I CHEERFULLY REFUSE

With a tranquil steadiness and an ear for sharp poetic detail, David Aaron Baker captures a very American, or perhaps a very post-American, voice in this postapocalyptic tale of a man who witnesses a world unraveling. Books are banned. Food is scarce. And murders go unpunished. Our hero sails across the Great Lakes in search of old memories and a shelter in the storm. When he rescues a clever, world-weary 9-year-girl from the clutches of indentured servitude, he finds he can no longer escape an unhinged world. Baker captures climate change, petty dictators, and mindless torture with a sense of eerie gloom, but he is at his best reflecting the heart, humor, and humanity of a soul who won't give up hope. B.P. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2024]