The Sasquatch Hunter's Almanac by Sharma Shields
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I really and truly have no idea what to make of this book. I do know that U thoroughly enjoyed the ride, though.
The story is fairly straightforward - Eli watches his mother leave with a bigfoot when he was 10. At least he's pretty sure it was a bigfoot. Regardless, the impacts on his life are pretty significant, and he dedicates his entire life to cryptozoology and trying to find this creature and, perhaps, his mother as well.
On the surface, that's the book. It's a man's quest to find bigfoot because bigfoot stole his mother away. In that the yeti consumes his life is one aspect, that he's got a whole bunch of issues concerning abandonment and commitment is another, that we get some insight into the mother's choices yet another. All of these come together in a really fascinating way to tell a pretty interesting story with a lot of weird twists and turns and some truly unexpected points to begin with, including apparent misunderstandings and questions about what is truly real.
It's closer to a 4.5 because, as well-crafted and interesting as this is, I really don't get it. Taken solely on the surface, this book is really just about a man and a sasquatch. Is it about megolomania? About family drama? About selfish choices? I have absolutely no idea. A little more clarity (or perhaps more personal perception) would have gone a long way, but perhaps some of the mystery is what makes this great on its own? I don't know.
Still, a pretty fun ride even with the flaws. Definitely glad I scooped this one up, and definitely one I think people who don't mind some left-of-center fiction would enjoy on a whole.
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