Barkskins

A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 'One of the greatest American writers' Independent From Annie Proulx, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Shipping News and "Brokeback Mountain," comes a masterwork: an epic, dramatic novel about the destruction of the world's forests. In the late seventeenth century, two penniless Frenchmen, Ren� Sel and Charles Duquet, arrive in New France, bound to a seigneur for three years in exchange for land, becoming wood-cutters—barkskins. Ren� endures immense hardship, oppressed by the forest he must clear, and is forced to marry a Mi'kmaw woman, leading to descendants caught between two cultures. In contrast, Duquet, crafty and ruthless, escapes the seigneur, becomes a fur trader, and establishes a timber business. Proulx weaves the stories of Sel and Duquet's descendants over three centuries, detailing their journeys across North America, Europe, China, and New Zealand amid brutal conditions, rivalries, accidents, and cultural annihilation. They exploit what seems an infinite resource, leaving modern characters confronting potential ecological collapse. Proulx's genius lies in her vivid characters—greedy, lustful, vengeful, or compassionate—drawing readers in with fierce attention. This novel is a magnificent blend of history and imagination, showcasing Proulx as one of America's most formidable writers.