Trespass: Life at the Edge of the Promised Land, by Amy Irvine

Trespass: Living at the Edge of the Promised Land by Amy Irvine

(my review as posted on goodreads)

rating: 5 of 5 stars

As if the intriguing title wasn’t enough, the book captured me immediately with its first line: “My home is a red desert that trembles with spirits and bones.” Irvine’s arresting prose continues throughout this unrelenting memoir that chronicles the period of turmoil in her life following her father’s death and preceding her marriage to a man she describes as the “lion man.”

She structures the book into sections named for archaeological terms that summon the symbols and archetypes of the Southwest’s prehistoric inhabitants. These terms gather increasing weight as Irvine relates them to her own life, expertly adding and peeling back layers, as though excavating an archaeological site. As she refers to the past to inform her present struggle, she summons not only the Anasazi and Basketmakers, but her own ancestors, including her great-great-great grandfather, who was among the founders of Mormonism. The history and doctrine of Mormonism also add dimension, as Irvine outlines its place in the history of San Juan County, Utah, part of the Mormon promised land called Deseret. The most acute source of conflict in the book stems from Irvine’s opposing desires to both establish community with her neighbors, and to identify with her belief in wilderness protection and the land’s sacrality--convictions that place her at odds with the rest of the population who are largely religiously and culturally conservative ranchers.

Trespass is a narrative infused with tension, as Irvine details the internal pull she feels from the conflicting lifestyles and beliefs of the centuries of inhabitants who share only the land in common. Ultimately, the desert is as much the focus as the author herself, and she conjures its images with fierce passion and intimacy, unafraid to implicate herself among those who inhabit it, living imperfectly and seeking transcendence.

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Check out Cathie Bleck, who created the cover art for Trespass: