Caroline and her father live a simple, meager existence, shrouded in Forest Park, a nature preserve in Portland, Oregon. Ostensibly homeless, they have built a secluded home in the woods, complete with garden, library, and shower. Caroline reads the encyclopedia and runs barefoot in the forest, exploring the boundaries of her domain. Occasionally, she and her father visit the nearby town for food, the library, his SS check, but mostly stay out of the reach of other people.


Peter Rock's My Abandonment is really a huge surprise. This slim novel examines their lives with dazzling, electric prose, starting with the childish naivete of the opening pages, to the shock of her father's subsequent unraveling, to the quiet mournful remembrance at the end. As each chapter unfolds, a stranger, more twisted history evolves, yet Rock writes with a tenderness that belies the darker truths.

Read this. Jeez, it will only take an hour. Okay, maybe two, but it's worth it.

jc
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The basis for the film "Leave No Trace" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt389217), and one of those unusual occasions when the film is a lot better than the book. The book is Rock's imagined take on a true episode of a man living wild in the Pacific Northwest forest with his pre-teen daughter. When discovered, well-meaning law enforcement and social workers tried to help, placed them on a horse farm with a job for the dad, school for the girl... and not long after, the pair disappeared again and no one knows what became of them. Rock builds the first part of the story convincingly, told in the naive, almost affectless tone of the girl's viewpoint. The father is clearly damaged, presumably from wartime experiences, paranoid and overprotective; the girl has learned to cope. She is brave, intelligent, and loving, and thriving in some ways. But once the conflict between "civilization" and their isolated life begins, the story - all Rock's imagination now - rather falls apart. It becomes something darker and more thriller-ish, suggesting kidnap and captivity. Perhaps the girl's flat tone is a defense against memories she cannot bear, but it doesn't match the earlier tone of their relationship in the book. Ultimately, the title may not mean what we initially think it does. I will just say as a librarian, I rolled my eyes at the final resolution of working in a library as the final refuge of an irredeemable misfit. Sigh. (Shades of It's a Wonderful Life... gack.)

See the movie instead. Wonderful actors, a nuanced relationship, true heartbreak, and respect for the characters and the paths they finally choose. ( )

A young girl tells of her life in Forest Park in Portland, OR living with her dad. ( )

I was drawn to this book because it is based on a true story from my hometown, Portland, OR. It is the dramatization of the sensational story about the discovery a 10 year old girl, Caroline, living/hiding in Forest Park with her father. Forest Park is located within Portland city limits and close to small community, St Johns. Besides having a hidden garden, further support came from monthly disability checks. Every month they made their "trips into town" which meant walking over the St. Johns bridge to the PO box, the bank and Safeway. The hiker who accidentally found Caroline, brought back police who arrested her father, a Vietnam vet with PDST. With questioning, the police were able to find out that the father and daughter lived together in a hidden cave for 4 years but instead of incarceration, it was determined by authorities that the two should be placed on a horse ranch where her father could work and Caroline could attend school . Caroline had not been abused in any way as shown by a thorough medical exam and oddly, when tested, Caroline scored above grade level although very naive about life. I was absorbed and intrigued until I discovered that the book is called a novel!...... Looking up the facts, the first half of the story is based on actual events, but everything written after their stay on the horse ranch is the imagination of the author filling in the blanks in the story. It's a good read but I thought people should know ahead of time that the second half of the book is fiction. Very clear imagery and well written. ( )

The ending doesn’t quite hold up and goes off half cocked. ( )