WINNER OF THE 2019

DUBLIN INTERNATIONAL

LITERARY AWARD

“A wrenching and beautiful book.”

—The New York Times

a textured, emotionally intricate story of deliverance...a completely immersive world. Ruskovich allows her characters deep and active imaginations, imbuing them with dignity and humanity. Each has the power to break your heart.

—O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE

"Haunting, propulsive, and gorgeously written, this is a debut not to be missed."

—People Magazine

FROM O. HENRY-AWARD WINNING AUTHOR EMILY RUSKOVICH COMES A STUNNING DEBUT NOVEL ABOUT LOVE AND SACRIFICE, FAMILY AND FRIENDSHIP, THE VIOLENCE OF MEMORY AND THE EQUAL VIOLENCE OF ITS LOSS.

Ann and Wade have carved out a life for themselves from a rugged landscape in northern Idaho, where they are bound together by more than love. With her husband’s memory fading, Ann attempts to piece together the truth of what happened to Wade's first wife and to their daughters. In a story written in exquisite prose and told from multiple perspectives—including Ann, Wade, and Wade’s first wife Jenny, now serving a life sentence in prison—we gradually learn of the mysterious and shocking act that fractured Wade and Jenny's lives, of the love and compassion that brought Ann and Wade together, and of the memories that reverberate through the lives of every character in Idaho.

ONE FAMILY, ONE DAY,

ONE ACT OF INEXPLICABLE VIOLENCE—

AND A LIFETIME SPENT TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF IT.

New York Times Editor's choice

IDAHO BOOK OF THE YEAR

Shortlisted finalist for the INTERNATIONAL DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE

Young lions fiction award finalist

 edgar first novel award finALIST

AN LA TIMES BESTSELLER

 PACIFIC NORTHWEST BOOK AWARD winner

a buzzfeed best book of the year

A Barnes and Noble Great New writers Selection

New York times 17 anticipated books in 2017

You know you’re in masterly hands here. Ruskovich’s language is itself a consolation, as she subtly posits the troubling thought that only decency can save us….Ruskovich’s novel will remind many readers of the great Idaho novel, Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping …. [A] wrenching and beautiful book.”

—New York Times Book Review

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR IDAHO

Idaho begins with a rusted truck and ends up places you couldn’t imagine. Its language is an enchantment, its vision brutal and sublime. This book is interested in what can’t be repaired and every kind of grace we find in the face of that futility. It caught and held me absolutely.”

—Leslie Jamison

Emily Ruskovich’s Idaho is a novel written like music: striking arpeggios, haunting refrains, and then you come to a bridge, and Ruskovich leads you up into the mountains, introducing a chorus of rich and beautiful voices woven deep in the Idaho woods. Ruskovich digs deeply into everyday moments and shows that it is there, in our quietest thoughts and experiences, where we find and create our true selves.”  

—Hannah Tinti  
 
“Idaho is both a place and an emotional dimension. Haunted, haunting, her novel winds through time, braiding events and their consequences in the most unexpected and moving ways.”  

—Andrea Barrett

“Emily Ruskovich has written a poem in prose, a beautiful and intricate homage to place, and a celebration of the defeats and triumphs of love. Beautifully crafted, emotionally evocative, and psychologically astute,Idaho is one of the best books I have read in a long time.”

 —Chinelo Okparanta
 
“Emily Ruskovich has intricately entwined a terrifying human story with an austere and impervious setting. The result—something bigger than either—is beautiful, brutal, and incandescent.”  

— Deirdre McNamer

“One of the best books I've read this year...Emily Ruskovich's writing is remarkably beautiful; the descriptions of the mountain and the forest are breathtaking...The characters are complex and real, their motivations always understated...It is a wonderful book and I'll be recommending it to anyone who will listen."

 — Claire Fuller

"[A] SHATTERINGLY ORIGINAL DEBUT...YOU COULD READ “IDAHO” JUST FOR THE SHEER BEAUTY OF THE PROSE, THE EXPERT WAY RUSKOVICH MAKES EVERYTHING STRANGE AND YET ABSOLUTELY FAMILIAR...SHE STARTLES WITH IMAGES SO FRESH, THEY MAKE YOU SEE THE WORLD ANEW."

—THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

published in the US and UK JANUARY 3, 2017

Foreign Editions Coming Soon

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ORDER HERE