Lee Zacharias' Captivating 'Across the Great Lake'

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In the dead of winter in 1936, 5-year-old Fern Halvorson set off on what she eagerly imagined was going to be a grand adventure crossing Lake Michigan alongside her father, the captain of a great coal-fired transport ship, the Manitou. At the time, Fern didn’t understand that she was fleeing a grieving mother as she succumbed to overwhelming illness, nor does she anticipate the harsh realities of nature or foresee the violence and treachery involved in crossing Lake Michigan in February. All that precocious Fern fantasizes about is the freedom of exploring the vast ship and the interesting characters she will surely meet on board, until ghost-ship sightings and ravenous winter storms make it impossible to elude the dangers.

Eighty years later, when Fern recounts her captivating story in Lee Zacharias’s eloquent novel, Across the Great Lake, the octogenarian’s memories come wonderfully alive as do the richly drawn characters that comprise this narrative. The author paints a vivid picture of the tumultuous winter conditions that impede travel and provides poetic details of daily life on board the huge ship and all its mechanics. Perfectly woven in among this Midwestern history and technical knowledge is the darkness of a secret that Fern has kept hidden since the long-ago voyage.

Zacharias is the author of four previous books that includes a collection of short stories, personal essays and novels. Her latest novel, Across the Great Lake, was named a 2019 Michigan Notable Book. Zacharias has taught at Princeton University and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, where she is professor emeritus of English.

The author will speak at Boswell Book Co. on Tuesday, July 30, at 7 p.m.