He insists on finding Etta, wherever she’s gone. Russell, raised as a brother to Otto, has loved Etta from afar for sixty years. The only way to keep them at bay is to keep his hands busy. But with Etta gone, the memories come crowding in. Otto has seen the ocean, having crossed the Atlantic years ago to fight in a far-away war, so he understands. Her husband Otto wakes to a note left on the kitchen table. I will try to remember to come back, Etta writes. So early one morning she takes a rifle, some chocolate, and her best boots, and begins walking the 3,232 kilometers from Saskatchewan to Halifax. They too lived in rural Saskatchewan my grandmother taught in a tiny school, and my grandfather came from a farm family of 15 kids.Eighty-two-year-old Etta has never seen the ocean. “The characters of Etta and Otto are loosely based on my maternal grandparents. “I’ve always loved walking and the idea of taking the longest, slowest way to get somewhere,” Hooper says. Says Hooper, “I kind of hope that the reader gets a bit lost with Etta.” The inspiration And if Etta’s growing bewilderment casts an intriguing uncertainty over the narrative, that’s by design.

Hooper’s prose also shifts between times and places with a rhythm and harmony clearly influenced by her background in music. Hooper follows her characters over decades, beautifully weaving together the stories of how they grew into the people they now are, even as Etta begins to fall apart. Will Russell find Etta before disaster strikes? Hooper layers in a little magic realism too: Etta’s only solace on her travels is a talking coyote who appears one day and whom she names James. Everything she’s experienced - her childhood during the Depression, her romance with Otto - starts to merge with everything she’s been told, like stories of the fear and illness Otto suffered during the war.

The farther Etta journeys, the more confused she becomes. “Some f-n’ husband,” he mutters, kicking the door on his way out. When Otto refuses, Russell leaves to track Etta on his own. But his childhood friend Russell - who’s always loved Etta and idolized Otto - is infuriated by his lack of action. He learns to bake, gets a guinea pig for company and writes Etta letters reminiscing about their life together. Still scarred by his memories of World War II, Otto carries on as best he can. I’ve never seen the water, so I’ve gone there,” she writes. She sets off from her Saskatchewan farm early one morning equipped only with sturdy boots, a rifle and a knapsack filled with snacks, leaving behind a note for her husband, Otto. Aware - and afraid - of the fact she’s becoming more forgetful, 82-year-old Etta is on a mission to see the ocean for the first time.

Otto etta russell james