Publisher Description

The editor of a small weekly newspaper in Fairbanks, Alaska, Gus Traynor is an independent spirit whose idealism has survived numerous tests. When big business interests threaten the breathtaking wilderness he cherishes, he joins forces with his best friend--an often self-serving developer--to take on the forces of progress. Soon, in his determination to preserve the dignity and heritage of his community, Gus is learning more than he has ever imagined about the region's colorful mix of opportunists, dreamers, and artists. But his mission is complicated by the discovery of a young woman's body floating in the river . . . and by the blossoming of an unexpected love.

Author Biography

Marjorie Kowalski Cole's poetry and fiction have appeared in numerous journals, including Chattahoochee Review and Alaska Quarterly Review. Her essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, American Poetry Review, and Poets & Writers. She lives in Ester, Alaska, with her husband, Pat Lambert.

Description for Teachers/Educators

The winner of Barbara Kingsolver's Bellwether Prize for a work of socially and politically engaged fiction, Correcting the Landscape follows the fate of an Alaskan newspaper editor as he fights the degradation of the natural environment at the hands of big business, attempts to solve a local murder mystery, and embarks on a budding romance with one of his reporters. Gus Traynor is the editor of a local newspaper whose idealism has been consistently tested but remains mostly intact. He prides himself on the independence of his spirit. So when big business threatens the Alaskan wilderness, Gus calls on the help of his best friend, a normally self-serving developer who helps Gus take on the forces of progress. "Driven by characters containing enough flaws to make the reader care about them, this intelligent novel deftly reveals the power of individual commitment against money and personal connections powerful enough to destroy." -Denver Post

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