The World As We Know It

The workshop in Allard Keer's basement is described as a "space that made visitors stop and silently evaluate their own lives." The same could be said for the characters in this latest novel from Monninger (Eternal on the Water), who live in such a peaceful and well-mannered way. Allard's family members seem contented and methodical as they pursue life and craft in a beautiful Northeastern setting. They live close to the land, working with wood, raising barns, and eventually starting a wildlife documentary company. The earnest efforts of Allard and his brother, Ed, are reliably rewarded; their first film gains notice, and they turn professional. When Sarah, Allard's lifelong love, decides to write, she is published immediately and begins a career writing nonfiction on animal rights. Conflict comes relatively late in the narrative, when a sudden tragedy threatens to unravel the core relationship in the book: that between soul mates Allard and Sarah.