The Woods
By Ron Geigle
Genre: Historical Fiction
Blasting railways into the side of mountains, scaling Douglas firs that
tower 200 feet. These visions draw 18-year-old Albert Weissler
to a job with the Skybillings Logging Company in the high mountains of
Washington State. But a train crash on a mountainside that kills a friend, and
Albert's discovery that it was sabotage, quickly dash boyhood dreams and launch
a saga of love, grand dreams, and transformation in the turbulent world of
big-timber logging and labor unrest in late-1930s America.
This is The
Woods, part coming of age story, part historical novel. It is the story of
Albert learning to survive in a dangerous and unforgiving environment; Albert's
mother, Lydia, struggling to restart her life after Albert's father is killed
in the woods; WWI veteran and Skybillings owner, Bud Cole, trying to rebuild
his dream after the market crash destroyed him; and savvy firebrand Clare
Ristall campaigning to win a political election, build a new union - and win
Lydia's love.
The Woods is a beautiful panorama of lives and
dreams during one of the most defining moments of American history, as have's
and have-not's, the powerful and the ordinary, struggle to survive in the wake
of economic upheaval. This is a book that paints the inner complexities and
nuances of its characters as beautifully as it portrays the raw splendor of the
Northwest's ice-topped peaks and unrelenting natural power of the woods
themselves.
My Review
Ron Geigle’s experience growing up in the Pacific Northwest
shines through in his eloquent writing of Washington, both the rural and urban
areas. I appreciate how easily he captures the beauty of the land in his story.
The Woods is a historical fiction novel rich with
interesting and believable characters. It’s set in the 30s during a time of
unrest with loggers and unions, including the not-so hidden political pulls as
well.
A tragic accident on the logging site has the Skybillings
crew uneasy about it’s future. The deaths of three men shake up the blue and
white-collar men involved in the small logging company. One of the young
loggers, Albert, unknowingly begins to unravel a mystery.
This is a deep and exciting story about a piece of American
history. It’s well written and researched. I highly recommend The Woods for
fiction lovers, especially those who lean towards the historical side.
Purchase The Woods on Amazon!
Author
Bio
Ronald
Lee Geigle grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He was born in Monroe, Washington, and attended Meadowdale
Senior High School. After
graduating from the University of Washington, he headed for Washington, DC,
where he has spent the past 30+ years as a speechwriter,
congressional aide, and public relations consultant. He worked for Washington
State Senator Warren Magnuson and US Representative Norm Dicks, and founded the
public relations firm Polidais.
"You
learn a lot about people over that many years," says Geigle. "And you
learn a lot about politics. It is always a surprise to me, despite all these
years in DC, what those two forces do to one another—and not necessarily in a
good way."
Geigle
makes politics a central part of his novel, The Woods, which tells a
coming-of-age story set during a period of labor unrest in the Pacific
Northwest during the late 1930s. As the nation emerges from the Great
Depression, both haves and have-nots struggle for financial survival and, more
importantly, to achieve their dreams in the face of adversity, danger, and
political ambition.
Geigle
won fiction writing awards from the National Press Club in Washington, DC, in
1997 and 1998 for two chapters from his novel.
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