Where the Sea Used to Be
By Rick Bass
Houghton Mifflin, $25
ISBN 0395770157

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Born and raised in Houston, Texas, outdoor/conservation writer Rick Bass attended Utah State University to study wildlife management but later switched to petroleum engineering because it seemed more practical. That did not last. His connection to nature and his desire to be in it caused him to hop into a pick-up truck with his wife one day and just start driving, not knowing where they would end up. Their search led them to the Yaak Valley in northern Montana where Bass now lives and works. This valley forms the foundation for the stories that unfold in his beautiful first novel, Where the Sea Used to Be.

Where the Sea Used to Be is, first and foremost, a character study. It does not thrust you immediately into a tightly wound plot, but instead slowly reveals the many layers of the main characters. This is the story of a clash of wills -- the story of the struggle between a father and daughter, and two men: his proteges, her lovers.

Old Dudley is a wildly successful oil prospector who delights in taking young geologists and molding them to his will. Matthew represents one of his greatest successes, having found innumerable oil fields, but he is approaching the end of his usefulness. He is also the somewhat estranged lover of Old Dudley's daughter, Mel.

Wallis is Dudley's newest project. Old Dudley eventually sends him from Houston to the same remote Montana valley where Mel lives and studies wolves.

What follows is a gradual unveiling of life in the valley. Bass's writing, like that of Thoreau or Aldo Leopold, is the voice of someone who is at peace with the world in which he lives. He does not write about nature so much as feels it, conveying to the reader that sense of awe and wonder.

Where the Sea Used to Be is a serene and languid book. It does not urge you to finish, but rather to enjoy the experience. Reading Where the Sea Used to Be is like taking a slow hike through the hills, or canoeing down a lazy river. In no rush to get anywhere, you are able to enjoy the sights, the sounds, the smells. Bass reminds us that we should do this more often, and after reading the Where the Sea Used to Be, you will most likely agree.

Wes Breazeale is a freelance writer in the Pacific Northwest.