Burn

From the best-selling author of The Dog Stars,a novel about two menΓÇöfriends since boyhoodΓÇöwho emerge from the woods of rural Maine to a dystopian country racked by bewildering violence Every yearJess and Storey have made an annual pilgrimage to the most remote corners of the countrywhere they camphuntand hikeleaving much from their long friendship unspoken. Although the state of Maine has convulsed all summer with secession maniaΓÇöa mania that has simultaneously spread across other statesΓÇöJess and Storey figure itΓÇÖs a fight reserved for legislators orworst-case scenariofolks in the capital. But after weeks hunting off the gridthe men reach a small town and are shocked by what they find: a bridge blown apartbuildings burned to the groundand bombed-out cars abandoned on the road. Trying to make sense of the sudden destruction all around themthey set their sights on finding their way homedragging a wagon across bumpy dirt roadsscavenging from boats left in lakesand dodging armed menΓÇösecessionists or U.S. militarythey cannot tellΓÇöas they seek a path to safety. Thena startling discovery drastically alters their path and the stakes of their escape. Drenched in the beauty of the natural world and attuned to the specific cadences of male friendshipeven here at the edge of doomBurn is both a blistering warning about a divided countryΓÇÖs political strife and an ode to the salvation found in our chosen families.