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North
Award-winning author Brad Kessler’s North is a powerfully moving novel about the intertwined lives of a Vermont monk, a Somali refugee, and an Afghan war veteran by the author of the acclaimed memoir Goat Song .
Finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize
Finalist for the Vermont Book Award
As a late spring blizzard brews, Brother Christopher, a cloistered monk at Blue Mountain Monastery in Vermont, rushes to tend to his Ida Red and Northern Spy apple trees in advance of the unseasonal snowstorm. When the storm lands a young Somali refugee, Sahro Abdi Muse, at the monastery, Christopher is pulled back into the world as his life intersects with Sahro’s and that of an Afghan war veteran in surprising and revealing ways.
North traces the epic journey of Sahro from her home in Somalia to South America, along the migrant route through Central America and Mexico, to New York City, and finally, her dangerous attempt to continue north to safety in Canada. It also compellingly traces the inner journeys of Brother Christopher, questioning his future in a world where the monastery way of life is waning, and of veteran Teddy Fletcher, seeking a way to make peace with his past.
Written in Brad Kessler’s sharp, beautiful, and observant prose, and grounded in the author’s own corner of Vermont, where there is a Carthusian monastery, a vibrant community of Somali asylum seekers, and a hole left after a disproportionate number of Vermont soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, North gives voice to these invisible communities, delivering a story of human connection in a time of displacement.
“A beautiful and moving tale, Kessler’s North is tender, dazzling, and wise.” —Pulitzer Prize–winning author Annie Dillard
Finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize
Finalist for the Vermont Book Award
As a late spring blizzard brews, Brother Christopher, a cloistered monk at Blue Mountain Monastery in Vermont, rushes to tend to his Ida Red and Northern Spy apple trees in advance of the unseasonal snowstorm. When the storm lands a young Somali refugee, Sahro Abdi Muse, at the monastery, Christopher is pulled back into the world as his life intersects with Sahro’s and that of an Afghan war veteran in surprising and revealing ways.
North traces the epic journey of Sahro from her home in Somalia to South America, along the migrant route through Central America and Mexico, to New York City, and finally, her dangerous attempt to continue north to safety in Canada. It also compellingly traces the inner journeys of Brother Christopher, questioning his future in a world where the monastery way of life is waning, and of veteran Teddy Fletcher, seeking a way to make peace with his past.
Written in Brad Kessler’s sharp, beautiful, and observant prose, and grounded in the author’s own corner of Vermont, where there is a Carthusian monastery, a vibrant community of Somali asylum seekers, and a hole left after a disproportionate number of Vermont soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, North gives voice to these invisible communities, delivering a story of human connection in a time of displacement.
“A beautiful and moving tale, Kessler’s North is tender, dazzling, and wise.” —Pulitzer Prize–winning author Annie Dillard
288 pages, Hardcover
First published October 5, 2021
86 people are currently reading
2563 people want to read
About the author
Brad Kessler
19 books75 followersBrad Kessler’s novel Birds in Fall won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. His other books include Goat Song, Lick Creek, and The Woodcutter’s Christmas. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Nation, The Kenyon Review, and BOMB, as well as other publications. He is the recipient of a Whiting Writers’ Award, a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, and the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
February 20, 2022
Being born and raised in a developed country gives us numerous opportunities many of us take for granted.
Luxuries such as access to modernized healthcare, jobs, education, as well as other various freedoms.
We will never know what the struggles and challenges are faced by immigrants. Their own survival requiring a migration to another country - not because they want to, but they can’t survive any longer where they are at. Be it oppression, violence, political. Their strength, faith in hoping for the best, their courage.
This is a story that is a story of many. Many who have trudged their way to freedoms they’ve only dreamed about. Trudged their way illegally at the risk of their own lives and deportation. The physical and emotional costs involved.
This is the journey Sahro takes from Somalia to South America to the U.S to Canada. A journey where she finds friends- Father Christopher and Teddy- as well as many others who harbour her voyage along the way.
A Powerfully written novel where humanity shines in the darkest corner of our own ‘developed’ nations going up against politics and discrimination and simply doing the right thing; the human thing. A contemplative journey for Sahro herself, but also for Abbott Christopher and veteran Teddy. A relevant story given the current global crises.
5⭐️
Luxuries such as access to modernized healthcare, jobs, education, as well as other various freedoms.
We will never know what the struggles and challenges are faced by immigrants. Their own survival requiring a migration to another country - not because they want to, but they can’t survive any longer where they are at. Be it oppression, violence, political. Their strength, faith in hoping for the best, their courage.
This is a story that is a story of many. Many who have trudged their way to freedoms they’ve only dreamed about. Trudged their way illegally at the risk of their own lives and deportation. The physical and emotional costs involved.
This is the journey Sahro takes from Somalia to South America to the U.S to Canada. A journey where she finds friends- Father Christopher and Teddy- as well as many others who harbour her voyage along the way.
A Powerfully written novel where humanity shines in the darkest corner of our own ‘developed’ nations going up against politics and discrimination and simply doing the right thing; the human thing. A contemplative journey for Sahro herself, but also for Abbott Christopher and veteran Teddy. A relevant story given the current global crises.
5⭐️
October 24, 2021
There are struggles amidst a quietness at this monastery in Vermont. The inner struggle of a monk, the Abbott, who questions his contemplative life, after the loss of a friend and mentor. A disabled veteran who is the caretaker struggles with his past in Afghanistan and his present hermit like life. Their quiet lives disrupted by the undocumented Somali refugee seeking asylum , whose reflections on her past are tumultuous with violence and death and running. What isn’t a struggle is doing the right thing.
A well researched, well written, multi layered story of one refugee’s experience by a caring writer who donates all royalties from this book to the Vermont Office of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in Colchester, Vermont . I was moved, so even though I had an advanced copy, I bought one .
I received a copy of this book from The Overlook Press through NetGalley .
A well researched, well written, multi layered story of one refugee’s experience by a caring writer who donates all royalties from this book to the Vermont Office of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in Colchester, Vermont . I was moved, so even though I had an advanced copy, I bought one .
I received a copy of this book from The Overlook Press through NetGalley .
October 20, 2021
So a Benedictine monk, a Somali refugee woman, and a veteran who lost a leg in Afghanistan converge on a remote mountain in Vermont. This is not a story I would normally be drawn to. But I love me some Brad Kessler, and he doesn't publish very often. So when I heard he had a new novel coming out, I knew I was going to read it, no matter what it was about.
It's no accident that all major religions teach their adherents to welcome the stranger, to give succor to refugees and orphans. In my view, compassion and empathy, more than any other qualities, are what make us uniquely human.
Sometimes God's laws are at odds with man's laws, as Father Christopher understands when Sahro accidentally ends up in his care. He has to decide whether to turn her over to immigration authorities or keep her presence at the monastery a secret. Meanwhile, Teddy, the groundskeeper, is coping with the challenges in his life since his return from war.
The sections dealing with Sahro's youth in Somalia, the trauma and loss and deprivation she suffered, hammers home how desperate people have to become before they will attempt a long and dangerous journey that may not end well. We follow her trek from South America all the way to the U.S., and the way she is treated when she requests asylum.
This book grew on me slowly, and ultimately I loved the way these three characters all had something of value to offer each other.
It takes an extraordinary human being to spend eight or nine years writing a novel and then give away the proceeds. Brad Kessler is that guy. All royalties from the North American sales of this novel will be donated to the Vermont office of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in Colchester, Vermont.
October 18, 2021
I'm sure you're looking at three stars as opposed to the fours and fives around it. It was my friend Sarah-Hope's five-star warble of delight that brought into focus my dissatisfaction with this well-written read.
A book about the refugee experience is, of necessity, a book in motion, a book of change and danger. There is a lot of literary precedent for this structure, from the original picaresque Don Quixote to the eternal shame-making Twelve Years a Slave, on through West with the Night's risky but voluntary peregrinations, In Patagonia's curiosity-propelled diggings. But the issue with North is that this structure crashes into the wildly different voyages of Father Christopher (the Catholic saint patron of travelers) to the contemplation's deepest coves and Sahro's fear- and death-driven flight.
While I'm in the greatest possible sympathy with this novel's aims, I am not convinced that Author Kessler handled this crash with a convincing direction for these two characters to meet as opposed to collide. The core relationship of these people wasn't made into a meeting of like minds, but a compassionate man offering charity to a desperate woman in terrifying danger that she need not have suffered in a properly ordered US.
So while I read the book without pain (Author Kessler does craft a handsome image...Father Christopher "...reached the rise, his shoulders relaxed. In the warmth of the morning he saw the slopes white with blossoms. The apples carpeted in blooms," after a tense and fearful bout of worry about a freeze), I was left feeling that the travels inwards and outwards weren't brought to the same place at the same pitch of emotion. It meant I felt that I was led, steered, pushed, nudged; I wanted to feel that, after all the movement, I was somewhere I hadn't been before...but there was only more travel ahead.
All US royalties are to be donated to a refugee-aiding charity. Please factor that into your Holiday purchasing plans.
A book about the refugee experience is, of necessity, a book in motion, a book of change and danger. There is a lot of literary precedent for this structure, from the original picaresque Don Quixote to the eternal shame-making Twelve Years a Slave, on through West with the Night's risky but voluntary peregrinations, In Patagonia's curiosity-propelled diggings. But the issue with North is that this structure crashes into the wildly different voyages of Father Christopher (the Catholic saint patron of travelers) to the contemplation's deepest coves and Sahro's fear- and death-driven flight.
While I'm in the greatest possible sympathy with this novel's aims, I am not convinced that Author Kessler handled this crash with a convincing direction for these two characters to meet as opposed to collide. The core relationship of these people wasn't made into a meeting of like minds, but a compassionate man offering charity to a desperate woman in terrifying danger that she need not have suffered in a properly ordered US.
So while I read the book without pain (Author Kessler does craft a handsome image...Father Christopher "...reached the rise, his shoulders relaxed. In the warmth of the morning he saw the slopes white with blossoms. The apples carpeted in blooms," after a tense and fearful bout of worry about a freeze), I was left feeling that the travels inwards and outwards weren't brought to the same place at the same pitch of emotion. It meant I felt that I was led, steered, pushed, nudged; I wanted to feel that, after all the movement, I was somewhere I hadn't been before...but there was only more travel ahead.
All US royalties are to be donated to a refugee-aiding charity. Please factor that into your Holiday purchasing plans.
October 18, 2021
Brad Kessler's North is one of those books that sneaks up on you. Worlds collide in this book, but the pacing is strangely gentle. Much of the action takes place at a Vermont monastery, which may explain the pace. This world is quiet, not free of responsibly, but structured and predictable with a mix of companionship and solitude. Brother Christopher, elected abbot relatively recently, is uneasily adjusting to his new responsibilities.
Another of the colliding worlds is Mogadishu, Somalia, which Sahro leaves after the killing of yet another family member in the ongoing conflict. Her cousin had dreamed of making the long journey to Europe. Sahro decides she will make the journey instead, but her family decides Sahro will be better off seeking asylum in the U.S. They pool their resources to send Sahro and another cousin to South America whence they undertake the long journey, mostly on foot, to the U.S.'s southern border. When Sahro steps across the U.S. border, telling the first customs agent she encounters that she is seeking asylum, she is whisked away to a New Jersey detention center. (This is made clear early in the novel, so it's not a spoiler.)
After nearly two years in detention, Sahro is granted the right to a credible fear hearing, but her case is assigned to a judge known to approve fewer than 2% of asylum cases. Now flight to Canada seems her best option. It's on this journey that she finds herself at Brother Christopher's monastery, where the welcome from the community is uneven. Brother Christopher sees her as a figure similar to the holy family—unwillingly journeying from her home because of the threat of violence. Other monks shy away from the political ramifications of hosting a refugee, an act that may be prosecuted as a crime. The story is a bit more complicated that this, but I'm trying to write a review, not a summary.
Kessler has given readers a small, remarkable cast of characters who search for "home" of one kind or another and who are acutely aware of feeling ill at ease where they find themselves. The inner lives of these characters are fascinating, inspiring, and humbling. Sahro struggles to sustain herself through times of almost unthinkable deprivation via her practice of Islam. Brother Christopher wrestles with the question of how to serve a world he has deliberately withdrawn from.
Reading North is a contemplative journey, one well worth undertaking. Buy or borrow a copy of this novel and join the flights and pilgrimages of its characters.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
Another of the colliding worlds is Mogadishu, Somalia, which Sahro leaves after the killing of yet another family member in the ongoing conflict. Her cousin had dreamed of making the long journey to Europe. Sahro decides she will make the journey instead, but her family decides Sahro will be better off seeking asylum in the U.S. They pool their resources to send Sahro and another cousin to South America whence they undertake the long journey, mostly on foot, to the U.S.'s southern border. When Sahro steps across the U.S. border, telling the first customs agent she encounters that she is seeking asylum, she is whisked away to a New Jersey detention center. (This is made clear early in the novel, so it's not a spoiler.)
After nearly two years in detention, Sahro is granted the right to a credible fear hearing, but her case is assigned to a judge known to approve fewer than 2% of asylum cases. Now flight to Canada seems her best option. It's on this journey that she finds herself at Brother Christopher's monastery, where the welcome from the community is uneven. Brother Christopher sees her as a figure similar to the holy family—unwillingly journeying from her home because of the threat of violence. Other monks shy away from the political ramifications of hosting a refugee, an act that may be prosecuted as a crime. The story is a bit more complicated that this, but I'm trying to write a review, not a summary.
Kessler has given readers a small, remarkable cast of characters who search for "home" of one kind or another and who are acutely aware of feeling ill at ease where they find themselves. The inner lives of these characters are fascinating, inspiring, and humbling. Sahro struggles to sustain herself through times of almost unthinkable deprivation via her practice of Islam. Brother Christopher wrestles with the question of how to serve a world he has deliberately withdrawn from.
Reading North is a contemplative journey, one well worth undertaking. Buy or borrow a copy of this novel and join the flights and pilgrimages of its characters.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
January 14, 2022
Remarkable! A gentle, literary, page turner sounds like an impossible combination, yet the author manages to accomplish just that. Highly recommended.
October 14, 2021
I read a lot of books where I praise the empathy displayed, but after reading Brad Kessler's brilliant North, I realized that there's another, rarer quality I appreciate even more in writing: the quality of compassion. It's one thing to understand where another person's pain is coming from, to find common ground no matter how alien another's motivations, but it's altogether something different, something greater, to reach out a helping hand, whether it's in the form of providing material comfort or even, in a scene here that made me cry, the warmth of a friendly face, as Angela did by showing up at the detention center just to chat with Sahro, just to be a human being connecting with another through kindness and a listening heart.
Sahro is one of our main protagonists, a young Somali Muslim sick of living in fear in her home nation. She and countless others have heard that if you travel to America and request asylum, they will give you a hearing, and that America is a land of good, kind people, where every home has three taps, one for water, one for milk and one for orange juice. As an orphan growing up in a nomadic culture, she's pretty certain she can brave the perilous journey. But arriving at her destination and being jailed merely for the temerity to ask for help is the rudest shock on a trip riven with more terror than any one person should ever have to undergo.
Up north in Vermont, cloistered monk Father Christopher of the Blue Mountain Monastery is worrying more about his apple orchard during an unseasonal blizzard than the state of the souls of the monks under his care. In fairness, the souls are all in pretty good shape, with the monks all bending their energies to the contemplative life, himself included. He finds that he has a lot more to contemplate than usual, however, when the monastery's groundskeeper Teddy rescues two women from a car crash in the snow.
Teddy is an Army vet who lost his leg in Afghanistan and has come back to his hometown, taking up his father's old job as a layman working for the monastery. While his feelings about Vermont are complicated, he knows two things very clearly: first, you always help people stranded in the cold, and second, obedience to the chain of command, while not paramount, is often useful in providing moral clarity. Nowadays, his CO is Father Christopher, so whom better to bring his new charges to?
North examines the way these unusual, out-of-the-mainstream lives intersect, and how the plights of three seemingly random people have so much to say not only about the state of America today but also the world. Mr Kessler explores their interior lives with a sensitivity and lack of sensationalism that is more affecting for not being put on. It's also clear, even before you get to his thoughtful afterword, that he's done a ton of research on all the things he discusses here, before coming to his wise, heartfelt, compassionate conclusions.
I mean, nativists are going to loathe this book -- an irony Mr Kessler points out considering how the vast majority of such also oppose reparations to actual Native American peoples -- but anyone who isn't a total ogre will find much to think about in this novel that explicitly underscores the/our religious and moral obligations to provide charity and sanctuary to those in need. As an open borders absolutist, I did not need any persuading, but I greatly appreciated how Mr Kessler channels the voices of the marginalized to show how pressing the need is for greater humanitarian acceptance of immigrants.
Gosh, this is such an important book, so thoughtful and so well-written and so deeply human and kind. I hope people read it, and that it wins awards so that even more people will meet these wonderful characters and absorb the lessons of compassion Mr Kessler imparts.
North by Brad Kessler was published October 5 2021 by The Overlook Press and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
Sahro is one of our main protagonists, a young Somali Muslim sick of living in fear in her home nation. She and countless others have heard that if you travel to America and request asylum, they will give you a hearing, and that America is a land of good, kind people, where every home has three taps, one for water, one for milk and one for orange juice. As an orphan growing up in a nomadic culture, she's pretty certain she can brave the perilous journey. But arriving at her destination and being jailed merely for the temerity to ask for help is the rudest shock on a trip riven with more terror than any one person should ever have to undergo.
Up north in Vermont, cloistered monk Father Christopher of the Blue Mountain Monastery is worrying more about his apple orchard during an unseasonal blizzard than the state of the souls of the monks under his care. In fairness, the souls are all in pretty good shape, with the monks all bending their energies to the contemplative life, himself included. He finds that he has a lot more to contemplate than usual, however, when the monastery's groundskeeper Teddy rescues two women from a car crash in the snow.
Teddy is an Army vet who lost his leg in Afghanistan and has come back to his hometown, taking up his father's old job as a layman working for the monastery. While his feelings about Vermont are complicated, he knows two things very clearly: first, you always help people stranded in the cold, and second, obedience to the chain of command, while not paramount, is often useful in providing moral clarity. Nowadays, his CO is Father Christopher, so whom better to bring his new charges to?
North examines the way these unusual, out-of-the-mainstream lives intersect, and how the plights of three seemingly random people have so much to say not only about the state of America today but also the world. Mr Kessler explores their interior lives with a sensitivity and lack of sensationalism that is more affecting for not being put on. It's also clear, even before you get to his thoughtful afterword, that he's done a ton of research on all the things he discusses here, before coming to his wise, heartfelt, compassionate conclusions.
I mean, nativists are going to loathe this book -- an irony Mr Kessler points out considering how the vast majority of such also oppose reparations to actual Native American peoples -- but anyone who isn't a total ogre will find much to think about in this novel that explicitly underscores the/our religious and moral obligations to provide charity and sanctuary to those in need. As an open borders absolutist, I did not need any persuading, but I greatly appreciated how Mr Kessler channels the voices of the marginalized to show how pressing the need is for greater humanitarian acceptance of immigrants.
Gosh, this is such an important book, so thoughtful and so well-written and so deeply human and kind. I hope people read it, and that it wins awards so that even more people will meet these wonderful characters and absorb the lessons of compassion Mr Kessler imparts.
North by Brad Kessler was published October 5 2021 by The Overlook Press and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
October 5, 2024
This was really good! It made me somewhat hopeful but also really mad at how people in this country can be. But it was super heartwarming overall. Also Canada for the win!
August 24, 2023
i actually enjoyed this book a lot more than all the other books we had to read! the whole concept around immigration and the hardships they have to go through really related to the real world we live in currently. i was able to comprehend and grasp this book more than previous ones from MAHANEY last year 😭. i loved all the deep quotes that made me think like yus.
June 2, 2022
North by Vermont author Brad Kessler is a novel that shows its readers how easy it is to turn kindness into an home that invites. When three lives are intertwined--a Vermont monk, a Somali refugee, and an Afghan war veteran--a unified voice emerges, delivering a story of human connection in a
time of displacement.
To uphold a moral code despite adversity and to offer a sanctuary to those in need is to get to the root of what makes us human on a planet that should be co-inhabited instead of divided.
To see humans beyond borders is to pinpoint your guiding star North and follow it home.
*All royalties from the North American sales of "North" will be donated to the Vermont office of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in Colchester, Vermont.
time of displacement.
To uphold a moral code despite adversity and to offer a sanctuary to those in need is to get to the root of what makes us human on a planet that should be co-inhabited instead of divided.
To see humans beyond borders is to pinpoint your guiding star North and follow it home.
*All royalties from the North American sales of "North" will be donated to the Vermont office of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in Colchester, Vermont.
August 22, 2023
SO GOOD! i loved the depth of this book and the soul searching it produced 🥲
September 8, 2021
I was honored to read an ARC release of this book, “North”. It’s really good - and truthful - about the trials of a Muslim Somali woman escaping her country, traveling underground to get to the US then fleeing north again. Highly suspenseful. And it feeds the reader with interior monologues and with dialogues between characters wrestling with life — ones living in retreat in a mountain monastery, a veteran from Middle Eastern wars, and Somalis themselves. Brad spent years in research and interviews in order for the story to be accurate and real. Well worth the read.
December 26, 2021
Beautifully written, engrossing story that taught me how to look at artwork.
February 24, 2025
Y’all, this book. If I could give this book ten stars, I would.
Father Christopher is the abbot of a monastery on a mountain in Vermont. His days are filled with prayer and caring for his apple orchard. Until one day his caretaker Teddy, himself a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who lost his leg, finds a car run off the road containing a Somali woman who had been seeking asylum here in the United States. This is a beautifully written novel, quiet and well-paced, brimming with empathy and compassion. What Sahro endures just to escape Somalia and arrive here in the States, only to be treated like a criminal. As Sahro points out: “So much open space, she thought. So much land, She couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t let people in, why everyone she knew in detention couldn’t stay. It wasn’t for lack of room; America was so full of room.” The political rhetoric that has taught people that those coming to the US to escape dangers in their home countries are actually criminals that are worthy of no more than detention and deportation is shameful. We are all immigrants, and for many years there was no such thing as an illegal immigrant. You just showed up and started making your life here in the States and became American.
This passage showcases so succinctly the differences between seeking asylum in the US, where Sahro endured months in a warehouse without seeing the sun, and then having to wear an ankle monitor and checking in with an ICE officer every day:
This is a truly important novel, and one every American should read with an open heart. My one quibble is that I wanted to get to know Teddy just a little more. He’s not quite as flashed out as Father Christopher and Sahro, yet his story is also valuable.
I was also impressed to see that all royalties from the North American sales of this novel will be donated to the Vermont office of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in Colchester, Vermont.
Father Christopher is the abbot of a monastery on a mountain in Vermont. His days are filled with prayer and caring for his apple orchard. Until one day his caretaker Teddy, himself a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who lost his leg, finds a car run off the road containing a Somali woman who had been seeking asylum here in the United States. This is a beautifully written novel, quiet and well-paced, brimming with empathy and compassion. What Sahro endures just to escape Somalia and arrive here in the States, only to be treated like a criminal. As Sahro points out: “So much open space, she thought. So much land, She couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t let people in, why everyone she knew in detention couldn’t stay. It wasn’t for lack of room; America was so full of room.” The political rhetoric that has taught people that those coming to the US to escape dangers in their home countries are actually criminals that are worthy of no more than detention and deportation is shameful. We are all immigrants, and for many years there was no such thing as an illegal immigrant. You just showed up and started making your life here in the States and became American.
This passage showcases so succinctly the differences between seeking asylum in the US, where Sahro endured months in a warehouse without seeing the sun, and then having to wear an ankle monitor and checking in with an ICE officer every day:
There were several ways to cross into Canada from Northern Vermont, both legal and illegal. Beecher Falls, Derby Line, Richford, Highgate Springs among the legal. Among the illegal, the most popular place was Roxham Road over in New York State. Since the American election the previous fall, people fleeing to Canada traveled that way. They took a twenty-minute taxi ride from Plattsburgh, New York—at greatly inflated rates—to the town of Champlain. At the wooded end of Roxham Road, they carried their luggage across a ditch into Canada. Arrested, then assisted, by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, they were driven to a processing center to claim asylum. If their papers were in order and they posed no risk, they were often handed a one-way bus ticket to Montreal, where they’d wait for a hearing on their refugee status. Often, they stayed in the YMCA in downtown Montreal on Stanley Street.
This is a truly important novel, and one every American should read with an open heart. My one quibble is that I wanted to get to know Teddy just a little more. He’s not quite as flashed out as Father Christopher and Sahro, yet his story is also valuable.
I was also impressed to see that all royalties from the North American sales of this novel will be donated to the Vermont office of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in Colchester, Vermont.
February 15, 2022
I'm not sure I've ever read a book like this about the hopefulness of immigrating to North America. So timely for 2022, so current (set during and around the 2016 US Presidential election), and with both empathy and criticism of religions, political processes, and the history of one's self.
I particularly enjoyed how the book was structured; several sections, each with shorter chapters. The setup gave the reader time to breathe, particularly between the significant amount of personal history of the main characters and the foreboding present day story that at times felt a bit rushed or stilted. The past and the present all came together beautifully and ended with details that I had not thought of. In the end, Kessler is not just telling the story of a Somali refugee, but of how it is nearly impossible for any human to live without conflict and change.
In the afterward, Kessler speaks to his position in society and how he represented the story of a marginalized refugee as, not perfect, but backed by in-depth resources. While a novel, the book comes with a thorough bibliography and suggested further reading of Somali writers and poets.
I did not know Kessler as an author prior to this book (maybe an NYT piece or two only), but I found the book in the Seattle Library's 'new' section one day. I will be reading more of his work.
I particularly enjoyed how the book was structured; several sections, each with shorter chapters. The setup gave the reader time to breathe, particularly between the significant amount of personal history of the main characters and the foreboding present day story that at times felt a bit rushed or stilted. The past and the present all came together beautifully and ended with details that I had not thought of. In the end, Kessler is not just telling the story of a Somali refugee, but of how it is nearly impossible for any human to live without conflict and change.
In the afterward, Kessler speaks to his position in society and how he represented the story of a marginalized refugee as, not perfect, but backed by in-depth resources. While a novel, the book comes with a thorough bibliography and suggested further reading of Somali writers and poets.
I did not know Kessler as an author prior to this book (maybe an NYT piece or two only), but I found the book in the Seattle Library's 'new' section one day. I will be reading more of his work.
November 28, 2022
4.5*
A one-sentence summary of this book might read something like one of my brother's tired bar jokes:
A Somali refugee, a Benedictine monk, and a veteran of the Afghan war walk into a Vermont monastery....
You'd have to ask, what do these three folks have in common? The answer turns out to be complicated, but "more than you might at first think." A bright thread of each of these characters' individual stories stands out even as they weave over, under, and around each other to create a blended pattern of compassion, humanity, trauma, and need. Sahro's story of her childhood and youth in war-torn Somalia, the family she tragically leaves behind, and her refugee trek from South America to Canada is educational and shattering to read about. As Father Christopher reviews and questions his long-ago decision to become a monk and Teddy struggles to re-integrate into his Vermont community and American "life as usual" after serving in Afghanistan, they must make decisions about whether and how to help Sahro evade immigration officials. This story is one for our times, a reminder to see and treat others humanely and generously during our time on this earth.
A one-sentence summary of this book might read something like one of my brother's tired bar jokes:
A Somali refugee, a Benedictine monk, and a veteran of the Afghan war walk into a Vermont monastery....
You'd have to ask, what do these three folks have in common? The answer turns out to be complicated, but "more than you might at first think." A bright thread of each of these characters' individual stories stands out even as they weave over, under, and around each other to create a blended pattern of compassion, humanity, trauma, and need. Sahro's story of her childhood and youth in war-torn Somalia, the family she tragically leaves behind, and her refugee trek from South America to Canada is educational and shattering to read about. As Father Christopher reviews and questions his long-ago decision to become a monk and Teddy struggles to re-integrate into his Vermont community and American "life as usual" after serving in Afghanistan, they must make decisions about whether and how to help Sahro evade immigration officials. This story is one for our times, a reminder to see and treat others humanely and generously during our time on this earth.
December 24, 2023
I really loved this quiet book about the intertwined lives of a Somali refugee, a Vermont monk, and an Afghan war veteran. The stories of the three characters span the globe but all eventually converge at the Blue Mountain monastery in northern Vermont not far from the Canadian border. The author’s prose is sparse yet beautifully written, there was a peace to this tale despite the hardships faced by the protagonists. I went into this book not knowing what to expect and it ended up being one of favorite reads of 2023, a beautiful story that is definitely recommended.
March 8, 2022
Really stunning stories woven into one. Took me a minute to get into, but once I did, it flew! Beautiful!
December 30, 2021
A well written, heartfelt, direct novel. The structure is clear and simple: one story told from three perspectives, with flashbacks. No experimental literary forms here, just a good story. It was compelling - I wanted to keep reading. I can say as a Franciscan friar that the character of the abbot was accurately researched and portrayed. I'm guessing, therefore, that the background and perspectives of the other two protagonists were equally well researched. This makes the novel not only a good story, but also a window into several "slices" of humanity.
February 14, 2022
A young refugee, on the run, ends up at a monastery in the mountains of Vermont. A late-season snowstorm adds atmospheric drama to this beautifully written story of different characters who somehow come to an understanding and a way to help each other. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy quiet novels with strong backstories, those interested in immigrant narratives, and fans of fiction with both men and women as strong characters.
February 28, 2022
The interweaving stories, of three isolated people:
A veteran, disabled during his service and rejected at home,
A monk, thrust into a leadership role in his monastery, seeking to find God's path, and
A young Somali woman struggling to find safety, but discovering the United States isn't always the land of promise.
The story takes place in Somali, several refugee detention centers, New York City, and Vermont.
Worth the read, especially considering its last sentence, "All royalties from the North American sales...will be donated to the Vermont office o the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Migrants in Colchester, Vermont," (p 274)
A veteran, disabled during his service and rejected at home,
A monk, thrust into a leadership role in his monastery, seeking to find God's path, and
A young Somali woman struggling to find safety, but discovering the United States isn't always the land of promise.
The story takes place in Somali, several refugee detention centers, New York City, and Vermont.
Worth the read, especially considering its last sentence, "All royalties from the North American sales...will be donated to the Vermont office o the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Migrants in Colchester, Vermont," (p 274)
August 26, 2023
this book was actually pretty good for having to read it for school! my only critique is that i absolutely hated the ending. she just like?? left??? it just felt kind of rushed i guess
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2022
As a Vermonter, I like books whose stories take place in Vermont. Kessler, a Vermont author, chose three very different types of characters whose lives intertwine in Vermont’s north country near the Canadian border: Brother Christopher, the abbot of a cloistered monastery, Teddy Fletcher, the monastery groundkeeper and a disabled veteran of the war on terror in Afghanistan, and Sahro, a young Somali woman who had unsuccessfully tried to seek asylum in the US and is now a fugitive trying to reach Canada.
It’s been a long, dangerous journey for Sahro and now, less than 60 miles from the border, the volunteer activist driving her to the border goes off the road during a May blizzard not far from the monastery. Teddy finds them and brings them to the monastery Guest House. What transpires afterwards made for a gripping read about the things immigrants go through to try to get into our country.
This is a novel and it is interesting in that it is written by a white man telling Sahro’s story. He has a lot of humility about this cultural appropriation, recognizing his limitations in being able to truly portray a different culture. I liked that he connected deeply with individuals in the Somali community in Vermont as he was doing his research for the book.
I struggled the most with the religious aspects of the book, especially the monastery life. Having grown up Catholic and rejecting religion as a young adult, I find it interesting that I chose a book that deals with the spirituality of the Catholic religion in a way that I never felt personally. I liked how the author portrayed the people in the monastic community as a complicated group of individuals with many imperfections. I was glad that ultimately the abbot didn’t just “pray” for Sahro as his cloistered vows required but instead actively helped her to the border. Sahro, also, is a deeply religious Muslim and it gives her comfort like religion can do for some people.
Although it bothered me that the cloistered monks removed themselves from the world to pray instead of using their faith to actively help others, I did like that the author had Christopher questioning his vocation and that he appreciated that Jesus, Mary and Joseph were also refugees.
I liked Sahro’s backstory…her idyllic childhood in Mogadishu, “the envy of Africa”, all the issues that women face in Islam.
There’s an eye-opening article in Outside Magazine about the Darien Gap which was the worst part of Sahro’s journey. It is worth reading just how dangerous Panama is to travel through by foot.
I appreciate that the author donated the royalties from “North” to the Vermont office of the U.S. committee for Refugees.
Lots of references to current issues: climate change, ICE, Trump, the Muslim ban, etc.
It’s been a long, dangerous journey for Sahro and now, less than 60 miles from the border, the volunteer activist driving her to the border goes off the road during a May blizzard not far from the monastery. Teddy finds them and brings them to the monastery Guest House. What transpires afterwards made for a gripping read about the things immigrants go through to try to get into our country.
This is a novel and it is interesting in that it is written by a white man telling Sahro’s story. He has a lot of humility about this cultural appropriation, recognizing his limitations in being able to truly portray a different culture. I liked that he connected deeply with individuals in the Somali community in Vermont as he was doing his research for the book.
I struggled the most with the religious aspects of the book, especially the monastery life. Having grown up Catholic and rejecting religion as a young adult, I find it interesting that I chose a book that deals with the spirituality of the Catholic religion in a way that I never felt personally. I liked how the author portrayed the people in the monastic community as a complicated group of individuals with many imperfections. I was glad that ultimately the abbot didn’t just “pray” for Sahro as his cloistered vows required but instead actively helped her to the border. Sahro, also, is a deeply religious Muslim and it gives her comfort like religion can do for some people.
Although it bothered me that the cloistered monks removed themselves from the world to pray instead of using their faith to actively help others, I did like that the author had Christopher questioning his vocation and that he appreciated that Jesus, Mary and Joseph were also refugees.
I liked Sahro’s backstory…her idyllic childhood in Mogadishu, “the envy of Africa”, all the issues that women face in Islam.
There’s an eye-opening article in Outside Magazine about the Darien Gap which was the worst part of Sahro’s journey. It is worth reading just how dangerous Panama is to travel through by foot.
I appreciate that the author donated the royalties from “North” to the Vermont office of the U.S. committee for Refugees.
Lots of references to current issues: climate change, ICE, Trump, the Muslim ban, etc.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2023
This was actually so good I’m going to be thinking about this forever
February 27, 2023
This book will stay with me for a long time. It's set in Vermont in an area I'm familiar with, so the place descriptions were extra vivid for me. There are 3 main characters with back story, a young disabled veteran, the abbot of a monastery, and a young woman who is a refugee from Somalia.
While I found the politics of the monastery interesting, I began skipping pages of the monk's backstory, same for the young vet. But, I was mainly skipping so I could get to the continued saga of the young woman. Her journey from Somalia to Texas and what happens after that were compelling. The afterward is a must read and the
North American proceeds from the book are being donated to an NGO in VT assisting refugees.
This story made me want to learn more about the plight of Somalian refugees (and all asylum seekers). There's a lengthy reference list at the end of the book.
While I found the politics of the monastery interesting, I began skipping pages of the monk's backstory, same for the young vet. But, I was mainly skipping so I could get to the continued saga of the young woman. Her journey from Somalia to Texas and what happens after that were compelling. The afterward is a must read and the
North American proceeds from the book are being donated to an NGO in VT assisting refugees.
This story made me want to learn more about the plight of Somalian refugees (and all asylum seekers). There's a lengthy reference list at the end of the book.
August 25, 2023
very good i loved oscar and i wish there was a conclusion to teddy fletcher and kate ☹️ but oscar carried and so did sahro and so did christopher yussss. 10/10 story only bad part was some sections where a little slow but it was very good for an english class book also every country sucks and we should all just be the monastery and welcome everyone 🙏
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2025
Almost too hopeful for the current world, and it’s not a particularly uplifting story. The writing style lands in the perfect spot — lyrical without being overly poetic, contemplative without being slow.
October 19, 2023
Wasn’t bad for a school book but the end was kinda weird and there was lots of very random plot points that seemed kinda pointless
December 7, 2023
this book was GOOD ASFFF i loved it!!
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