Five Skies - Ron Carlson

Five Skies is, at first glance, a simple enough tale: three men, near strangers, are hired to build a ramp to nowhere. It is a frivolous project, required for a stunt which will occupy mere seconds of a completely forgettable film.

As the project unfolds, however, so do the lives of these deeply wounded men. Five Skies is a quiet, understated novel. It is a glimpse at the violence our simplest decisions can do to our lives. It is a tribute, too, of the healing power of work and of friendships forged not by words, but by the simple act of being there, by the handling of a tool, by the shouldering of part of a load.

Carlson's writing is spare and deep as desolate and beautiful as the landscape he paints. Five Skies is the kind of book you became a reader for. It is a rare gem. Five Skies is five stars.