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The Net Beneath Us
WINNER OF THE WISCONSIN EDNA FERBER FICTION BOOK AWARD!
In her debut novel, Carol Dunbar draws from her own lived experiences, vividly describing the wonder and harshness of life off the grid. Told over the course of a year, The Net Beneath Us is a lyrical exploration of loss, marriage, parenthood, and self-reliance; a tale of how the natural world―without and within us―offers us healing, if we can learn where to look.
“Dunbar delivers both a tumble through the shifting light of grief, and a forgiving forest floor on which to land.”
―Leif Enger, New York Times bestselling author of Peace Like a River and Virgil Wander
He promised her he would never let go. She’s willing to risk everything to hold on.
In the aftermath of her husband’s logging accident, Elsa has more questions than answers about how to carry on while caring for their two small children in the unfinished house he was building for them in the woods of rural Wisconsin. To cope with the challenges of winter and the near-daily miscommunications from her in-laws, she forges her own relationship with the land, learning from and taking comfort in the trees her husband had so loved. If she wants to stay in their home, she must discover her own capabilities, and accept help from the people and places she least expects.
In her debut novel, Carol Dunbar draws from her own lived experiences, vividly describing the wonder and harshness of life off the grid. Told over the course of a year, The Net Beneath Us is a lyrical exploration of loss, marriage, parenthood, and self-reliance; a tale of how the natural world―without and within us―offers us healing, if we can learn where to look.
“Dunbar delivers both a tumble through the shifting light of grief, and a forgiving forest floor on which to land.”
―Leif Enger, New York Times bestselling author of Peace Like a River and Virgil Wander
He promised her he would never let go. She’s willing to risk everything to hold on.
In the aftermath of her husband’s logging accident, Elsa has more questions than answers about how to carry on while caring for their two small children in the unfinished house he was building for them in the woods of rural Wisconsin. To cope with the challenges of winter and the near-daily miscommunications from her in-laws, she forges her own relationship with the land, learning from and taking comfort in the trees her husband had so loved. If she wants to stay in their home, she must discover her own capabilities, and accept help from the people and places she least expects.
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 13, 2022
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October 11, 2022
In a Nutshell: A debut literary fiction about the journey of a family through grief and loss. Well-written, but ponderous. You need to be in the right mood for this – it gets pretty gloomy at times. If you are an audiobook listener, go for the audio.
Story Synopsis:
Where the book worked for me:
🌹 A literary fiction is nothing without well-sketched characters, and this one is a winner in that department. Every single main character comes in various shades of grey. Each of them is battling some or the other regret. As the narrative voice flits across each of them, you truly get to understand them, empathise with them, and sometimes, even get frustrated with them. The characters feel real and none of them are depicted as perfect. The contrast between Luvera and Elsa’s approach to life adds well to the drama.
🌹 A major chunk of the story comes from Elsa’s perspective, and it is her character that provides the greatest dramatic effect in the story. Her stubbornness, her courage, and her independence are balanced by her moping over “what-if”, her strained relations with her family, and her uncertainty about what to do next. She carries the story well on her shoulders.
🌹 It would have been so easy to portray the grief only from Elsa’s point of view but the author shines an equal spotlight on all of her key characters. I admired her decision to also give a voice to little Hester’s feelings. She is one adorable girl and her angle elevates the story to a whole new level.
🌹 The story covers almost all feelings that come with life-changing news – shock, anger, depression, resignation, hope, faith, courage, moving on… It does justice to most of these emotions. The way the grief-handling is written, you don’t just view the pain of the characters but actually feel it with them.
🌹 There is an underlying feel of authenticity to the portrayal of living life off the grid. The blurb indicates that the author has drawn on her own experiences to show the wonder and harshness of such a lifestyle. That’s probably why it feels so genuine. Loved the realistic depiction.
🌹 The story is set in Northern Wisconsin, and thought I haven’t ever been there, I could still see the landscape through the beautiful visualisation. I am sure locals will appreciate it even more.
🌹 For a debut work, the writing is amazingly nuanced. Obviously, you know where it is going, but in literary fiction, the journey is of greater value than the destination.
🌹 Loved the metaphorical title – suits the story so well.
Where the book could have worked better for me:
🌵 Too intense on the feelings. My fault, not the book’s. I should have read it at some other time.
🌵 The story attempts to shove in some paranormal feels. (Or maybe, magical realism is the better word for these elements.) It broke the grounded feel of the plot.
🌵 There are too many things happening to too many characters in the novel – a common feature of a character-driven story. But while most worked well, I wasn’t at all happy with one element in the Tommy track. It felt forced in to create a shock effect and didn’t proceed logically from Elsa’s character.
🌵 To a certain extent, the plot makes use of the found family trope. While this works mostly well, the reason why they weren’t as connected with each other when Silas was active doesn’t come out well. Some of Elsa’s antagonism feels baseless and I never quite understood why she was so adamant about not accepting help from Ethan and Luvera.
The audiobook experience:
The audiobook, clocking at a little more than 10 hours, is narrated by Cassandra Campbell. She is one of my favourite narrators, and as such, I am not surprised by the brilliance of her performance. She brought this book alive in the best way possible. Not many narrators can do justice to children’s voices without sounding funny or whiny. But I loved her voice for both Hester and Finn.
Moreover, this is a very slow-paced book, so audio is definitely a better way for you to experience the story without its feeling dragged.
This book is in many ways healing, and in equal ways, frustrating. But overall, it offers a story that does justice to its intention. Recommended to fans of character-driven literary fiction who won’t mind the slower pace. Go in when you are mentally prepared for an intense emotional experience.
4 stars.
My thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Net Beneath Us”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.
PS: I don’t understand how some GR reviewers have filed this book as a mystery-thriller. Such incorrect tagging creates wrong expectations for potential readers. There’s nothing ‘thriller’ in the content, and remember that the author/publisher haven’t made this claim. Don’t go in expecting a mystery – there’s none.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Facebook | Twitter
Story Synopsis:
Elsa has just received devastating new: Silas, her logger husband, has met with a serious accident. Now it is up to Elsa to take care of her house in the woods, manage living off-the-grid just like Silas wanted, take care of her two little children – five year old Hester and not-even-a-year-old Finn, and also stay true to her own desires while maintaining an open communication with her in-laws – Silas’ Uncle Ethan and Aunt Luvera. Will city-bred Elsa be able to handle life on this rural farm without her husband’s help?
The story is written in a third person limited perspective of various characters and covers the period of one year beginning with the accident.
Where the book worked for me:
🌹 A literary fiction is nothing without well-sketched characters, and this one is a winner in that department. Every single main character comes in various shades of grey. Each of them is battling some or the other regret. As the narrative voice flits across each of them, you truly get to understand them, empathise with them, and sometimes, even get frustrated with them. The characters feel real and none of them are depicted as perfect. The contrast between Luvera and Elsa’s approach to life adds well to the drama.
🌹 A major chunk of the story comes from Elsa’s perspective, and it is her character that provides the greatest dramatic effect in the story. Her stubbornness, her courage, and her independence are balanced by her moping over “what-if”, her strained relations with her family, and her uncertainty about what to do next. She carries the story well on her shoulders.
🌹 It would have been so easy to portray the grief only from Elsa’s point of view but the author shines an equal spotlight on all of her key characters. I admired her decision to also give a voice to little Hester’s feelings. She is one adorable girl and her angle elevates the story to a whole new level.
🌹 The story covers almost all feelings that come with life-changing news – shock, anger, depression, resignation, hope, faith, courage, moving on… It does justice to most of these emotions. The way the grief-handling is written, you don’t just view the pain of the characters but actually feel it with them.
🌹 There is an underlying feel of authenticity to the portrayal of living life off the grid. The blurb indicates that the author has drawn on her own experiences to show the wonder and harshness of such a lifestyle. That’s probably why it feels so genuine. Loved the realistic depiction.
🌹 The story is set in Northern Wisconsin, and thought I haven’t ever been there, I could still see the landscape through the beautiful visualisation. I am sure locals will appreciate it even more.
🌹 For a debut work, the writing is amazingly nuanced. Obviously, you know where it is going, but in literary fiction, the journey is of greater value than the destination.
🌹 Loved the metaphorical title – suits the story so well.
Where the book could have worked better for me:
🌵 Too intense on the feelings. My fault, not the book’s. I should have read it at some other time.
🌵 The story attempts to shove in some paranormal feels. (Or maybe, magical realism is the better word for these elements.) It broke the grounded feel of the plot.
🌵 There are too many things happening to too many characters in the novel – a common feature of a character-driven story. But while most worked well, I wasn’t at all happy with one element in the Tommy track. It felt forced in to create a shock effect and didn’t proceed logically from Elsa’s character.
🌵 To a certain extent, the plot makes use of the found family trope. While this works mostly well, the reason why they weren’t as connected with each other when Silas was active doesn’t come out well. Some of Elsa’s antagonism feels baseless and I never quite understood why she was so adamant about not accepting help from Ethan and Luvera.
The audiobook experience:
The audiobook, clocking at a little more than 10 hours, is narrated by Cassandra Campbell. She is one of my favourite narrators, and as such, I am not surprised by the brilliance of her performance. She brought this book alive in the best way possible. Not many narrators can do justice to children’s voices without sounding funny or whiny. But I loved her voice for both Hester and Finn.
Moreover, this is a very slow-paced book, so audio is definitely a better way for you to experience the story without its feeling dragged.
This book is in many ways healing, and in equal ways, frustrating. But overall, it offers a story that does justice to its intention. Recommended to fans of character-driven literary fiction who won’t mind the slower pace. Go in when you are mentally prepared for an intense emotional experience.
4 stars.
My thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Net Beneath Us”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.
PS: I don’t understand how some GR reviewers have filed this book as a mystery-thriller. Such incorrect tagging creates wrong expectations for potential readers. There’s nothing ‘thriller’ in the content, and remember that the author/publisher haven’t made this claim. Don’t go in expecting a mystery – there’s none.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Facebook | Twitter
September 18, 2022
An exquisite debut novel about love, friendship, nature and the struggle to survive. Elsa and Silas were world apart when they net and fell in love. Silas, a logger in rural Wisconsin, Elsa, a city girl with an affluent background but she willingly follows him to start their new life in an environment that is completely alien to her. He starts building them a house, they have two children, life is hard but their is plenty of love. Then disaster strikes and Elsa must learn to survive and thrive, learn how to manage, learn to lean on those who are willing to help.
A quiet book but an emotional one. Wonderful, fully realized characters with beautiful descriptions of nature. One can't help but sympathize with Elsa, want her to succeed though I admit to wanting to shake her at times. Help is available but is she too proud to ask, accept when help is offered?
Such a good, heartfelt story. Looking forward to her next novel.
The narration by Cassandra Campbell is terrific.
A quiet book but an emotional one. Wonderful, fully realized characters with beautiful descriptions of nature. One can't help but sympathize with Elsa, want her to succeed though I admit to wanting to shake her at times. Help is available but is she too proud to ask, accept when help is offered?
Such a good, heartfelt story. Looking forward to her next novel.
The narration by Cassandra Campbell is terrific.
May 24, 2022
(free review copy) Absolutely utterly exquisite. I read a review of this in Publisher’s Weekly and immediately grabbed it from Edelweiss and then immediately dug in. As a Northern WI girl myself, I always gravitate towards books set in the area in which I grew up and this met and exceeded my expectations in this regard. This story is heartbreaking and riveting and achingly atmospheric. In much of the US it is hard to imagine being able to live as they did in this story ~ off the grid for non-religious reasons but attached to a perfectly normal tiny community in the midst of the deep forest. Near Lake Superior. At the mercy of Mother Nature. But it’s not JUST about living off the grid. No, it’s also about nature and love and motherhood and mostly about so much damn grief. And family and survival despite all odds.
I simply can’t recommend it highly enough to readers like me.
I simply can’t recommend it highly enough to readers like me.
August 24, 2022
THE NET BENEATH US by Carol Dunbar is beautifully written, evocative, and thought-provoking. Sprinkled with metaphors and symbols from the healing nature of the land, trees, and forest.
Like nature and humans, there are vast contrasts. Both beautiful and dangerous. Trees and their wisdom are essential elements of the novel, reflective and meditative. THE BRAVE TREE.
Between Dunbar's evocative and lyrical prose and Cassandra Campbell's flawless and emotional narration of this captivating audiobook, THE NET BENEATH US is a "must-read" listen debut for fans of literary fiction. A spellbinding novel of survival and hope.
He promised her he would never let go.
She's willing to risk everything to hold on.
A story of a young family, Silas, and Elsa, building their home in rural Wisconsin. When a logging accident changes everything. Silas is in a coma.
Wife and mother, Elsa, must maneuver and determine the best way to remain on the land with two small children with no running water or conveniences. A brutal winter is approaching. There is no firewood for heat, and she has no help. She is haunted by her regrets and determined to stay put. But how?
With two small children and the rough winter approaching, she pushes herself to be self-reliant when she cannot depend on her in-laws or others. She takes comfort in the trees and nature her husband loved. She is wracked with grief and regret. She must stay in this home when others think she should leave.
She digs deep inside herself, but she must accept help from others. She struggles with staying and a lot of manual work, too much for a single woman, or leaving the land her husband loved to move back to modern society and conveniences. She is conflicted.
In alternating chapters, told from four main characters' POV: Else, her five-year-old daughter, Hester, and her late husband's aunt and uncle, Luvera, and Ethan.
Luvera and Elsa are in many ways opposites as women. Luvera is a practical farm wife; Elsa is a dreamer who paints.
All four of the main characters in this story are struggling with their regrets. Luvera regrets never having children; Ethan regrets not going out for one last beer with his brother; Elsa realizes that Silas was the "greatest love of her life, and she'd reciprocated that love too late.
When a stranger shows up, Big Al, Elsa, is not sure he can be trusted.
A lyrical exploration of loss, marriage, parenthood, and self-reliance. From regrets, loss, despair, grief, survival, joy, love, acceptance, and healing.
A stunning debut I cannot wait to read more from this author. I highly recommend the audiobook, as Cassandra Campbell is always a favorite narrator.
Full of heart told over a year, Dunbar draws from her own experience living off the grid in Northern Wisconsin.
A special thank you to #MacmillanAudio and #NetGalley for an ALC for an honest review. #SMPInfluencers
Blog Review Posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins |#JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Sept 12, 2022
Sept 2022 Must-Read Books
Like nature and humans, there are vast contrasts. Both beautiful and dangerous. Trees and their wisdom are essential elements of the novel, reflective and meditative. THE BRAVE TREE.
Between Dunbar's evocative and lyrical prose and Cassandra Campbell's flawless and emotional narration of this captivating audiobook, THE NET BENEATH US is a "must-read" listen debut for fans of literary fiction. A spellbinding novel of survival and hope.
He promised her he would never let go.
She's willing to risk everything to hold on.
A story of a young family, Silas, and Elsa, building their home in rural Wisconsin. When a logging accident changes everything. Silas is in a coma.
Wife and mother, Elsa, must maneuver and determine the best way to remain on the land with two small children with no running water or conveniences. A brutal winter is approaching. There is no firewood for heat, and she has no help. She is haunted by her regrets and determined to stay put. But how?
With two small children and the rough winter approaching, she pushes herself to be self-reliant when she cannot depend on her in-laws or others. She takes comfort in the trees and nature her husband loved. She is wracked with grief and regret. She must stay in this home when others think she should leave.
She digs deep inside herself, but she must accept help from others. She struggles with staying and a lot of manual work, too much for a single woman, or leaving the land her husband loved to move back to modern society and conveniences. She is conflicted.
In alternating chapters, told from four main characters' POV: Else, her five-year-old daughter, Hester, and her late husband's aunt and uncle, Luvera, and Ethan.
Luvera and Elsa are in many ways opposites as women. Luvera is a practical farm wife; Elsa is a dreamer who paints.
All four of the main characters in this story are struggling with their regrets. Luvera regrets never having children; Ethan regrets not going out for one last beer with his brother; Elsa realizes that Silas was the "greatest love of her life, and she'd reciprocated that love too late.
When a stranger shows up, Big Al, Elsa, is not sure he can be trusted.
A lyrical exploration of loss, marriage, parenthood, and self-reliance. From regrets, loss, despair, grief, survival, joy, love, acceptance, and healing.
A stunning debut I cannot wait to read more from this author. I highly recommend the audiobook, as Cassandra Campbell is always a favorite narrator.
Full of heart told over a year, Dunbar draws from her own experience living off the grid in Northern Wisconsin.
A special thank you to #MacmillanAudio and #NetGalley for an ALC for an honest review. #SMPInfluencers
Blog Review Posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins |#JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Sept 12, 2022
Sept 2022 Must-Read Books
June 12, 2022
With gorgeous, evocative prose, THE NET BENEATH US welcomes readers into a bucolic, off-grid life that has been turned upside down for a young family. When her husband is the victim of a logging accident, Elsa needs to "keep on keeping on" as Silas would put it. For her, that means a challenging life lived close to the bone in an unfinished, off-grid life that requires tons of effort and skills to be learned, all while she's responsible for young children trying to survive grief. I loved the story's balance of being immersed in a very specific lifestyle while also being carried forward by the universal aches of loss, fear, determination, dedication. Elsa has to grapple with the biggest questions we can face, and watching her confront, make peace, conquer and grow is at turns harrowing and inspirational. The setting is an exquisite part of the story, a character in its own right, and I was left with a hunger to live farther from the grid and deeper into my own life as a result. Highly recommend!
October 1, 2022
I’ve read quite a few fantastic debuts this year and thanks to @booktalkwithjb and @thebookclubmom I have another to add to that list: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛 𝗨𝗦 by Carol Dunbar. This is just the sort of rich, complex story that I most love. As the story opens, Elsa’s husband has just been severely injured in a logging accident. He’s the unexpected love of her life, and that love has brought her to the woods of Wisconsin. There, she and Silas live off the grid in a partially finished house with their two young children. It’s a life unlike anything Elsa could have ever imagined and after the accident she realizes just how much Silas has done for them and how very unprepared she is. This is both terrifying and humbling, and Elsa, fearing judgment, is resistant to the help around her.
This is also a story of grief looked at beautifully from many different angles. Everyone in Silas’s life is living with the pain of his injury: his aunt and uncle, Elsa, their daughter Hester.
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥: 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵; 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦.”
“𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘱.”
I’m so grateful to the readers who pointed me toward 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘵 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘜𝘴. This is a book bursting with the heart and humanity that so often define our lives. Its characters and the struggles they grapple with are ones I will be thinking about for a very long time to come. It's definitely one I can highly recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
This is also a story of grief looked at beautifully from many different angles. Everyone in Silas’s life is living with the pain of his injury: his aunt and uncle, Elsa, their daughter Hester.
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥: 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵; 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦.”
“𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘱.”
I’m so grateful to the readers who pointed me toward 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘵 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘜𝘴. This is a book bursting with the heart and humanity that so often define our lives. Its characters and the struggles they grapple with are ones I will be thinking about for a very long time to come. It's definitely one I can highly recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
October 15, 2022
This beautifully written debut novel by Carol Dunbar follows the changes in a family over a one year period after their lives change completely. It's about nature and love and family but mostly its a story about coping with grief and loss while learning to live a life connected to nature.
As the novel begins, Elsa's husband, Silas, is severely injured in a logging accident. She had been a rich city girl who was learning how to live a life off the grid with the help of her husband. Elsa, her husband and their two children live in an partially completed house in the woods of rural Wisconsin. After the accident she has to decide if she can remain in their home with no running water, no friends and minimal help from his aunt and uncle who really don't have much faith in her abilities to face the tough winter ahead. Will she be strong and resilent enough to prove that she can be stronger than she - or anyone else- thinks she is.
This story is told in four points of view -- Elsa, her 5 year old daughter Hester and her husband's aunt and uncle. They are all at crucial junctions in their lives with regrets of their past and unsure of how to move forward. They are all bound by the grief that they feel about Silas and unsure how to move forward in their lives.
The writing in this book is exquisite as are the descriptions of nature. It's a slow moving look at a family learning how to rely on each other as their lives change drastically.
Thanks to goodreads for a copy of this book to read and review.
As the novel begins, Elsa's husband, Silas, is severely injured in a logging accident. She had been a rich city girl who was learning how to live a life off the grid with the help of her husband. Elsa, her husband and their two children live in an partially completed house in the woods of rural Wisconsin. After the accident she has to decide if she can remain in their home with no running water, no friends and minimal help from his aunt and uncle who really don't have much faith in her abilities to face the tough winter ahead. Will she be strong and resilent enough to prove that she can be stronger than she - or anyone else- thinks she is.
This story is told in four points of view -- Elsa, her 5 year old daughter Hester and her husband's aunt and uncle. They are all at crucial junctions in their lives with regrets of their past and unsure of how to move forward. They are all bound by the grief that they feel about Silas and unsure how to move forward in their lives.
The writing in this book is exquisite as are the descriptions of nature. It's a slow moving look at a family learning how to rely on each other as their lives change drastically.
Thanks to goodreads for a copy of this book to read and review.
September 9, 2022
Pub day: 9-13-2022
Welp, I was NOT prepared for this very emotional read. There was one particular moment in the first few chapters where I absolutely wept. Real tears rolling down my face while I tried to keep my s*** together because I didn’t want to freak my daughter out! 😂
This wonderful debut has a slower pace but is packed full of insightful moments and a wide range of characters. A deeply emotional tale about loss, strength, and finding what is needed most in each person’s life.
I did a combo of audio and digital and both were wonderful. The audio is done by one narrator, but I never found it lacking when she altered her voice for different characters. Really impressive debut, I’m excited to see what Dunbar writes next!
Thank you Macmillan Audio, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and Netgalley for the arc & alc in exchange for an honest review!
September 21, 2022
This was about grief and all the challenges of trying to move forward, but it was also about family and finding meaning. The grief jumped off the page at me and tried to hold me there. I thought at one point that I might not be able to go on. But slowly it showed me the journey and shared pain that we all feel. There’s nothing happy about this one but there was hope and meaning. The writing was good and it was refreshing to see details and feel what the author describes.
I chose to listen to this book on audio and Cassandra Campbell narrated this one and she’s the best. She’s one of my favorites and love her voice. I highly recommend listening to this.
Thanks Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.
I chose to listen to this book on audio and Cassandra Campbell narrated this one and she’s the best. She’s one of my favorites and love her voice. I highly recommend listening to this.
Thanks Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.
July 1, 2022
Thanks to the author/publisher for the goodreads giveaway!
This was a compelling, but heart breaking story. I found myself not wanting to continue, but completely unable to put it down. The journey through grief is heartbreaking but so well written that I felt immediately connected to a woman I have very little in common with (truly the only thing I can think of that we have in common is motherhood).
This was a compelling, but heart breaking story. I found myself not wanting to continue, but completely unable to put it down. The journey through grief is heartbreaking but so well written that I felt immediately connected to a woman I have very little in common with (truly the only thing I can think of that we have in common is motherhood).
October 20, 2022
3.75 ⭐️ This was a beautifully written piece of lyrical fiction and I love stories where rural/wilderness is as much a character as it is a setting. While I loved the characters/perspectives of Ethan and Hester, the author tipped the scales for me a bit too far with the continued disturbing decision making/judgements of Elsa and Luvera. I get that one is not thinking clearly when grieving — but it was just a bit too disturbing for me. That’s what kept this from being a 4 or 5⭐️ read for me. My other issue was this was supposedly set in Northern Wisconsin, yet while the sense of rural wilderness was outstandingly conveyed, it could have been any forest/woods region. Aside from a few mentions of Madison, nothing gave me any sense of specific location or region.
Still, a wonderful work and I look forward to reading this author again and recommend putting this on your TBR.
Still, a wonderful work and I look forward to reading this author again and recommend putting this on your TBR.
October 14, 2022
4.5 stars! This book is lyrical and beautifully written. You will feel the emotions and turmoil of choices each character experiences. it is very character driven but it didn't feel dense or slow but it is understandably sad. I didn't agree with all the choices the characters made but I know this story will stay with me for a long time.
September 4, 2023
Oh, what a poignant, beautiful book. There is a connection with nature. There is a connection with people, however, Elsa Is just learning. She came to know and love Silas, who is a logger, but a natural logger - sustainable forestry management. She is pretty and stands out from the rest, she’s has traveled around the world, she’s gone to college and she comes from a bustling city with country club parents who are wealthy and snooty and cut her off because of her relationship with Silas. They feel she’s hooked up and married under herself. But it is a comfortable relationship with a man who is in tune with nature. It is a relationship with someone who truly knows her. And she has never felt this way before.
In essence, he and she are alike, deep down, he is ahead of her on that plane, he knows she’s like him deep inside. He teaches her about the lives and history of trees and the land. They marry and have two children, they are living on forested land that was purchased with all her remaining family money. They work on building the house but are kind of loners. Silas has family in his logging business and friends in the village. Elsa is out of her element but she’s committed both to the lifestyle of her husband and family. However she doesn’t have all the street smarts to know how everything functions out here until there’s an accident and she not only has to deal with the incident, but the grief, the children, herself, the village people who look down on her.
The house is not fully completed and there are generators to manage, and water to haul, wood to chop, garbage to take to the dump, etc - all things Silas did and now it’s all up to her. And it’s winter. And it’s all absolutely overwhelming.
The children have a difficult time, Elsa is having a difficult time - they are all navigating though, mostly on their own. Attempts are made by others to help them but it’s awkward. She’s stubborn, she’s strong, she is a good person, wife and mother. But it’s just so damn difficult to do all this and let others in. To let others in, to let others help.
Elsa does a lot of thinking, grieving, working, refocusing. She realizes she played games with Silas, in a teasing way, but maybe it wasn’t teasing, deep down. She is ashamed of herself. She wishes she had been more loving and considerate back to him. It’s obvious he would do anything for her. Why wouldn’t she do the same for him?
There are little nature connections that make us think of the otherworldly presence of others that have left us - the quiet, staring white deer, the breeze that just blew by into the trees, the candles flickering in the bathroom holders as Elsa thinks of Silas. And the statements that Silas made to Elsa and daughter, Hester, about how the trees look out for each other but they don’t block one another. Trees are social beings; they don’t do as well on their own, they need each other to thrive. He tells her she needs to be strong, like the trees.
Okay some may think this is corny, but I don’t, I’m in alignment with thinking the otherworldly that have gone come and visit us to check on us from time to time and let us know they are there with us, as a butterfly landing on our arm, or a breeze rustling the leaves out of nowhere - I also think so highly of trees - whenever we lose one on our property, I cry. My husband does not understand why I’m crying for a tree. I’ve nurtured that tree, watched it grow into its magnificence. Am so
Proud of both of us - Nature and human coexisting. Looking out for each other, our roots being deeply connected. When one is lost to pests, fungus or storm, there is a grieving but there is also hope. Tree, you gave me shade and beauty, you provided home and natural food and shelter for all the wildlife in the area. I gave you, tree, a warm welcome to my yard that has more diverse trees that can be connected with and grow into a strong natural community. I promise I will nurture you as you will nurture me.
In essence, he and she are alike, deep down, he is ahead of her on that plane, he knows she’s like him deep inside. He teaches her about the lives and history of trees and the land. They marry and have two children, they are living on forested land that was purchased with all her remaining family money. They work on building the house but are kind of loners. Silas has family in his logging business and friends in the village. Elsa is out of her element but she’s committed both to the lifestyle of her husband and family. However she doesn’t have all the street smarts to know how everything functions out here until there’s an accident and she not only has to deal with the incident, but the grief, the children, herself, the village people who look down on her.
The house is not fully completed and there are generators to manage, and water to haul, wood to chop, garbage to take to the dump, etc - all things Silas did and now it’s all up to her. And it’s winter. And it’s all absolutely overwhelming.
The children have a difficult time, Elsa is having a difficult time - they are all navigating though, mostly on their own. Attempts are made by others to help them but it’s awkward. She’s stubborn, she’s strong, she is a good person, wife and mother. But it’s just so damn difficult to do all this and let others in. To let others in, to let others help.
Elsa does a lot of thinking, grieving, working, refocusing. She realizes she played games with Silas, in a teasing way, but maybe it wasn’t teasing, deep down. She is ashamed of herself. She wishes she had been more loving and considerate back to him. It’s obvious he would do anything for her. Why wouldn’t she do the same for him?
There are little nature connections that make us think of the otherworldly presence of others that have left us - the quiet, staring white deer, the breeze that just blew by into the trees, the candles flickering in the bathroom holders as Elsa thinks of Silas. And the statements that Silas made to Elsa and daughter, Hester, about how the trees look out for each other but they don’t block one another. Trees are social beings; they don’t do as well on their own, they need each other to thrive. He tells her she needs to be strong, like the trees.
Okay some may think this is corny, but I don’t, I’m in alignment with thinking the otherworldly that have gone come and visit us to check on us from time to time and let us know they are there with us, as a butterfly landing on our arm, or a breeze rustling the leaves out of nowhere - I also think so highly of trees - whenever we lose one on our property, I cry. My husband does not understand why I’m crying for a tree. I’ve nurtured that tree, watched it grow into its magnificence. Am so
Proud of both of us - Nature and human coexisting. Looking out for each other, our roots being deeply connected. When one is lost to pests, fungus or storm, there is a grieving but there is also hope. Tree, you gave me shade and beauty, you provided home and natural food and shelter for all the wildlife in the area. I gave you, tree, a warm welcome to my yard that has more diverse trees that can be connected with and grow into a strong natural community. I promise I will nurture you as you will nurture me.
July 24, 2022
“Some things sneak up on you when you aren’t even looking and spread themselves out across several years’ time; other things change right away, inside the space of a single heartbeat.”
Carol Dunbar’s debut novel, THE NET BENEATH US, opens with a heartbreaking tragedy. While in the forest cutting trees to build his home, there is an accident, and Silas, father of two and husband to Elsa, is mortally injured. He will survive for a time, if you can call it that; Elsa will bring him home to die. But he doesn’t die. Not immediately. He is in a persistent vegetative state – one tube leading in and another leading out. It is heart-wrenching for Elsa to see Silas in this state – this lifeless state – when he has been brimming with life and love and plans for their family. His dream was to live off-grid in the forest he loved, building the house from trees he felled.
“He was holding on for them, Elsa knew. Holding on to all the things he left undone, the house he was building and the well that wasn’t dug.”
Silas found solace in the trees. A tree never takes anything from another tree, he told Elsa. “They stretch out until their tips sense the leaves of another tree, and then they stop.” The forest was his friend; the trees spoke to him, their deep roots and branches reaching to the heavens teaching him something about staying and leaving.
Elsa couldn’t leave. After Silas dies, she is determined to continue his dream. He comes to her in dreams –whole and smiling and wearing a white shirt effervescent in the sunlight, his chest the barrel of a tree trunk. Everything is hard work here: chopping the wood that heats their home, cranking up the generator, washing clothes, caring for children – all in spite of – or maybe because of her grief. Everyday she goes after the woodpile with a vengeance, letting grief and anger fuel the chopping and splitting.
Elsa was not born of this life. Her family had lived in Switzerland. She’d gone to art school. She’d inherited money after her parents’ death and she’d planned to use it to finish school or maybe to fund a gallery exhibition. She’d had plans, but everything changed when she met and fell in love with Silas. They’d had two children and she’d gladly traded her dreams for his. And then he died. Like the heartwood that binds together two halves of a tree, she was bound to this land, to this dream. Before Silas, she’d always solved her problems by leaving. She needed to stay, to learn whatever it was that the land had to teach her.
Dunbar’s writing is evocative and as lush as the forest. Structured in four segments: Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer, we watch Elsa flail and falter and then grow in strength and confidence as each season passes. THE NET BENEATH US is about the promises we make and keep – to ourselves and to others – and the profound work of grief – how it cleaves us in two and yet, we live, allowing the days and months and years that pass bind us back together, the two halves of a split trunk like the before times and the after times, joined in the middle by the heartwood.
“Grief isn’t just about the person you lost,” Dunbar writes, “it’s about losing the person who you were when you were with them, and who you go on to become.”
THE NET BENEATH US can be preordered today from your favorite bookseller. Highly recommended for fans of Maggie O’Farrell, Nichole Kraus, and Ann Patchett. Listen to my interview with Carol Dunbar on September 22 at 7:00 pm on WTIP Radio, 90.7 Grand Marais, or stream it from the web at wtip.org.
Carol Dunbar’s debut novel, THE NET BENEATH US, opens with a heartbreaking tragedy. While in the forest cutting trees to build his home, there is an accident, and Silas, father of two and husband to Elsa, is mortally injured. He will survive for a time, if you can call it that; Elsa will bring him home to die. But he doesn’t die. Not immediately. He is in a persistent vegetative state – one tube leading in and another leading out. It is heart-wrenching for Elsa to see Silas in this state – this lifeless state – when he has been brimming with life and love and plans for their family. His dream was to live off-grid in the forest he loved, building the house from trees he felled.
“He was holding on for them, Elsa knew. Holding on to all the things he left undone, the house he was building and the well that wasn’t dug.”
Silas found solace in the trees. A tree never takes anything from another tree, he told Elsa. “They stretch out until their tips sense the leaves of another tree, and then they stop.” The forest was his friend; the trees spoke to him, their deep roots and branches reaching to the heavens teaching him something about staying and leaving.
Elsa couldn’t leave. After Silas dies, she is determined to continue his dream. He comes to her in dreams –whole and smiling and wearing a white shirt effervescent in the sunlight, his chest the barrel of a tree trunk. Everything is hard work here: chopping the wood that heats their home, cranking up the generator, washing clothes, caring for children – all in spite of – or maybe because of her grief. Everyday she goes after the woodpile with a vengeance, letting grief and anger fuel the chopping and splitting.
Elsa was not born of this life. Her family had lived in Switzerland. She’d gone to art school. She’d inherited money after her parents’ death and she’d planned to use it to finish school or maybe to fund a gallery exhibition. She’d had plans, but everything changed when she met and fell in love with Silas. They’d had two children and she’d gladly traded her dreams for his. And then he died. Like the heartwood that binds together two halves of a tree, she was bound to this land, to this dream. Before Silas, she’d always solved her problems by leaving. She needed to stay, to learn whatever it was that the land had to teach her.
Dunbar’s writing is evocative and as lush as the forest. Structured in four segments: Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer, we watch Elsa flail and falter and then grow in strength and confidence as each season passes. THE NET BENEATH US is about the promises we make and keep – to ourselves and to others – and the profound work of grief – how it cleaves us in two and yet, we live, allowing the days and months and years that pass bind us back together, the two halves of a split trunk like the before times and the after times, joined in the middle by the heartwood.
“Grief isn’t just about the person you lost,” Dunbar writes, “it’s about losing the person who you were when you were with them, and who you go on to become.”
THE NET BENEATH US can be preordered today from your favorite bookseller. Highly recommended for fans of Maggie O’Farrell, Nichole Kraus, and Ann Patchett. Listen to my interview with Carol Dunbar on September 22 at 7:00 pm on WTIP Radio, 90.7 Grand Marais, or stream it from the web at wtip.org.
July 2, 2022
A nice change in speed and I found The Net Beneath Us to be very poetic. It is on the slower side so I wouldn't recommend this to everyone. The Net Beneath us is a very soft spoken and a gentle book but with a lot of hardship mixed in. This book is about loss, parenthood, marriage and self-reliance. While I think this is targeting a specific audience, if you're looking for a change in pace or interested in trying something new, this wouldn't be a bad book to try out. Just prepare to have a lot of tissues beside you because your eyes will leak.
Elsa husband is in a coma after a work accident and she now finds herself stumbling blindly taking care of a half built home in the middle of the woods with her two young kids. From big city girl with everything provided to her to a single functioning parent figuring out how to chop wood to keep the house warm in the winter, Elsa is out of her element but she is determined to succeed. With the constant doubt from her mother in law and her own father, Elsa has grown to not accept help from others but to rely on herself. However, Elsa also learns that receiving help isn't always bad.
I love Elsa and her fierceness for independence. Her character growth, like this book is slow but with its own rhythm. I admire the way she sees the world and her ability to keep trying. There are many quote worthy moments and many places where my heart aches.
The writing is beautiful but there are parts where it felt janky and I had to go back to reread what the last event was. It jumped a little from one topic to another and I felt like that could have been written better. With this, there wasn't a lot of story - again, this being a very slow book - but with the writing style, it made this book to be interesting enough for me to finish. Overall, a beautifully written story, just targeted at a more specific audience.
Elsa husband is in a coma after a work accident and she now finds herself stumbling blindly taking care of a half built home in the middle of the woods with her two young kids. From big city girl with everything provided to her to a single functioning parent figuring out how to chop wood to keep the house warm in the winter, Elsa is out of her element but she is determined to succeed. With the constant doubt from her mother in law and her own father, Elsa has grown to not accept help from others but to rely on herself. However, Elsa also learns that receiving help isn't always bad.
I love Elsa and her fierceness for independence. Her character growth, like this book is slow but with its own rhythm. I admire the way she sees the world and her ability to keep trying. There are many quote worthy moments and many places where my heart aches.
The writing is beautiful but there are parts where it felt janky and I had to go back to reread what the last event was. It jumped a little from one topic to another and I felt like that could have been written better. With this, there wasn't a lot of story - again, this being a very slow book - but with the writing style, it made this book to be interesting enough for me to finish. Overall, a beautifully written story, just targeted at a more specific audience.
November 21, 2023
A bright spot of my 2023 has been co-creating an online book club—the Great Midwest Book Group—with my friend Laura, a talented middle grade author and fellow bookworm from Wisconsin.
Laura and I are committed to encouraging other readers to join us in discovering authors who share our mutual love for the Midwest. Carol Dunbar is one such author, and her debut, The Net Beneath Us is our January pick for our book group.
Let me stop here and encourage you to join us on January 30 for our Zoom conversation with Carol about her work. (I can DM you details if interested! Also, friend our account on Instagram too, please!)
Having finished this book on a recent road trip, and without giving anything away, here are a few thoughts I’m holding on to in anticipation of our upcoming Q&A with the author:
• This book is set in the woods of rural Wisconsin, and I loved how I felt like I was right there with the main character, Elsa. I appreciated how this read was both a story about how people choose to live off the grid and a narrative about a woman who—having lived a rather bougie East Coast existence before meeting her husband, Silas—finds solace in the quiet life they establish as newylweds in the Midwest.
• I *really* enjoyed this book on audio—the narrative performances were so nuanced and added tension to a story chock full of drama.
• One of the throughlines of this story is about Elsa being a woman unaccustomed to accepting help from others—something she desperately needs in the wake of a family tragedy—and how she has to find it within herself to accept that help from the type of humble, hardworking people (Ethan and Luvera) who define the Midwestern lifestyle.
• Dunbar herself lives off the grid (she writes from a solar-powered office on the second floor of a water tower) so I cannot wait to ask her about how this type of lifestyle has changed her, given she was once, like Elsa, a “city girl.”
• This is a book I may never have gotten around to reading were it not for this book group. For that reason alone, I am grateful for the time that Laura and I are investing in cultivating this group for ourselves and for like-minded readers who want to see more fiction written about the Midwest as a place where people want to live versus leave.
Laura and I are committed to encouraging other readers to join us in discovering authors who share our mutual love for the Midwest. Carol Dunbar is one such author, and her debut, The Net Beneath Us is our January pick for our book group.
Let me stop here and encourage you to join us on January 30 for our Zoom conversation with Carol about her work. (I can DM you details if interested! Also, friend our account on Instagram too, please!)
Having finished this book on a recent road trip, and without giving anything away, here are a few thoughts I’m holding on to in anticipation of our upcoming Q&A with the author:
• This book is set in the woods of rural Wisconsin, and I loved how I felt like I was right there with the main character, Elsa. I appreciated how this read was both a story about how people choose to live off the grid and a narrative about a woman who—having lived a rather bougie East Coast existence before meeting her husband, Silas—finds solace in the quiet life they establish as newylweds in the Midwest.
• I *really* enjoyed this book on audio—the narrative performances were so nuanced and added tension to a story chock full of drama.
• One of the throughlines of this story is about Elsa being a woman unaccustomed to accepting help from others—something she desperately needs in the wake of a family tragedy—and how she has to find it within herself to accept that help from the type of humble, hardworking people (Ethan and Luvera) who define the Midwestern lifestyle.
• Dunbar herself lives off the grid (she writes from a solar-powered office on the second floor of a water tower) so I cannot wait to ask her about how this type of lifestyle has changed her, given she was once, like Elsa, a “city girl.”
• This is a book I may never have gotten around to reading were it not for this book group. For that reason alone, I am grateful for the time that Laura and I are investing in cultivating this group for ourselves and for like-minded readers who want to see more fiction written about the Midwest as a place where people want to live versus leave.
September 13, 2022
✨Audiobook Review✨
The Net Beneath Us
Carol Dunbar
Pub Date: September 13, 2022
"If you listen to the trees, they tell you things. “Oh really? Like what?" When it's your time to go, don't fall on your young.”
🌲 Synopsis:
In the aftermath of her husband’s logging accident, Elsa has more questions than answers about how to carry on while caring for their two small children in the unfinished house he was building for them in the woods of rural Wisconsin. To cope with the challenges of winter and the near-daily miscommunications from her in-laws, she forges her own relationship with the land, learning from and taking comfort in the trees her husband had so loved. If she wants to stay in their home, she must discover her own capabilities, and accept help from the people and places she least expects.
💭 Thoughts:
First off, congratulations to @carol_dunbar_wi on her debut novel. This book had me running the full gamut of emotions. When Elsa’s husband was injured, I cried. I couldn’t imagine the anguish a person must feel seeing their significant other in a coma knowing their isn’t anything that can be done. Watching your children play, knowing their father will never join them again. Elsa and her daughter, Hester’s grief was so real and emotional. I truly felt for Elsa as she tried to carry on her family’s dream after her husband died. The story really gives a very powerful look at grief, motherhood, and finding yourself again after tragedy.
❄️ Overall, this is a deeply moving book that will have you appreciating everything we often take for granted. I highly recommend reading.
❄️Thank you @netgalley, @carol_dunbar_wi, and @forgereads, and @macmillan.audio for my ALC to review.
The Net Beneath Us
Carol Dunbar
Pub Date: September 13, 2022
"If you listen to the trees, they tell you things. “Oh really? Like what?" When it's your time to go, don't fall on your young.”
🌲 Synopsis:
In the aftermath of her husband’s logging accident, Elsa has more questions than answers about how to carry on while caring for their two small children in the unfinished house he was building for them in the woods of rural Wisconsin. To cope with the challenges of winter and the near-daily miscommunications from her in-laws, she forges her own relationship with the land, learning from and taking comfort in the trees her husband had so loved. If she wants to stay in their home, she must discover her own capabilities, and accept help from the people and places she least expects.
💭 Thoughts:
First off, congratulations to @carol_dunbar_wi on her debut novel. This book had me running the full gamut of emotions. When Elsa’s husband was injured, I cried. I couldn’t imagine the anguish a person must feel seeing their significant other in a coma knowing their isn’t anything that can be done. Watching your children play, knowing their father will never join them again. Elsa and her daughter, Hester’s grief was so real and emotional. I truly felt for Elsa as she tried to carry on her family’s dream after her husband died. The story really gives a very powerful look at grief, motherhood, and finding yourself again after tragedy.
❄️ Overall, this is a deeply moving book that will have you appreciating everything we often take for granted. I highly recommend reading.
❄️Thank you @netgalley, @carol_dunbar_wi, and @forgereads, and @macmillan.audio for my ALC to review.
October 20, 2022
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for accepting my request to audibly read and review The Net Beneath Us.
Author: Carol Dunbar
Published: 99/13/22
Narrator: Cassandra Campbell
Genre: General Fiction (Adult)
Cassandra Campbell is one of my favorite narrators. I have to watch myself to not pick a book because she is performing. Seeing her name does make me stop and evaluate the book.
This story was okay. I like the perspective writing. Unfortunately, there was a period of time that dragged. After the accident, things changed at home (I'm not spoiling). What happened to the mice? were they rats? what went under the stove? There were questions but no answers. The dynamic of a family changes and so do roles. I found the water supply issue and fix interesting. But what happened to the solar panels?
There were a lot of missed opportunities for growth or failure. While the story was lagging, the ending was rushed. Where did it come from?
I'm giving 2.5 stars and rounding up, perhaps I missed the point of the story.
Author: Carol Dunbar
Published: 99/13/22
Narrator: Cassandra Campbell
Genre: General Fiction (Adult)
Cassandra Campbell is one of my favorite narrators. I have to watch myself to not pick a book because she is performing. Seeing her name does make me stop and evaluate the book.
This story was okay. I like the perspective writing. Unfortunately, there was a period of time that dragged. After the accident, things changed at home (I'm not spoiling). What happened to the mice? were they rats? what went under the stove? There were questions but no answers. The dynamic of a family changes and so do roles. I found the water supply issue and fix interesting. But what happened to the solar panels?
There were a lot of missed opportunities for growth or failure. While the story was lagging, the ending was rushed. Where did it come from?
I'm giving 2.5 stars and rounding up, perhaps I missed the point of the story.
August 31, 2022
A beautiful look inside of a family who suffers loss and how life must go on without the one you love. "Grief isn't just about the person who you lost it's about losing the person who you were when you were with them and who you go on to become."
This literary fiction captures vivid descriptions of life in rural Wisconsin with Silas, his wife, Elsa and their two small children. Elsa comes from a privileged background in the city and falls in love with Silas, a simple farming and logging man against her father's wishes. He is building them a home and it is left half finished when Silas is fatally injured in a logging accident. He is considered brain dead, but after turning his life support off he manages to hang in there for two more weeks. Elsa after being prodded by her in-laws, agrees to take him home and take care of him.
The hardships she endures while taking care of two small children and her husband is more than you can bear sometimes. I could feel her fatigue, her grief and her hardships under these cruel conditions, but she keeps in mind her love for Silas and how he dedicated his life to her. It is true of the net beneath us and how it can be destroyed and rebuilt.
Her reflection on his goodness compared to her unappreciative actions is full of regrets of what she should have said while he was alive. Her strength would falter and then regain for the sake of all he worked for. This is a touching and momentous debut of how proud people struggle and relying on others is unfathomable. The struggles are real and based on the author's own experiences in these harsh conditions.
I kept waiting for a big finale, but realized that’s the way life is and sometimes it’s okay to be simply lived. Great job! I'm sure there will be more from this author.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
This literary fiction captures vivid descriptions of life in rural Wisconsin with Silas, his wife, Elsa and their two small children. Elsa comes from a privileged background in the city and falls in love with Silas, a simple farming and logging man against her father's wishes. He is building them a home and it is left half finished when Silas is fatally injured in a logging accident. He is considered brain dead, but after turning his life support off he manages to hang in there for two more weeks. Elsa after being prodded by her in-laws, agrees to take him home and take care of him.
The hardships she endures while taking care of two small children and her husband is more than you can bear sometimes. I could feel her fatigue, her grief and her hardships under these cruel conditions, but she keeps in mind her love for Silas and how he dedicated his life to her. It is true of the net beneath us and how it can be destroyed and rebuilt.
Her reflection on his goodness compared to her unappreciative actions is full of regrets of what she should have said while he was alive. Her strength would falter and then regain for the sake of all he worked for. This is a touching and momentous debut of how proud people struggle and relying on others is unfathomable. The struggles are real and based on the author's own experiences in these harsh conditions.
I kept waiting for a big finale, but realized that’s the way life is and sometimes it’s okay to be simply lived. Great job! I'm sure there will be more from this author.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
September 26, 2022
A gorgeous literary exploration of life off grid. The harshness of the elements, of dreams unrealized, and the birth of new ones. Elsa loses her husband way too early to a logging accident. She is left in an unfinished house in an environment she really doesn't understand with in-laws she struggles to deal with. This book is her journey through grief and growth and self-reflection. The Net Beneath Us is a beautifully written, character driven debut set in rural Wisconsin. Most of my Upper Peninsula friends will appreciate the setting and challenges Elsa faces.
August 15, 2024
A young woman trying to keep her household running in the absence of her husband, injured in his lumber cutting job. I enjoyed the No. Wisconsin setting, which Elsa has come to love despite the hardships of a northern winter and not really having any friends. Her uncle-and aunt-in-law want to help Elsa but she's determined to do it all and do it alone to make her husband proud.
This is rather slow moving and at times frustrating, but the characters are well drawn and empathetic. I was sorry when it ended.
This is rather slow moving and at times frustrating, but the characters are well drawn and empathetic. I was sorry when it ended.
September 25, 2022
I listened to this on a 6 hour drive & really enjoyed it. A really interesting story that kept me awake & eager to find out what happened next. A great plot!
August 6, 2022
A wonderful book about a young woman's recovery and healing after the sudden death of her husband. I read it because of the cover blurb by Lief Enger, one of my favorite authors, and am so glad he lead me to Dunbar's book
March 8, 2023
After an accident that profoundly changes her family, Elsa must learn to accept help or make new plans for her land, her children, and their lives. A slow book with lyrical writing. 3.75
July 28, 2022
Elsa gives up the easy life when she marries Silas and joins his dream of living off the land. Two young children later and still no well dug , Silas is killed in a logging accident and Elsa is left to go it alone. The community helps but Elsa is proud and struggles to keep Silas's dream alive. She will learn over the course of a year to rely on others and trust in herself. It is a tough life made tougher and the loss is felt not only by Elsa but by her daughter who must grow up much too fast. This debut author knows of what she writes because she too has lived off the land in a rural setting. Elsa's desperation mixed with longing for things to be easier is juxtaposed with the peace she and her daughter feel in the woods. I listened to the audio version of this book as well and thought the narrator did an excellent job of portraying the grief and exhaustion. My thanks to the publisher and Libro.fm for the advance copy. 3 1/2 stars
July 31, 2022
4.5 rounded up
Elsa has no idea how much her husband's accident will affect her ability to live off the grid with her two small children in the northern Wisconsin forest. Even with the help of her disapproving in-laws, winter is coming and her ability to find food, cut wood for fuel, and survive in the unfinished house built into the side of a hill is a terrifying long shot. Carol Dunbar has written a beautiful and affecting novel of love and loss, family and forgiveness, determination and hope. The Net Beneath Us is an amazing debut about courage, parenthood and connection to nature. Thanks to Tor/Forge for an advance copy.
Elsa has no idea how much her husband's accident will affect her ability to live off the grid with her two small children in the northern Wisconsin forest. Even with the help of her disapproving in-laws, winter is coming and her ability to find food, cut wood for fuel, and survive in the unfinished house built into the side of a hill is a terrifying long shot. Carol Dunbar has written a beautiful and affecting novel of love and loss, family and forgiveness, determination and hope. The Net Beneath Us is an amazing debut about courage, parenthood and connection to nature. Thanks to Tor/Forge for an advance copy.
December 16, 2022
When a book evokes profound emotion from me in the very beginning, I know I’ve found something special that will shatter and rebuild my heart. That’s exactly what The Net Beneath Us did. I went in with unrealistically high expectations. Carol Dunbar managed to exceed those expectations in every possible way.
The Net Beneath Us is the story of knowing when to let go, grieving, and learning to survive in unfamiliar territory. Dunbar approached these themes at various angles, addressing loss as it is suffered by individuals in nuanced ways, demonstrating how differently it can manifest in each of us. There are lines with double meanings that hit you hard in the chest, but I seem to place little value on my heart when reading gorgeous treasures like this.
Yes, this is a heart wrenching novel, but it’s well worth the swell that pounds beneath your rib cage, as it is beautiful and deeply human, as well. It’s a place where you can be found with your own knowledge of loss and the experiences that changed you into who you are in the aftermath. This rich debut captivated all of my senses and I am now eagerly awaiting whatever Dunbar creates on paper in the future.
I am immensely grateful to Forge Books for my review copy. All opinions are my own.
The Net Beneath Us is the story of knowing when to let go, grieving, and learning to survive in unfamiliar territory. Dunbar approached these themes at various angles, addressing loss as it is suffered by individuals in nuanced ways, demonstrating how differently it can manifest in each of us. There are lines with double meanings that hit you hard in the chest, but I seem to place little value on my heart when reading gorgeous treasures like this.
Yes, this is a heart wrenching novel, but it’s well worth the swell that pounds beneath your rib cage, as it is beautiful and deeply human, as well. It’s a place where you can be found with your own knowledge of loss and the experiences that changed you into who you are in the aftermath. This rich debut captivated all of my senses and I am now eagerly awaiting whatever Dunbar creates on paper in the future.
I am immensely grateful to Forge Books for my review copy. All opinions are my own.
July 24, 2022
Wow, wow, wow. Elsa grew up traveling the world in a wealthy family. After she loses her mother, she meets her husband. A logger in Wisconsin. They make their life in the woods, building their home themselves. After her husbands does in a logging accident, Elsa is left flouncing with her two young children. She never quite fit in the the locals and now seems worse than ever without her husband by her side. This is a story of grief, loss, the unique definitions of family, and finding strength after devastation. Author Carol Dunbar does a magical job exploring the complexities of both family and grief. I will be left thinking of this story for years to come. EXCELLENT!!!
** huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
December 31, 2022
Exquisite.
Elsa grew up wealthy and moving from country to country. She met, and fell in love with Silas, who wanted to live off the land. They had two kids and a horrible logging incident took Silas’s life.
You want to talk about resilience? About grief? About paranoia and pride? Elsa’s overwhelmed and has two small children and a half built house with no well. People try to help but sometimes that help is fleeting. I felt every single mistake and triumph and mess Elsa made. And I kept picking the book back up because the words were beautiful and true haunting.
I can not wait to read what this author writes next. I can’t believe it’s her debut novel! For fans of Glendy Vanderah and Kristin Hannah.
Elsa grew up wealthy and moving from country to country. She met, and fell in love with Silas, who wanted to live off the land. They had two kids and a horrible logging incident took Silas’s life.
You want to talk about resilience? About grief? About paranoia and pride? Elsa’s overwhelmed and has two small children and a half built house with no well. People try to help but sometimes that help is fleeting. I felt every single mistake and triumph and mess Elsa made. And I kept picking the book back up because the words were beautiful and true haunting.
I can not wait to read what this author writes next. I can’t believe it’s her debut novel! For fans of Glendy Vanderah and Kristin Hannah.
February 17, 2023
Sad and lovely.
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