Jimmy Bluefeather

Old Keb Wisting is somewhere around ninety-five years old (he lost count awhile ago) and in constant pain and thinks he wants to die. He also thinks he thinks too much. Part Norwegian and part Tlingit Native ( with some Filipino and Portuguese thrown in ), he s the last living canoe carver in the village of Jinkaat, in Southeast Alaska.

When his grandson, James, a promising basketball player, ruins his leg in a logging accident and tells his grandpa that he has nothing left to live for, Old Keb comes alive and finishes his last canoe, with help from his grandson. Together (with a few friends and a crazy but likeable dog named Steve) they embark on a great canoe journey. Suddenly all of Old Keb s senses come into play, so clever and wise in how he reads the currents, tides and storms. Nobody can find him. He and the others paddle deep into wild Alaska, but mostly into the human heart, in a story of adventure, love, and reconciliation. With its rogue s gallery of colorful, endearing, small-town characters, this book stands as a wonderful blend of Mark Twain s "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and John Nichols s "The Milagro Beanfield War," with dashes of John Steinbeck thrown in."

Reviews

"Heacox, an exquisite writer, presents us with an Alaska true to its self, beautifully drawn. . . 'Jimmy Bluefeather' is a superb addition to Alaska -- indeed, American -- literature. With enough readership, Old Keb Wisting could become as beloved a character as 'To Kill a Mockingbird s' Atticus Finch. Not heroic but human, with qualities of toughness, resilience, acceptance and humor, learned as an Alaskan from a life of living close to the Earth and its waters, in a place of stories." Nancy Lord, Alaska Dispatch News" 

"JIMMY BLUEFEATHER contains echoes of John Irving and Kurt Vonnegut, but only if they had spent time among the canoe carvers, whale biologists, loggers and basketball players of Alaska. Heacox, a writer and explorer of renown, offers a genuine, funny and tender portrait that is rare in the literature of the 49th state." Andromeda Romano-Lax, author of THE SPANISH BOW, THE DETOUR, AND BEHAVE" 

BOOKLIST - "Alaskan Heacox s (Rhythm of the Wild, 2015) first novel is richly steeped in the landscape he knows so well and populated by a stellar group of diverse and unforgettable characters. Keb Wisting, part Tlingit and part Norwegian, is nearing 100 and worried about his family. His daughters are on opposing sides of a land-use battle near their island home, and his grandson, James, has just lost his shot at an NBA career due to a logging accident. The last canoe-builder in the village of Jinkaat, Keb embarks on a community-wide boat-building exercise that turns into a chance to recreate an ancestral journey across nearby Crystal Bay. The trip draws in not only troubled James but also an eclectic group, including a determined whale biologist, a cop trying to do the right thing, a fisherwoman who has seen too much hardship, and everyone who has an angle on the land-deal conflict. Heacox does a superb job of transcending his characters unique geography to create a heartwarming, all-American story. Jinkaat, Alaska, can stand beside Twain s Missouri and Anderson s Winesburg, Ohio." 

"The force that drives JIMMY BLUEFEATHER is the figure of Old Keb Wisting, the last canoe carver in his Alaskan Indian village. Keb is a powerfully drawn portrait of an indomitable spirit facing down his own death--with fierce determination, blasting a Tlingit song into the cold wind blowing off the glaciers. This is not just a well-crafted picture of an elder; it is unforgettable, in the direct lineage of THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA." Doug Peacock, author of IN THE SHADOW OF THE SABERTOOTH; GLOBAL WARMING, THE ORIGINS OF THE FIRST AMERICANS, and THE TERRIBLE BEASTS OF THE PLEISTOCENE" 

JIMMY BLUEFEATHER contains echoes of John Irving and Kurt Vonnegut, but only if they had spent time among the canoe carvers, whale biologists, loggers and basketball players of Alaska. Heacox, a writer and explorer of renown, offers a genuine, funny and tender portrait that is rare in the literature of the 49th state. Andromeda Romano-Lax, author of THE SPANISH BOW, THE DETOUR, AND BEHAVE" 

Kim Heacox s love for the land and people of Southeast Alaska shines forth in this character-driven saga, brimming with craft, humor, and deft turn of phrase. JIMMY BLUEFEATHER easily makes the short list for the great Alaska novel. Nick Jans, author of A WOLF CALLED ROMEO"