The Invisible Element of Place: The Architecture of David Salmela
by Thomas Fisher, photos by Peter Bastianelli-Kerze
University of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 978-0-8166-6994-3
$39.95 Softcover
Books about architects are not abundant nor are they on most reading lists. This is a big oversight. Where you live, shop and work are products of architectural skills. Cities get a visual personality from their combination of architectural design. Few architects, however, are recognized for their creations; it is rare to be a visible superstar in this field.
Minnesota has an architect whose style stands out: Duluth’s David Salmela. This book attempts to give the reader a sense of the design and the designer, looking at trailers, cabins and homes done by David, whose Finnish heritage strongly influences his art. David specializes in using simple, clear lines – transforming the basic box to meet the needs of a building’s owner and landscape.
Author Thomas Fisher, the dean of the University of Minnesota’s College of Design, writes that for David, “design involves simplifying, reducing and distilling things down. … He believes the simplicity of the box is a sustainability strategy, as well as a cost-saving one.” – Mike Link
Oscar the Institutional Cat: A Feline Autobiography
by Bill MacDonald
Borealis Press
ISBN: 978-0-88887-430-6
$18.95 (Can.) Softcover
Readers of this magazine know Bill MacDonald’s writing, most recently about his aunt’s encounters with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. But you might not know that Bill can channel cats, as he does ghost writing for Oscar, an orange tabby who leaves his puppy-infested home for the comforts of Gull Wing Sanctuary and the company of its elderly residents.
A well-read cat offering frequent literary references, he thrives in his new home. He apparently shares Bill’s dry humor, as when describing a Valentine’s Day party put on by the old folks at which: “I learned later that old Mr. Lapierre was to have played the accordion, but he passed away in November and so was unavailable.”
This book reads like a contented cat: warm, purring and pleasant to invite into the house. – Konnie LeMay
Safe from the Sea
by Peter Geye
Unbridled Books
ISBN: 978-1-60953-008-2
$24.95 Hardcover
Peter Geye’s novel set on Minnesota’s North Shore revolves around the reunion of the main character and his father, one of three survivors from a shipwreck near Isle Royale. The book’s strongest passages describe the wreck and survival, which altered the lives of each family member. Meanwhile, the Lake sits calmly as a presence in the story, but it’s a dangerous element, a reminder of the possibility of change and guilt.
In a late reunion forced by the father’s infirmities, father and son resolve to patch up years of differences, which tends to go too smoothly, but you still feel for the characters and hope they depart on pleasant terms.
The other storyline follows the son and his wife, but it detracted from the main tension and purpose. This is an easy sit-along-the-shore read, and depending on which shore you sit, you may recognize the setting and enjoy the text even more. – Mike Link
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