Book Review of Old King by Maxim Loskutoff

Name of Book: Old King

Author: Maxim Loskutoff 

ISBN: 978-0-393-86819-7

Publisher: w.w. Norton 

Type of book: 1976-1996, Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, effects of nature, Lincoln Montana, jobs, NEIGHBORS, animals, technology, finding self, opening up Alice's world, choices, psychopathy, 

Year it was published: 2024 

Summary:

In this novel about the end of the frontier dream, a logger builds a cabin near a recluse named Ted Kaczynski.

In the spring of America’s bicentennial, a man named Duane Oshun runs out of gas in Lincoln, Montana, a former mining boomtown. In this outlaw community, Duane joins a logging crew, falls for a waitress, and attempts to befriend his neighbor, a loner named Ted Kaczynski. Though the two men share a fascination with the Old King, an ancient Douglas fir anchoring the valley’s endangered old-growth forest, Kaczynski's violent grievances against modern society will shake the nation and place Duane in grave danger.

Told in four parts sweeping across two decades, Old King establishes Maxim Loskutoff as one of the most inventive and exciting authors of the American west, a writer “endowed with fearless audacity, stunning grace, and gutsy heart” (Nickolas Butler). As Kaczynski’s bombs crescendo to the book’s devastating conclusion, Old King wrestles with the birth of the modern environmental movement, the accelerating dominion of technology in American life, and a new kind of violence that lives next door.

Characters:

Main characters include Duane Oshun who moves from Nevada to Montana following his divorce in 1976. Duane is best described as naive, and someone who follows rules. He is a neighbor to Ted Kaczynski. Mason is Duane's girlfriend's ex husband who had high dreams and hopes when it comes to the forest. He is fair, can't be bribed, and seems to be on the edge of trying out new technology. There is of course Ted, the Unabomber who is extreme, contemptuous and is a psychopath to people. He is also a loner. There are minor characters such as Jackie who has Native American ancestors and who acts as a love interest to Duane as well as Hutch who is passionate about helping animals and Tracy, Duanes ex wife who fears the present and Hudson, Duanes son who seems to thrive when in nature rather than in city.   

Theme:

The world is more complicated than one thinks 

Plot:

The story is told in third person narrative  primarily from Duane's, Ted's and Mason's points of view. Once or few times other characters such as Jackie, Tracy and Hudson also give their points of view. Contrary to the summary, it's not until the almost very end that the reader sees what it is like to be neighbor to Ted Kaczynski, the infamous Unabomber. Most of the time is focused on life in Lincoln Montana as well as Ted Kaczynski's psychology and dialogue and hatred, which were done very well.  One last thing the story focused on are the changes affecting Lincoln Nebraska, and one almost feels kind of a heartbreak because it means that last vestiges of wilderness are stripped and gone. 

    
Author Information:
( From goodreads) 

Maxim Loskutoff is the author of the novel RUTHIE FEAR, winner of the High Plains Book Award, and the story collection COME WEST AND SEE, an NPR and Amazon Best Book and New York Times Editor's Choice. His stories and essays have appeared in numerous periodicals, including the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Ploughshares, and GQ. Other honors include the Nelson Algren Award, M Literary Prize, and Montana Innovation Award. He lives in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana, where he was raised.

Opinion:

On the surface, what do stories of Duane, Mason and Ted have in common? They are in the same place and all three have passing acquaintance with one another. But I often think that there was a silent witness: that of a Douglass fir named "Old king" who was and is a witness to the changes affecting that specific area from 1976 until 1996. I definitely loved the writing as well as the psychology of Ted and getting to know various characters that lived in a town as well as the atmosphere and mentality. Perhaps something i should make note of is that mentality wise, the story begins with "present" in form of Duane who at best can be seen as either a tourist or visitor, then it goes to Mason who works for the town, but seems to struggle between past and future, and finally we get Ted who represents the history, but in timing it is far more modern. For something unique and pondersome, as well as nature's effect on people sharing their land and lives with nature, yes, highly check it out. 

This was given for review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)