After the Fire
A Novel
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- $279.00
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- $279.00
Descripción editorial
Barnes, the supervisor of a Hot Shot wildfire suppression crew, is haunted by the season past, when many members of his dedicated, young team were killed in a Colorado forest fire that went all wrong, scorching the Hot Shots as they fled, some as they struggled into their fire shelters. He wakes each morning in the presence of their ghosts as they proceed across his bedroom or assemble at his kitchen table, their eyes asking questions that he cannot answer. As he tries to unravel the threads of what happened - what went wrong - he relives the deadly fire again and again in his mind.
Barnes's responsibility for the lost lives is an unbearable weight upon him, lightened only by his neighbor, a little girl named Grace, who lives with her mother and grandfather. This family of three has its own struggles, and Barnes is able to help each of them through the simple act of friendship and, finally, one lucky act of salvation. But it is they who save him, ultimately, and as Barnes becomes more deeply enmeshed in their lives, he understands that the ghosts may not be with him forever.
Robinson skillfully pieces together the past while interweaving it with the present, creating an unforgettable mosaic of heroism, fatal errors, sorrow, and hope.
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PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A 12-year veteran of a wildfire suppression crew, the author of this touching debut traces a week in the life of Fort Collins, Colo., firefighter Barnes, who can't recover after surviving a surprise firestorm that claimed the lives of nearly his entire Hot Shot wildfire team. Barnes's grieving process is complicated by a lawsuit filed by the father of another crew boss, Max, in an effort to clear his son's name of any hint of negligence. Though Barnes's job is his life and he's known by his crew as the "mother hen," he refuses to testify in court that Max acted sensibly at the fire. In a series of flashbacks, the crew's weak spots are gradually revealed, including Max's headstrong attitude and another member's struggle with alcoholism. To Barnes's further dismay, he is haunted by the ghosts of the dead crew members, who appear seeking an explanation. His only consolation is his relationship with his neighbor Ruth, her young daughter, Grace, and Ruth's Vietnam veteran father. In caring for them after Ruth's husband abandons them, he comes to love Ruth, adore Grace and respect Ruth's father, who puts their hardships in perspective with his homespun wisdom. Robinson's prose can be awkward and flat at times, but the riveting firestorm flashbacks more than make up for the weak points. Overall, this is a poignant story about "the pull of the past," affectingly warm and compassionate.
