Book: Whitefish Review

If you’re an EOR (erstwhile obsessive reader) like me, you keenly remember when it took 2-3 books a week to make you feel complete. Alas, adulthood and its frenetic environment—brimming, as it is, with far too many ways to spend what little free time we get—often render quiet reading time a rare luxury.

Whitefish Review (Buckshot Enterprises, $12), Montana’s newest literary journal, is a worthy indulgence. This slim softcover is loaded with essays, short stories, and poems that are an absolute joy to read. The writing and editing are good, the layout clean—this book is perfect for the bedtable, where you can tick off a story a night, providing time in between to ponder. And ponder you will—many of the stories speak poignantly to life in the Mountain West, something dear and meaningful to us all.

Select paintings and photography grace the center pages, which add depth and variety. I found the Brad Ludden piece a little out of place; this is a journal celebrating mountain culture via art, literature, and photography—Mountain Gazette can interview the kayakers, thank you very much. All in all, though, a worthwhile expenditure of both time and money. Order a copy at whitefishreview.com.