Martin Marten, again

I blipped the cover of Brian Doyle’s book Martin Marten earlier. I finished reading it today, and I don’t know if I have ever read a book that I didn’t want to end more than this. It’s simply one of the best books I’ve read. It ranks up with To Kill a Mockingbird and Life of Pi in my top three, and at this point, Martin Marten ranks #1. The setting, Oregon’s Mt. Hood, is one reason it is so appealing, but I think it’s the characters and themes that captured me. It is the story of a young boy and a pine marten, but Doyle introduces us to dozens of other characters, from a giant elk, to a communicating horse, to the marten family, to SO many others. It is a story of how interconnected all of life is, a story deep in the spirituality of the natural world. I could pick up the book and start reading it again, and I know I will soon.