Seeking Safety in a World on Fire

I’m nearly forty-years-old, an optimist by nature, and full of gratitude for my family and friends, but I have to admit: It often seems like the world is on fire both literally and metaphorically. Consider recent events. Scientists recorded the planet’s two hottest days on record. A shooter attempted to assassinate a former president of the United States. Political polarization continues to grow as “the number of Americans who identify as either extremely liberal or extremely conservative has increased.” War rages in the Ukraine and the Middle East. And some people quietly and not-so-quietly speak of another U.S. civil war.

In this context, Peter Heller's Burn imagines how two lifelong friends, Jess and Storey, might survive in rural Maine as secessionists and the U.S. military engage in fire bombing and ground combat. Having emerged from a hunting trip in the woods, Jess and Storey discover a town ravaged by fire. The burning has left mostly embers, a blown bridge, few bodies, and countless questions. What caused this destruction? Are there any survivors? If so, where are they?

The reader joins Jess and Storey as they seek answers, move carefully from town to town, dodge bullets, and scavenge for supplies. Along the way, they encounter a five-year-old girl named Collie who is desperate to find her family. Storey, whose own wife and daughters are hopelessly unreachable in Vermont, scoops Collie into his arms and tries to comfort her as the trio desperately searches for safety.

The story's page-turning action is brought to life by Heller's careful weaving of timeless themes: love and loss, belonging and breakdown, regret and reunion. Jess and Storey are close enough to be brothers, but we learn that Jess has been holding onto a secret that haunts him and threatens to sever his bond with Storey. Meanwhile, Jess grapples with how his own selfishness alienated his former wife, who he still loves deeply. At every turn, care threatens to give way to callousness, and conviction leads to sacrifice. 

Jess's dreams and reflections are as integral to the novel as its dystopian plot, helping the reader to explore how our relationships evolve and sometimes collapse. Why do we knowingly act in ways that hurt those we love? How do we summon the courage to admit our wrongs and ask for forgiveness? Can it be too late to reconcile?

Heller's attention to detail and exemplary descriptions of the natural world continue to be a hallmark of his style, which is punctuated by believably sparse dialogue. Characters act more than they speak, and when they do, it's mostly to figure out what to do next. By leaving so many words unwritten, Jess's internal turmoil, in particular, is somehow deeper and graver. 

Near the end of the novel, we learn what has happened. This satisfies our need to know how the world turned so violent so quickly, but it proves to be far less important than what Heller has to say about the need to nurture our relationships with others, own our mistakes, and have the humility to mend what's been broken. After all, these are the surest ways to preserve and protect what binds us as individuals and as a nation.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced adventure through a believably-fallen landscape, I highly recommend Peter Heller’s Burn, releasing on Tuesday, August 13th, 2024.

Disclaimer: An advanced reader copy of Burn was provided by Alfred A. Knopf for review.