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Mountain
Seventeen-year-old Camden splits her time between her father, a minor rock star, and her mom, a scruffy “hardware geek” who designs and implements temporary and sustainable power systems and satellite linkups for off-grid music and art festivals, tree-sits, and attends gatherings of alternative healers.
Lark, Camden’s father, provides her with brand-name jeans, running shoes, and makeup, while her mother’s world is populated by anarchists, freaks, geeks, and hippies. Naturally, Camden prefers staying with her dad and going to the mall with his credit card and her best friend, but one summer, when Lark is recording a new album, Camden accompanies her mother, Laureen, to a healing camp on a mountain in Northern California.
Lark, Camden’s father, provides her with brand-name jeans, running shoes, and makeup, while her mother’s world is populated by anarchists, freaks, geeks, and hippies. Naturally, Camden prefers staying with her dad and going to the mall with his credit card and her best friend, but one summer, when Lark is recording a new album, Camden accompanies her mother, Laureen, to a healing camp on a mountain in Northern California.
- GenresContemporaryYoung Adult
98 pages, Paperback
First published May 24, 2017
17 people want to read
About the author
Ursula Pflug
36 books47 followersBorn in Tunis to German parents, Ursula Pflug grew up in Toronto and attended the University of Toronto and The Ontario College of Art and Design. She travelled widely, living on her own in Hawai'i and in New York City as a teen in the late seventies. Formerly a graphic artist, Pflug began concentrating on her writing after moving to the rural Kawarthas to raise a family with the internationally known new media sculptor Doug Back.
Her first novel, the critically acclaimed magic realist/fantasy Green Music was published by Tesseract Books in 2002.
Her long awaited story collection After the Fires was published by Tightrope Books in 2008. ATF received advance praise from Matthew Cheney and Jeff VanderMeer and an Honourable Mention from the Sunburst Award jury. It was short-listed for the Aurora Award.
Her second novel, the YA/Adult crossover The Alphabet Stones (Blue Denim, 2013) received advance praise from Charles DeLint, Tim Wynne-Jones, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Candas Jane Dorsey, Jan Thornill and more. The Alphabet Stones was a finalist for the ReLit.
In 2014 a YA/Adult flash novel, Motion Sickness (illustrated by SK Dyment) appeared from Inanna, and was also a finalist for the ReLit Award. Motion Sickness received advance praise from Heather Spears.
In addition, a new story collection, Harvesting The Moon, was published by PS in Great Britain, with advance praise from Jeff VanderMeer and an introduction by Candas Jane Dorsey.
Also in 2014, Pflug`s first edited book, the fundraiser anthology They Have To Take You In, appeared from Hidden Brook Press. The beneficiary was The Dana Fund, administered by the CMHA, a no-overhead fund to benefit women and families in transition. THTTYI includes stories from Michelle Berry, Jan Thornhill, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Silvia Moreno-Garcia and more.
2015 saw the publication of Playground of Lost Toys (Exile) co-edited with Colleen Anderson. Playground was shortlisted for the Aurora Award.
2017 and 2018 saw the publication of two novellas, Mountain and Down From (Snuggly). Mountain (Inanna) was a finalist for The Sunburst Award, and received advance praise from Heather Spears and Candas Jane Dorsey.
In 2020 her third story collection, Seeds, appeared from Inanna and received a starred PW review, as well as accolades at Black Gate and Strange Horizons.. 2021 saw the release of a new anthology, Food of My people, co-edited with Candas Jane Dorsey.
A writer of both genre and literary short fiction, Pflug has published over ninety stories in award winning publications in Canada, the United States and the UK, including Strange Horizons, Fantasy, Lightspeed, Now Magazine, The Nine Muses, Quarry, Tesseracts, Leviathan, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, Nemonymous, Back Brain Recluse, Transversions, Bamboo Ridge, Bandersnatch, Postscripts, Herizons, Chizine and many others.
She has had several solo or co-authored plays produced by professional companies, and was a contributing editor at The Peterborough Review for three years. Pflug’s first published short story, “Memory Lapse at The Waterfront” has been reprinted in After The Fires. Pflug wrote the script and storyboard for the short film version, directed by Carol McBride. “Waterfont” toured festivals and was purchased by WTN.
Pflug has received numerous Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and Laidlaw Foundation grants in support of her novels, short fiction, criticism and plays. She has previously been a finalist for the KM Hunter Award, the Descant Novella Contest, the Three Day Novel Contest, the Aurora Award and others. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee.
Pflug mentors private clients in creative writing and has taught short fiction writing at Loyalist College, The Campbellford Resource Centre, and Trent University (with Derek Newman-Stille.)
For several years she was artistic director at Cat Sass Reading Series, in Norwood, Ontario, showcasing local, national, and international
Her first novel, the critically acclaimed magic realist/fantasy Green Music was published by Tesseract Books in 2002.
Her long awaited story collection After the Fires was published by Tightrope Books in 2008. ATF received advance praise from Matthew Cheney and Jeff VanderMeer and an Honourable Mention from the Sunburst Award jury. It was short-listed for the Aurora Award.
Her second novel, the YA/Adult crossover The Alphabet Stones (Blue Denim, 2013) received advance praise from Charles DeLint, Tim Wynne-Jones, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Candas Jane Dorsey, Jan Thornill and more. The Alphabet Stones was a finalist for the ReLit.
In 2014 a YA/Adult flash novel, Motion Sickness (illustrated by SK Dyment) appeared from Inanna, and was also a finalist for the ReLit Award. Motion Sickness received advance praise from Heather Spears.
In addition, a new story collection, Harvesting The Moon, was published by PS in Great Britain, with advance praise from Jeff VanderMeer and an introduction by Candas Jane Dorsey.
Also in 2014, Pflug`s first edited book, the fundraiser anthology They Have To Take You In, appeared from Hidden Brook Press. The beneficiary was The Dana Fund, administered by the CMHA, a no-overhead fund to benefit women and families in transition. THTTYI includes stories from Michelle Berry, Jan Thornhill, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Silvia Moreno-Garcia and more.
2015 saw the publication of Playground of Lost Toys (Exile) co-edited with Colleen Anderson. Playground was shortlisted for the Aurora Award.
2017 and 2018 saw the publication of two novellas, Mountain and Down From (Snuggly). Mountain (Inanna) was a finalist for The Sunburst Award, and received advance praise from Heather Spears and Candas Jane Dorsey.
In 2020 her third story collection, Seeds, appeared from Inanna and received a starred PW review, as well as accolades at Black Gate and Strange Horizons.. 2021 saw the release of a new anthology, Food of My people, co-edited with Candas Jane Dorsey.
A writer of both genre and literary short fiction, Pflug has published over ninety stories in award winning publications in Canada, the United States and the UK, including Strange Horizons, Fantasy, Lightspeed, Now Magazine, The Nine Muses, Quarry, Tesseracts, Leviathan, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, Nemonymous, Back Brain Recluse, Transversions, Bamboo Ridge, Bandersnatch, Postscripts, Herizons, Chizine and many others.
She has had several solo or co-authored plays produced by professional companies, and was a contributing editor at The Peterborough Review for three years. Pflug’s first published short story, “Memory Lapse at The Waterfront” has been reprinted in After The Fires. Pflug wrote the script and storyboard for the short film version, directed by Carol McBride. “Waterfont” toured festivals and was purchased by WTN.
Pflug has received numerous Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and Laidlaw Foundation grants in support of her novels, short fiction, criticism and plays. She has previously been a finalist for the KM Hunter Award, the Descant Novella Contest, the Three Day Novel Contest, the Aurora Award and others. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee.
Pflug mentors private clients in creative writing and has taught short fiction writing at Loyalist College, The Campbellford Resource Centre, and Trent University (with Derek Newman-Stille.)
For several years she was artistic director at Cat Sass Reading Series, in Norwood, Ontario, showcasing local, national, and international
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 29, 2018
"What are you," I finally asked, "a punk or a monk?"
* *
2 / 5
Mountain was a bit of an odd book. Or, more accurately, a novella clocking in at about 140 pages. It's about a seventeen year old girl who goes to a "healing camp", a sort of festival / commune, with her wayward mother. One day Camden's mother goes down to town in the truck and never comes back, leaving Camden alone at the camp.
Winter's ice was coming unstuck under the April sun, washing down the mountain through the camp
First off, the whole synopsis on Goodreads gives away what was built up in the book to be a major plot reveal. Also the synopsis seems to be at conflicts with the book I actually read, which wasn't a big deal but was a little confusing. I picked up Mountain because I thought it might offer me a short insight into a different kind of lifestyle and explore different topics to the typical YA book. Whilst I certainly got that it, I just generally found the whole book a touch odd. For example, the ending was quite abrupt without a lot resolution. Then Camden's story is interspersed with the stories of other people at the camp who never seem to appear within Camden's story; I thought they interrupted the natural flow of the book and found them quite unnecessary.
What I did like about Mountain was Camden herself. Her parents are separated: a minor rock star father who thinks having a daughter just means giving her cash when she wants it, and a mother who lives a life on the road, travelling from camp to camp installing technology and power systems. Camden, who was born Amethyst, is tough, strong-minded, and has had a hellish childhood. She's both likeable and sympathetic.
"But I do feel it, the mountain," I said timidly. "Like a dark strong rush pulling me down and up simultaneously, smelling of pine needles and snow"
When she and her mother arrive at a healing camp on the mountains of California, Camden feels out of place among "The Tribe". No technology and now no mother, Camden is used to the camper life but not like this. She befriends Skinny, a young man who acts as The Tribe's security. Their friendship is an odd one. Like Camden, I found the "healing" aspects to Tribe culture bemusing: healing crystals, poking people so they can experience their previous lives. Bizarre. I did like the focus on nature, the connection Camden feels with the mountain and the land as I'm a big advocate of the outside.
Overall, I didn't find Mountain that enjoyable. I got the impression that it was more of an artistic book, in a way, and found it quite directionless and the ending abrupt. I might have found it more enjoyable had the synopsis not been so revealing of the plot.
My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this book.
Read this review and more on my blog: https://atlasrisingbooks.wordpress.co...
* *
2 / 5
Mountain was a bit of an odd book. Or, more accurately, a novella clocking in at about 140 pages. It's about a seventeen year old girl who goes to a "healing camp", a sort of festival / commune, with her wayward mother. One day Camden's mother goes down to town in the truck and never comes back, leaving Camden alone at the camp.
Winter's ice was coming unstuck under the April sun, washing down the mountain through the camp
First off, the whole synopsis on Goodreads gives away what was built up in the book to be a major plot reveal. Also the synopsis seems to be at conflicts with the book I actually read, which wasn't a big deal but was a little confusing. I picked up Mountain because I thought it might offer me a short insight into a different kind of lifestyle and explore different topics to the typical YA book. Whilst I certainly got that it, I just generally found the whole book a touch odd. For example, the ending was quite abrupt without a lot resolution. Then Camden's story is interspersed with the stories of other people at the camp who never seem to appear within Camden's story; I thought they interrupted the natural flow of the book and found them quite unnecessary.
What I did like about Mountain was Camden herself. Her parents are separated: a minor rock star father who thinks having a daughter just means giving her cash when she wants it, and a mother who lives a life on the road, travelling from camp to camp installing technology and power systems. Camden, who was born Amethyst, is tough, strong-minded, and has had a hellish childhood. She's both likeable and sympathetic.
"But I do feel it, the mountain," I said timidly. "Like a dark strong rush pulling me down and up simultaneously, smelling of pine needles and snow"
When she and her mother arrive at a healing camp on the mountains of California, Camden feels out of place among "The Tribe". No technology and now no mother, Camden is used to the camper life but not like this. She befriends Skinny, a young man who acts as The Tribe's security. Their friendship is an odd one. Like Camden, I found the "healing" aspects to Tribe culture bemusing: healing crystals, poking people so they can experience their previous lives. Bizarre. I did like the focus on nature, the connection Camden feels with the mountain and the land as I'm a big advocate of the outside.
Overall, I didn't find Mountain that enjoyable. I got the impression that it was more of an artistic book, in a way, and found it quite directionless and the ending abrupt. I might have found it more enjoyable had the synopsis not been so revealing of the plot.
My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this book.
Read this review and more on my blog: https://atlasrisingbooks.wordpress.co...
November 2, 2017
* 2.5 stars*
Mountain by Ursula Pflug tells the story of Camden O'Connor as she arrives at a camp with her mother, Laureen, a community isolated from outside communication and living a "basic" and "healing" life. Throughout we follow Camden as she gets to know the other members of the community and try and solve the mystery behind her Mum who has suddenly vanished.
This book had an interesting concept and idea that I thought was very unique! I liked the idea of a community living a basic lifestyle (which makes it completely different to other YA books) and was refreshing to see a book which was set in such a different context. I also liked Camden as a character and found her endearing and very likeable. It was also great to see the different stories and backgrounds of the other members in the community and gave an insight into the different reasons why everyone was there.
I did however, think the ending of this book was a little sudden, almost as if it was rushed. I don't think it came to a natural end and even within the 100 or so pages of this book, the characters felt very real and I feel this book would have been slightly better if the ending was described more or prolonged a little more. The story was progressing well and then suddenly, the last chapter offered a "2 years later" viewpoint of what had happened between them two years (when Camden was 17 and in the camp, and at present at 19). I feel this could have been explained in a better way and there was no reason as to why there was this sudden 2 years later time gap.
I would recommend this book if you were looking for something a little bit different in YA, especially because it is such a short read, but would be aware of the sudden and sometimes confusing timeline and ending.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
Mountain by Ursula Pflug tells the story of Camden O'Connor as she arrives at a camp with her mother, Laureen, a community isolated from outside communication and living a "basic" and "healing" life. Throughout we follow Camden as she gets to know the other members of the community and try and solve the mystery behind her Mum who has suddenly vanished.
This book had an interesting concept and idea that I thought was very unique! I liked the idea of a community living a basic lifestyle (which makes it completely different to other YA books) and was refreshing to see a book which was set in such a different context. I also liked Camden as a character and found her endearing and very likeable. It was also great to see the different stories and backgrounds of the other members in the community and gave an insight into the different reasons why everyone was there.
I did however, think the ending of this book was a little sudden, almost as if it was rushed. I don't think it came to a natural end and even within the 100 or so pages of this book, the characters felt very real and I feel this book would have been slightly better if the ending was described more or prolonged a little more. The story was progressing well and then suddenly, the last chapter offered a "2 years later" viewpoint of what had happened between them two years (when Camden was 17 and in the camp, and at present at 19). I feel this could have been explained in a better way and there was no reason as to why there was this sudden 2 years later time gap.
I would recommend this book if you were looking for something a little bit different in YA, especially because it is such a short read, but would be aware of the sudden and sometimes confusing timeline and ending.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
August 7, 2017
I loved it! MOUNTAIN is one of Inanna Publications’ ‘Young Feminist Series’. It’s a great read –even for an old feminist hippy like me! Author Ursula Pflug has woven sex, drugs and rock ‘n rock into the tapestry of surviving in a Clim-apocalyptic environment. Pflug’s saucy protagonist Amethyst is abandoned by her hardware geek mother on a healing mountain in California, peopled by homeless hopefuls who are the Tribe. After learning that her mother was killed, Amethyst begins documenting the stories of Tribe members and in doing so heals, returns to Toronto and her rock star father. I heartily recommend MOUNTAIN to young and old alike. -- Ruth Clarke
May 22, 2018
Eloquently woven with strands of loss, healing, and acceptance, this is a book that leaves you feeling a little more together by the end. A little more whole. One of the great treasures in this book -- or as the narrator herself says "all their stories like jewels" -- are the tales that the main character collects for us, and for herself, which parallel, so beautifully, her own journey of coming to terms with losses and longings. These shorts, interspersed throughout the main story, make this book worth the read all on their own -- but the main story is undeniably magic. The unique relationship that develops between the most intriguing "Skinny" and darling Camden is both delightfully realistic and powerfully unreal all the same. *swoon*
January 25, 2019
Mountain is a powerful coming of age story in a sacred healing space--on a mountain. Over the course of a summer, the heroine Camden/Amethyst grows into her own space, her own name, and begins writing the healing stories of other teenage girls, the beginning of her adult life as a writer. Mountain is a beautifully written, compelling novel, with a great heroine, interesting characters, and a sturdy back to the land, communal living vibe.
And if you love Mountain, check out Ursula Plug's Down From, an eerie, cutting edge novel, misty uncertainty about what happened, what might have happened, alternate realities.
And if you love Mountain, check out Ursula Plug's Down From, an eerie, cutting edge novel, misty uncertainty about what happened, what might have happened, alternate realities.
July 20, 2018
Disclaimer: Received a free digital copy of the book through Netgalley.
This was originally supposed to only get two stars because the first 50 pages out of the 90 or so were just not my cup of tea. They came off completely as something from a wanna-be-hippie novel. The writer was trying too hard to execute eloquence in the book and make the stream-of-conscious thing seem like a string of beautiful epiphanies but rather lacked the flow and to be brutally honest, the knack for writing such things.
Amateur writing, and as an amateur writer, I know when I see it - the author was still stuck into the days where apparently using a synonym of the word in the same sentence increased its impact - nah! I believe the opening of a book contributes a lot to your impression of it as a whole and the first page of this novel (more a novella) wasn't good. Youngish. I met words like that and that too on the first page; -ish is fine by me, I use it sometimes too but "youngish"? Come on! What kind of a good author makes you go through that? The dialogue structure was cringe-worthy and the dialogue itself was clunky and too long, the writing just lacked the flow I wanted.
Basically, the first half of the book sucked and made me want to dnf it real bad.
The last half though did redeem the novel as a whole; the short stories incorporated had some good writing even though the author’s habit of shifting between one thing and the other made it hard to keep track with what was happening. There was a lot of 'dissociating people' (directly quoting the protagonist) thing going on which confused me a bit too. However, I liked the short stories and the change in the protagonist was something I loved. The diverse setting of the book made me want to pick it up in the first place so kudos to the author for that! The ending if not great, was at least satisfactory and as a whole I'm glad I gave this a chance and finished it.
(Also if you really want to enjoy this, DO NOT read the goodreads blurb - totally spoils everything)
This was originally supposed to only get two stars because the first 50 pages out of the 90 or so were just not my cup of tea. They came off completely as something from a wanna-be-hippie novel. The writer was trying too hard to execute eloquence in the book and make the stream-of-conscious thing seem like a string of beautiful epiphanies but rather lacked the flow and to be brutally honest, the knack for writing such things.
Amateur writing, and as an amateur writer, I know when I see it - the author was still stuck into the days where apparently using a synonym of the word in the same sentence increased its impact - nah! I believe the opening of a book contributes a lot to your impression of it as a whole and the first page of this novel (more a novella) wasn't good. Youngish. I met words like that and that too on the first page; -ish is fine by me, I use it sometimes too but "youngish"? Come on! What kind of a good author makes you go through that? The dialogue structure was cringe-worthy and the dialogue itself was clunky and too long, the writing just lacked the flow I wanted.
Basically, the first half of the book sucked and made me want to dnf it real bad.
The last half though did redeem the novel as a whole; the short stories incorporated had some good writing even though the author’s habit of shifting between one thing and the other made it hard to keep track with what was happening. There was a lot of 'dissociating people' (directly quoting the protagonist) thing going on which confused me a bit too. However, I liked the short stories and the change in the protagonist was something I loved. The diverse setting of the book made me want to pick it up in the first place so kudos to the author for that! The ending if not great, was at least satisfactory and as a whole I'm glad I gave this a chance and finished it.
(Also if you really want to enjoy this, DO NOT read the goodreads blurb - totally spoils everything)
June 26, 2017
Mountain is a novel (but at only 98 pages, more of a novella) that tells the story of seventeen-year-old Camden O’Connor, a girl who lives in two worlds due to her parents’ separation. Her father Lark is a minor rock star based out of Toronto. When with her Dad, she is the typically spoiled city girl with all-access to her father’s credit cards. Life with her mother Laureen is decidedly different: she is a member of “The Tribe” a nomadic collective community that lives off the grid (for the most part) along the west coast and elsewhere in the U.S. and Canada. Laureen is a self-proclaimed “hardware geek” and it is her main responsibility to set up Internet access for the community. This is where Mountain begins: in Northern California during the spring thaw, the snow is melting and the ground is thawing, giving the area of the encampment a Woodstockian vibe. Everything is either wet or muddy or both. In a few days, Laureen leaves Camden at the camp to go to San Francisco pressing a $50 bill in her hand (“not that you’ll need it; I’ll only be gone overnight”) and is gone.
Full review here:
https://consumedbyink.ca/2017/06/26/g...
Full review here:
https://consumedbyink.ca/2017/06/26/g...
March 8, 2018
This story is familiar in a way that I don't think I've ever encountered before in a book. The details of a summer at a hippie mountain retreat- the workshops she half-scorns, her crush on Skinny, the hikes and the chores and the kinds of people you get to know there- are the sense memories of so many people. I don't think I'm conveying the feeling properly, but it's real.
This book deals with rape very matter-of-factly. Skinny brings it up on a slow kitchen day, and three of them discuss their past traumas. The healing of trauma is a central focus of the Mountain,
This book deals with rape very matter-of-factly. Skinny brings it up on a slow kitchen day, and three of them discuss their past traumas. The healing of trauma is a central focus of the Mountain,
December 14, 2018
Ostensibly a work of young adult fiction, Mountain is a wonderful novel for all ages. Pflug, a stalwart in Canadian fiction, shines in this powerful narrative of a teenage girl on the brink of estrangement from her mother.
Seventeen-year-old Camden is the product of the failed marriage of Lark, a minor rock star, and Laureen, a new-age environmentalist and computer geek. For her summer vacation, Camden is forced to leave behind her comfortable Toronto lifestyle with Lark to accompany Laureen on a road trip from Vancouver to California. There, Laureen has a gig setting up the solar power supply and satellite internet connections for a month-long gathering of spiritual and personal healing.
After getting things up and running, Laureen heads off alone on a short trip to San Francisco to purchase some IT components. Camden believes that her mother has really left to see her lover, a man she despises and for good reason.
Laureen's trip takes longer than planned, and Camden finds herself increasingly feeling abandoned. Left with little money and possessing few camping skills, she turns for support to her mother's friend, Skinny, who is in charge of camp security. While Camden is also physically attracted to the young man, she is irked that Laureen and Skinny are so tight. At first, she assumes that Skinny is just another of her mother's ex-lovers but soon finds that his connection to Laureen is not at all sexual but something much more significant. As Camden becomes increasingly concerned that her mother has abandoned her, she discovers that she and Skinny share a dark secret.
The beauty of Pflug's writing is her ability to deliver a narrative which juxtaposes the consumer-driven frivolity of teenagers with their vulnerabilities to harm caused by adults around them. In an age where abuse of any kind is decried in very public spaces with strident calls for draconian measures, Mountain is about healing, not punishment. And in it, we are directed to the importance of victims helping other victims to heal.
There are few writers who can draw their readers into the personae of their characters as eloquently as Ursula Pflug. Mountain is a novel that leaves no room for detached bystanders. It sweeps you up and infuses you with the emotions of its young protagonist and in the end, leaves you enmeshed in her sorrow.
This review was also published in the Ottawa Review of Books.
Seventeen-year-old Camden is the product of the failed marriage of Lark, a minor rock star, and Laureen, a new-age environmentalist and computer geek. For her summer vacation, Camden is forced to leave behind her comfortable Toronto lifestyle with Lark to accompany Laureen on a road trip from Vancouver to California. There, Laureen has a gig setting up the solar power supply and satellite internet connections for a month-long gathering of spiritual and personal healing.
After getting things up and running, Laureen heads off alone on a short trip to San Francisco to purchase some IT components. Camden believes that her mother has really left to see her lover, a man she despises and for good reason.
Laureen's trip takes longer than planned, and Camden finds herself increasingly feeling abandoned. Left with little money and possessing few camping skills, she turns for support to her mother's friend, Skinny, who is in charge of camp security. While Camden is also physically attracted to the young man, she is irked that Laureen and Skinny are so tight. At first, she assumes that Skinny is just another of her mother's ex-lovers but soon finds that his connection to Laureen is not at all sexual but something much more significant. As Camden becomes increasingly concerned that her mother has abandoned her, she discovers that she and Skinny share a dark secret.
The beauty of Pflug's writing is her ability to deliver a narrative which juxtaposes the consumer-driven frivolity of teenagers with their vulnerabilities to harm caused by adults around them. In an age where abuse of any kind is decried in very public spaces with strident calls for draconian measures, Mountain is about healing, not punishment. And in it, we are directed to the importance of victims helping other victims to heal.
There are few writers who can draw their readers into the personae of their characters as eloquently as Ursula Pflug. Mountain is a novel that leaves no room for detached bystanders. It sweeps you up and infuses you with the emotions of its young protagonist and in the end, leaves you enmeshed in her sorrow.
This review was also published in the Ottawa Review of Books.
March 22, 2023
As a result of its fine-tuned stylings, those craving a more simplistic and wham-bam formulaic writing approach won’t get this book. Pflug respects her readers, especially those offbeat enough to be like the characters in her books. Pflug crafts books with a literary sophistication often absent particularly from YA fiction, making her writing all the more special a find to be treasured by those who seek it.
June 5, 2017
This is more of a 3.5 -- it was very short and really just a glimpse into Camden's life, interspersed with the stories of others she meets at the mountain commune most of the book is set at. Interesting idea and characters, but the timeline is a bit confusing; couldn't figure out when exactly it was set, now or near future, what was going on in the world etc. Great characters though, very alive.
November 18, 2019
A very fine book -- deep and moving, touching upon a number of important issues. Despite the heaviness of some of the subject matter (trauma, grief, the world falling apart, etc.), it was a pleasure to read and often beautiful.
July 25, 2020
I sort of liked the writing style but at times it was just too dense. Also, nothing really happened?
July 20, 2017
The story sound really good. Girl of very different divorced parents, minor rock star for a dad and mom, who makes electronic stuff (wi-fi, satellite links,...)for outdoors gatherings, like festivals. On one such job, mom leaves her, to come back next day. Only she doesn't returns.
I struggled with writing most of the book, I often felt lost and wasn't sure what the story was really about, what is really shame. It could be really good.
I struggled with writing most of the book, I often felt lost and wasn't sure what the story was really about, what is really shame. It could be really good.
April 30, 2019
My near-future YA novella Mountain received lovely reviews in Tangent, Cascadia Subduction Zone, The Future Fire and the Ottawa Review of Books among other places. I will see if I can manage to cobble together a few of the links. I've just posted my son Edward Back's beautiful video here.
Victoria Silverwolf writes:
The narrator is a teenage girl, the daughter of divorced parents. Her father, who does not appear until the end, is a successful musician. With him, she leads a life of credit cards and shopping malls. Her mother travels to communal gatherings, where she uses her technical skills to help those who live there survive off the land with do-it-yourself technology. During one such excursion, she leaves her daughter behind, promising to return in a few days. While the daughter waits, she becomes friends with a boy who has secrets, which remain unrevealed until halfway through the novella. She also records the stories of other young people who have come to the gathering. (These narrations incorporate writings that the author published previously.) Some of these stories are realistic, while others are fantasy. At the end, the narrator finds out what happened to her mother, and matures from adolescence to adulthood. Read more
here.
Ian Thomas Shaw wrote about Mountain in ORB, the Ontario Review of Books. His second novel, Quill of the Dove was recently released by Guernica.
The beauty of Pflug's writing is her ability to deliver a narrative which juxtaposes the consumer-driven frivolity of teenagers with their vulnerabilities to harm caused by adults around them. In an age where abuse of any kind is decried in very public spaces with strident calls for draconian measures, Mountain is about healing, not punishment. And in it, we are directed to the importance of victims helping other victims to heal.
There are few writers who can draw their readers into the personae of their characters as eloquently as Ursula Pflug. Mountain is a novel that leaves no room for detached bystanders. It sweeps you up and infuses you with the emotions of its young protagonist and in the end, leaves you enmeshed in her sorrow.
Read more here.
Victoria Silverwolf writes:
The narrator is a teenage girl, the daughter of divorced parents. Her father, who does not appear until the end, is a successful musician. With him, she leads a life of credit cards and shopping malls. Her mother travels to communal gatherings, where she uses her technical skills to help those who live there survive off the land with do-it-yourself technology. During one such excursion, she leaves her daughter behind, promising to return in a few days. While the daughter waits, she becomes friends with a boy who has secrets, which remain unrevealed until halfway through the novella. She also records the stories of other young people who have come to the gathering. (These narrations incorporate writings that the author published previously.) Some of these stories are realistic, while others are fantasy. At the end, the narrator finds out what happened to her mother, and matures from adolescence to adulthood. Read more
here.
Ian Thomas Shaw wrote about Mountain in ORB, the Ontario Review of Books. His second novel, Quill of the Dove was recently released by Guernica.
The beauty of Pflug's writing is her ability to deliver a narrative which juxtaposes the consumer-driven frivolity of teenagers with their vulnerabilities to harm caused by adults around them. In an age where abuse of any kind is decried in very public spaces with strident calls for draconian measures, Mountain is about healing, not punishment. And in it, we are directed to the importance of victims helping other victims to heal.
There are few writers who can draw their readers into the personae of their characters as eloquently as Ursula Pflug. Mountain is a novel that leaves no room for detached bystanders. It sweeps you up and infuses you with the emotions of its young protagonist and in the end, leaves you enmeshed in her sorrow.
Read more here.
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