Lost Lake (1998) by Mark Slouka

 1,001 Novels: A Library of America

Lost Lake (1998)

by Mark Slouka

Lost Lake, New York

New York: 7/105

Upstate: 6/23

    There are five books from the Syracuse area, three from Buffalo/Rochester, three that are in between Syracuse and the Hudson River Valley (one of those is mismapped) and then the remaining half span the north to south length of the Hudson River- from the suburbs north of the city to Albany, with only two of those books coming from north of Albany.  That's upstate!  This means I'm halfway through the non-Hudson's River Valley portion of upstate.  What would that portion of America be without at least one book about fishing immigrants?   

  Honestly, I'm expecting more than one book on fishing, since it is an avowedly "literary" pursuit according to many (not me).  Also, there are large swaths of the country where fishing is the most exciting subject in the area that doesn't involve detective fiction.   This is a collection that blends equal parts fishing and the experience of Czech immigrants- including one story that partially takes place inside post-war Czechoslovakia.   The New York Times reviewer gave it a great review but it doesn't seem to hand landed with any kind of audience.   His Wikipedia page lists eight books, all on major publishers, the last from 2018.   No hits.   I wonder what he is up to these days.