuals.
There are some differences between chapters, one can feel that the story isn't being told by just one person, but many. Despite these differences, I liked almost every chapter, but some more than others. For example, I didn't like the play that much, it was somewhat over dramatic, but it is supposed to be written by a newbie writer so narrative there fits the character that is supposed to have written it, and even there I found something of interest.
One thing about the characters though. It seems like the writer is going for a diverse group of narrators, but the agreement about climate change is surprisingly common in this group. I know what the author is trying to do, and I appreciate it. I'm not going to argue against the seriousness of climate change. Those of you that have read any of my reviews of books dealing with that subject, should know that by now, but I think it would have made sense to include more characters that where on the other side of the argument to show how divisive this issue has been made.
Apart from that I can't find any flaws here. I think is it a great novel. It's heart breaking, funny, sad, and so on. For example, there is a character writing grant applications to get money to write a book about the wildfires, and their effect on the community. That is a chapter that really manages to blend heart break with humor in a great way. It's just strong stuff. Great writing, and I'm clearly going to find something more of hers to read.
It is an unusual novel. There aren't any central characters. Instead the novel comprises of short chapters, or short stories, flash fiction even, each seen from one characters perspective. So one sees the events of the novel with the eyes of the community, or at least many people from that community. Some chapters are more connected than others, there are even a few that are directly linked, but on the whole it is a more fragmented story telling than one would find in a more lineal novels. I think that fits the subject matter really well. Events like these affect whole communities, and not just a few individuals.
There are some differences between chapters, one can feel that the story isn't being told by just one person, but many. Despite these differences, I liked almost every chapter, but some more than others. For example, I didn't like the play that much, it was somewhat over dramatic, but it is supposed to be written by a newbie writer so narrative there fits the character that is supposed to have written it, and even there I found something of interest.
One thing about the characters though. It seems like the writer is going for a diverse group of narrators, but the agreement about climate change is surprisingly common in this group. I know what the author is trying to do, and I appreciate it. I'm not going to argue against the seriousness of climate change. Those of you that have read any of my reviews of books dealing with that subject, should know that by now, but I think it would have made sense to include more characters that where on the other side of the argument to show how divisive this issue has been made.
Apart from that I can't find any flaws here. I think is it a great novel. It's heart breaking, funny, sad, and so on. For example, there is a character writing grant applications to get money to write a book about the wildfires, and their effect on the community. That is a chapter that really manages to blend heart break with humor in a great way. It's just strong stuff. Great writing, and I'm clearly going to find something more of hers to read.
April 24, 2024
“How to be proactive and look ahead—that was the battle of her life. And the battle of humanity as well. One at which they were most obviously failing.” (Paige, pg. 5)
Laura introduces the reader to a neighborhood of characters who are all living through a raging wildfire that is threatening their homes, and the mountains where they live. They are all different: have different points of view; differing political views; different struggles, and demons. But they are all together, living through this tragedy. The tragedy of a wildfire brought about by climate change, during a pandemic that seemed never-ending at the time. Tragedy upon tragedy. In this, they are united.
Laura mixes a variety of forms in her telling of this story: hermit crab, poetry, prose, epistolary, a play, etc. She uses words on the page to form a wedge, of which she writes. She is experimenting throughout. But in each piece, she is weaving together a story of these people who are facing a crisis that seems insurmountable alone. Which is why I think she brings them all together, despite their differences. Her message is that it will take all of us, together.
She begins with the POV of each character, introducing the reader. Then she brings in the animals and nature who are also there and being harmed by the fire and are so much a part of the world where the fire is raging, just as the humans are. The reader becomes entrenched in each of their stories, as they slowly come together.
This tragic wildfire happened here in Colorado, in the backyard of where I lived for 25 years of my life. People I knew were affected. It was a true story, along with the heartbreaking truth of the pandemic we all collectively lived through. I think Laura tells the story from all of these different POV’s because, these things effected a lot of different people. And will continue. Her message is that these different voices are all saying the same thing, over, and over, and over. Look ahead. Be proactive. Do something!
Laura introduces the reader to a neighborhood of characters who are all living through a raging wildfire that is threatening their homes, and the mountains where they live. They are all different: have different points of view; differing political views; different struggles, and demons. But they are all together, living through this tragedy. The tragedy of a wildfire brought about by climate change, during a pandemic that seemed never-ending at the time. Tragedy upon tragedy. In this, they are united.
Laura mixes a variety of forms in her telling of this story: hermit crab, poetry, prose, epistolary, a play, etc. She uses words on the page to form a wedge, of which she writes. She is experimenting throughout. But in each piece, she is weaving together a story of these people who are facing a crisis that seems insurmountable alone. Which is why I think she brings them all together, despite their differences. Her message is that it will take all of us, together.
She begins with the POV of each character, introducing the reader. Then she brings in the animals and nature who are also there and being harmed by the fire and are so much a part of the world where the fire is raging, just as the humans are. The reader becomes entrenched in each of their stories, as they slowly come together.
This tragic wildfire happened here in Colorado, in the backyard of where I lived for 25 years of my life. People I knew were affected. It was a true story, along with the heartbreaking truth of the pandemic we all collectively lived through. I think Laura tells the story from all of these different POV’s because, these things effected a lot of different people. And will continue. Her message is that these different voices are all saying the same thing, over, and over, and over. Look ahead. Be proactive. Do something!
June 13, 2024
This novel has approximately 17 narrators and all of them speak in the same voice: the kids, the animals, the people from vastly different backgrounds and worldviews. It was hard to remember who was who, if I'd encountered them before, and what relation they all had to each other. And since they all had the same voice and views, it felt a little unrealistic- people who live is rural Colorado farm towns are not usually such bleeding heart liberals.
It's wrenchingly clear that Pritchett loves Colorado and nature and is concerned about climate change, but there's something... cringy (for lack of a better word) in how she approaches it- there's lots of direct pleas for action and change to the reader from the characters that are clearly coming from Pritchett herself, but she alternates between presenting these as urgent, essential actions and as folks advice, which doesn't mesh for me.
There are some interesting lines ("attention is the most basic form of love") but mostly it felt like Pritchett was trying too hard to write in a poetic style and to land on those poignant snippets. (And having a character name drop her as an admired author almost made me embarrassed, but I'm sure some of that is my internal reluctance to ever talk myself up). (And Braiding Sweetgrass is mentioned at least 4 times- we get it, you think it's an important book.)
But as a work of climate fiction, as a very personal work from an author concerned about how the world is going, it works. Just not necessarily for me.
It's wrenchingly clear that Pritchett loves Colorado and nature and is concerned about climate change, but there's something... cringy (for lack of a better word) in how she approaches it- there's lots of direct pleas for action and change to the reader from the characters that are clearly coming from Pritchett herself, but she alternates between presenting these as urgent, essential actions and as folks advice, which doesn't mesh for me.
There are some interesting lines ("attention is the most basic form of love") but mostly it felt like Pritchett was trying too hard to write in a poetic style and to land on those poignant snippets. (And having a character name drop her as an admired author almost made me embarrassed, but I'm sure some of that is my internal reluctance to ever talk myself up). (And Braiding Sweetgrass is mentioned at least 4 times- we get it, you think it's an important book.)
But as a work of climate fiction, as a very personal work from an author concerned about how the world is going, it works. Just not necessarily for me.
February 24, 2024
Wowwwww. Painful and powerful. Furious and tender and oh so familiar to anyone living in the Western US. This is a novel only in the loosest sense—objectively speaking it’s a collection of vignettes, written in different voices, centering around one massive wildfire and its effects on a small Colorado town—but it’s damned cohesive, and effective, and beautiful.
Pritchett is an impressive writer, evoking a roller coaster of emotions in each short chapter. She starts off strong, with that horrific anxious tension of an approaching fire, and she gets it right: I really felt it from the first two pages. In subsequent chapters she gets the helpless rage, the numbness, humor, bitterness, loss, desire for connection, and even, in a couple of chapters written first-person from the perspective of loser piece-of-shits, lets us see and almost empathize with said losers. She has tremendous heart and compassion, much more than I do. (I will never forgive anyone who lights a campfire in dry conditions).
This is a smart book. Scientifically literate. Respectful of Indigenous perspectives. Well informed on fire behavior, ecology, suppression. Intelligent, well-read characters. But above all it’s a deeply human book. It’s also one I’m glad to have read in February: it would be much too stressful in May.
Pritchett is an impressive writer, evoking a roller coaster of emotions in each short chapter. She starts off strong, with that horrific anxious tension of an approaching fire, and she gets it right: I really felt it from the first two pages. In subsequent chapters she gets the helpless rage, the numbness, humor, bitterness, loss, desire for connection, and even, in a couple of chapters written first-person from the perspective of loser piece-of-shits, lets us see and almost empathize with said losers. She has tremendous heart and compassion, much more than I do. (I will never forgive anyone who lights a campfire in dry conditions).
This is a smart book. Scientifically literate. Respectful of Indigenous perspectives. Well informed on fire behavior, ecology, suppression. Intelligent, well-read characters. But above all it’s a deeply human book. It’s also one I’m glad to have read in February: it would be much too stressful in May.
January 8, 2024
What a luminous novel! Pritchett brilliantly weaves together a tapestry of the personal, communal, global, and universal in this poetic collection of pieces bound together by a wildfire disaster. I loved the wisdom and warmth in all the chapters, some of which are delightfully experimental in form, and some told from non-human points of view that leave you in awe. Each piece is poetic and moving, and gives a sense of hope and connection despite the backdrop of climate disaster and societal divide. I feel grateful to Pritchett for capturing the complex feelings and variety of experiences of wildfire, especially since my family's modest mountain refuge was evacuated during one of Colorado's worst wildfires (the flames came within a mile of our tiny cabin and the forest we love so much.) I feel deeply moved that Pritchett has given voice to these experiences in a story that's accessible, real, unique, and most importantly, soul-filling. I will be gifting this book to many friends and family this year. Highly recommend!
July 13, 2024
Can a book about wildfire be serious, enthralling, and fun? With amazing skill, Pritchett takes experiences with wildfire and ignites this book with interesting characters and interactions, giving us stories as told by people, animals, and plants. Without interrupting the flow or the enjoyment, she expertly switches styles of writing from short stories to poetry to an outline for a play. We are given the perspectives of multiple people, plants, and animals, of how this wildfire impacts them.
Although it is fiction, Pritchett did the research for the facts she presents. The resulting perspectives on fire in the ecosystem are realistic and honest. And the inclusion of the thoughts from the mountain help give the long-time perspective to the event called a wildfire.
"There was much healing to be done, and some of it would only happen after nature had taken her own sweet and necessary time."
-- p. 204
Although it is fiction, Pritchett did the research for the facts she presents. The resulting perspectives on fire in the ecosystem are realistic and honest. And the inclusion of the thoughts from the mountain help give the long-time perspective to the event called a wildfire.
"There was much healing to be done, and some of it would only happen after nature had taken her own sweet and necessary time."
-- p. 204
March 31, 2024
"Playing with (Wild)Fire" by Laura Pritchett is not just a novel. It's an experience of community, wildfire, experimental form and technique, impacts of climate change, and action. I highly recommend this book to writers, readers, and anyone who knows what it's like to inhale wildfire smoke for days (or months) on end.
I'm a fire lookout, so I know what it is to live in smoke. I understand what the characters in this book are going through when a mega fire threatens their lives and homes. I almost lost the lookout to a mega fire a few years ago. It was scary not to know if I'd have a job to come back to.
I earmarked, wrote all over the pages, and finished reading this novel in a week. It's that good!
I'm a fire lookout, so I know what it is to live in smoke. I understand what the characters in this book are going through when a mega fire threatens their lives and homes. I almost lost the lookout to a mega fire a few years ago. It was scary not to know if I'd have a job to come back to.
I earmarked, wrote all over the pages, and finished reading this novel in a week. It's that good!
February 8, 2024
What a gorgeous, unique, and trailblazing tale about a wildfire and how the people closest to it survive.
This beautiful book is written in vignettes - it's got poetry and prose, newspaper articles, scenes here and there, and yet it all so stunningly paints a picture of a community surrounded by smoke as a wildfire rages around them and forces change to their routines. We see those working in emergency services, firefighters, neighbors who open their doors and lawns for campers when some are forced from their homes, and even the wildlife as it too is forced beyond its own boundaries.
I loved this book.
This beautiful book is written in vignettes - it's got poetry and prose, newspaper articles, scenes here and there, and yet it all so stunningly paints a picture of a community surrounded by smoke as a wildfire rages around them and forces change to their routines. We see those working in emergency services, firefighters, neighbors who open their doors and lawns for campers when some are forced from their homes, and even the wildlife as it too is forced beyond its own boundaries.
I loved this book.
July 23, 2024
Laura Pritchett landed on just the right form for this story-without-end, with a series of voices—human and nonhuman—that serve as witness to the greater narrative, that of a North American western landscape in crisis-without-end. Fictional chapters leap in imitation of the too-real massive fire that changed direction with a whisper, encouraging the reader to bridge the empathy gap that often prevents us from feeling the suffering of others who sit out of range of our visual, aural, and olfactory sensors. With its deep attention to the interior landscape, this is climate crisis lit that brings it home, wherever home may be.
August 21, 2024
This novel is loosely based on the Cameron fire in Colorado, so many of the places were very familiar to me. However, the novel seemed very disjointed, even though this was in name of showing varying perspectives on how wildfire impacts nature, wildlife, and people. Sometimes, there was some continuity between chapters but, at other times, it felt like the various stories were not very connected at all. Perhaps this is just a writing style issue, but it seemed to detract from what the author was trying to get at. Maybe this style was meant to highlight the chaos caused by wildfire. Either way, it did not make for a great book.
November 25, 2024
Set in the Colorado mountains and based on the Cameron Peak fire, this book moves around quickly and unpredictably from voice to voice, mimicking the frightening spread of wildfire and the panic of animals (both human and other species) trying to escape from it. As a former grant writer, I loved that part of the plot unspooled through the language, questions, and deadline stress typical of grant applications. The map helped with reader orientation in a book whose higgledy-piggedly fictional structure reinforced the terror of natural disaster we see more and more often in these real times driven by climate-change.
January 9, 2025
when one feels powerless to help those in poor circumstances, reading a book like this at least offers an opportunity to sit and be there with them for a while.
i enjoyed the quick stories of individuals dealing with COVID and a horrible wildfire simultaneously. i felt their every emotion. i especially appreciated the wide range of people and backgrounds - a teenage couple, two grown siblings, a mother and daughter, a schizophrenic woman. i appreciated not being bogged down in larger plot lines or character arcs. the point was to feel the emotions of the moment.
i do think the book ran long for its purpose. i didn’t really like the personification of the mountain.
i enjoyed the quick stories of individuals dealing with COVID and a horrible wildfire simultaneously. i felt their every emotion. i especially appreciated the wide range of people and backgrounds - a teenage couple, two grown siblings, a mother and daughter, a schizophrenic woman. i appreciated not being bogged down in larger plot lines or character arcs. the point was to feel the emotions of the moment.
i do think the book ran long for its purpose. i didn’t really like the personification of the mountain.
August 28, 2025
This is a very interesting read both in content and form. It's a little rambly and hits on a lot of different topics with some great thoughts/studies on bits of life--all held together by the drama of the wildfire. I'm from the area of the Cameron Peak Wildfire and now live in a house that was rebuilt after being totally destroyed by that fire. I love the current story I'm living in on this side of the restoration, and I also fully believe, along with Pritchett, that we need more of that restoration and regeneration in nature, our society, and in our private lives. Very thought provoking on many different levels.
May 15, 2024
The set up of this book was not my favorite. It jumped around alot and some of the content was very weird to have in it. The author did a great job creating passion and desire to do something, to create a wake up call of sorts. You have to take it as little essays that have the same goal instead of a story with a plot. Some parts felt redundant and made me question why it was included, but overall I believe i understood what was trying to be accomplished. This is heavy on the emotions and that's the part that drives the book.
July 27, 2024
What an interesting book and stories that will stay with me for some time. I waffled between 4 and 5 stars and came to a 4.75 stars. This polyvocal book (new term for me) revolves around the Cameron Peak wildfire (Colorado) in 2020. It contains snippets of those who lived through this destructive fire, including the mountains and mother earth and blue sky. There wasn't a lot of depth to most of the characters (which is what I yearn for) but instead you hear their voices of what they're thinking and what they're living through in the moment. And that is deep, and sad, and hopeful, and real.
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