BEMIDJI — Minnesota novelist Will Weaver is back with his second novel in the Haugen family saga--Black Dirt, Bright Stars. It follows his 2023 novel Power & Light, where we first meet the Haugen family: four siblings of Norwegian immigrants struggling to make a living off their farm in northeast North Dakota.
Black Dirt, Bright Stars picks up from Power & Light after the family lose a court battle against an evil and powerful man. As the story moves forward, justice is never far from their minds.
Spanning from the 1940s to the 1980s, Black Dirt, Bright Stars is told mainly through the point of view of Jenny, the youngest Haugen, as she steps up and leads the family forward. In a recent What We’re Reading interview Will Weaver said of Jenny, “She is easy to underestimate, but that is at your peril.”
The themes that enriched the story behind Power & Light continue on in Black Dirt, Bright Stars: immigrants struggling with language, culture and agency. But the main focus in the new novel is the family.
Will explained, “I'm very interested in the, what we'll call the arc of family: how families grow and thrive, or become stuck in neutral, or in some cases, peter out. And I wanted to show in particular this immigrant family gaining agency in America. And agency is land for them. And agency is power and land is power. But to see the family grow and come into modern times was a really fun thing for me to create.”
In talking about Power & Light previously, Will shared how the story helped him unpack a dark part of his family’s history—namely their hardships as immigrants to this country and an assault against his great aunt for which there was no justice. With this new book, Will feels his ancestors have been honored.
He said, “I think there was a great catharsis for me finishing Black Dirt, Bright Stars…It’s impossible to apply justice retroactively, but at least it can be addressed, and it can be honored. People's lives can be honored in retrospect. And I feel like I've done that and done justice to my old family, as I call them, my great aunt in particular, and saluted our Midwest along the way.
Will Weaver is the award-winning author of Black Dirt, Bright Stars, Power & Light, and several other books. You can find more information on his website.
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