"THE LETTERS" by Luanne Rice and Joseph Monninger (A-)

Two acclaimed novelists, Luanne Rice and Joseph Monninger, have collaborated to create this unusual literary experiment. Rice is a New York Times best selling author of dozens of books, while Monninger is also an author of note as well as being a prize-winning columnist. In this intriguing book they assume the fictitious roles of a husband and wife on the brink of divorce who continue to write lengthy and revealing epistles to each other long after they have separated and have taken starkly different paths to exorcise the demons of angst and regret which still torment them.

Their story is a rich and vibrant tale filled with memories of the past and the heartfelt emotions of the present which wing their way from one side of the country to the other in the form of beautifully written letters. Each letter is filled with the poignant angst of two people who had formerly shared the deepest of loves. Their long heartfelt letters to each other are partly a sad and poignant yearning for what might have been, but also a manifesto of grievances along with hopes for a better, though far lonelier, future.

Now they find themselves going in different directions, and neither can quite understand or grasp why the other is doing what they are doing. Nevertheless, their deep mutual respect, with a few minor caveats, allows them to assume that the deeply personal journey of the other will somehow end up being for the best.

They had once enjoyed a perfect marriage which was the envy of their friends, but, as is so often the case, the unexpected and tragic death of Paul, their beloved son, in an airplane crash sucked the joy as well as the communication out of their relationship and they slowly drifted apart. Divorce seemed like the only sensible option, so now they are separated and pursuing their momentary dreams on the opposite sides of the continent.

It would be hard to imagine two more dramatically different dreams. Sam West is a globe trotting photographer, primarily of sporting events, who had hoped that his son would follow in his footsteps. Instead, Paul showed little athletic inclination, and then, on the spur of the moment, he dropped out of Amherst and volunteered to be a teacher to impoverished Native Americans living in an Inuit village on the North Slope of Alaska. It was on the way to this Inuit village when the plane went down in a storm, killing both Paul and the pilot.

Sam has decided that the only way that he can assuage his grief is to make a cathartic journey to that remote crash site deep in the Alaskan wilderness. He has gotten as far as the Laika Star, a luxurious fishing camp, where he is prepping for a grueling ten day dog sled run in the dead of winter that will hopefully reach the crash site. The week of preparation along with a weather delay gives him plenty of time to write lengthy letters to his soon to be ex-wife.

Hadley West has headed in the opposite direction, towards New England and a small island off the coast of Maine. She has rented a somewhat dilapidated cabin on Monhegan Island about eight or ten miles out in the Atlantic. During the summer the small island bustles with tourists, but now Thanksgiving is approaching and the island is quiet with the few local fishermen anxiously awaiting the start of the winter lobster season.

Hadley used to be a painter, but she had given this up to become a soccer mom while Sam was away on his lengthy field trips. Now she wants to exorcise her own inner demons by reaching into her artistic soul. The cabin is perfect: it is quiet, isolated, and comes with a friendly ghost, the mother of the current owner, along with a feral cat who stays close by for cabin warmth and occasional food handouts.

I often wonder how close to the truth these physical locales are. There actually is a Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine as described in this book. It can easily be found by MapQuest or Google Earth, but I couldn't find anything about the Laika Star resort, except for the fact that this is the name of the famous canine astronaut that the Russians sent up into space to die and orbit the Earth forever.

Both Sam and Hadley avail themselves of the speedier services of FedEx so that their letters to each other are delivered in a timely manner. This allows the story to proceed in a logical and cohesive way with the letters usually delivered in groups of three. Sam bulks up on Laika Star home cooking provided by Gus, the weathered owner of the fishing lodge. He looks and plays the part of the quintessentially rugged Alaskan outdoors man with occasional visit from Cindy, his girlfriend, a pilot who lives back in Anchorage. However, the most important woman in Sam's life for the next ten days will be Martha Rich, a world class dog sled driver who has won the Iditarod numerous times.

From one viewpoint this story may be viewed as Sam looking back to touch death, while Hadley looks forward to touch the life of art. While their journeys may appear to be diametrically opposed, both of their journeys offer the hope for life affirmation. This is a lovely book. 2008, Bantam Dell, 199 pages.