The Rainy Year is a work of fiction, of nature, of spirituality, along with a protest against war. The protagonist, Arthur Finstead, is a first year science teacher who accepts a position in Sturgeon Falls, a small Finnish community on the northern border of Minnesota. The story relates his experiences with students, faculty, and their parents against a background of the war in Vietnam and the anxiety of being drafted into the army by the Selective Service system. Finstead was an adopted child and knows nothing of his biological parents. He takes up residence in the old homestead that was the childhood home of the only father he knew. Finstead relies on the school secretary, Alice, and the physical ed. teacher, Jacob for friendship and guidance. The book alternates to characters and events that illustrate the history of the community along with the beliefs and customs that provide background to Finstead's students and help answer his question, "Why do they act the way they do?" Characters will include: George, a Finnish bachelor who struggles between his Lutheran upbringing and a god as found within nature; Harry, a happy-go-lucky logger, yodeler, always seeking romance; Carl, an artistic young man, handicapped with a genetic deafness and feared by some within the community; Matt, a gruff logger, retired bootlegger, with a heart of gold; and Augie, a half-blooded Native, talented baseball player, and with the gift of visions. Each story notes a news event or is illustrated with drawings from Carl's notebook.
About the Author: Harold Fenske, a retired science teacher, lives with his best friend/wife, Jayne, on 60 acres of conifer forest that overlook an ice-block lake in northern Minnesota. Jayne works as a media specialist and they have three grown children, two springer spaniels, and three Arabian horses. Harold volunteers for the Friends of Itasca State Park organization. Harold holds a Master's degree in science education and taught eighth grade earth science for 38 years. He has been awarded numerous grants and awards including Minnesota Middle School Science Teacher of the Year. At the conclusion of most school years, a Kevlar canoe was strapped to the top of his or a friend's vehicle for "a wilderness paddle to restore sanity!" He has canoed the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness, the Quetico, the Blood Vein River in Manitoba, and the upper stretches of the Missouri River. A dedicated participant in the winter sports of dark-house fishing and cross-country skiing, he spends time building a hand-hewn Finnish sauna. Other interests include rocks, baseball, and Ernest Hemingway. Harold writes stories that examine the generations of families, both European immigrants and Native Americans, who settled in northern Minnesota. The stories focus on how the landscape shapes people's attitudes socially, spiritually, and economically. He believes there exists a direct relationship between the landscape-the rocks, trees, and lakes of this rugged land-and the people who choose to make northern Minnesota their home.