The Book of Lost Light

Ron Nyren's The Book of Lost Light-- winner of Black Lawrence Press's 2019 Big Moose Prize and finalist for the 2020 David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Historical Fiction-- tells the story of Joseph Kylander, whose childhood in early 20th-century San Francisco has been shaped by his father's obsessive photographic project and by his headstrong cousin Karelia's fanciful storytelling and impulsive acts. The 1906 earthquake upends their routines, and they take refuge with a capricious patron and a group of artists looking to find meaning after disaster. The Book of Lost Light explores family loyalty and betrayal, Finnish folklore, the nature of time and theater, and what it takes to recover from calamity and build a new life from the ashes.