Synopsis
Impossible to categorize, With is a sensual, irresistible tale, full of unexpected twists and turns. What starts out as a suspenseful recounting of child abduction evolves into the story of eight-year-old Robin Kerr growing up in the wilds of the Ozarks, left to fend for herself on a remote, inaccessible mountain-top. Without human company for a decade, forced to live off the land, Robin is never alone; her animal companions grow more numerous year by year, and the live ghost of a young boy who once lived on the mountain is her constant companion. With a dog, a young girl and a ghost as the main viewpoint characters in this remarkable novel, Donald Harington, creator of the mythic and magical Ozark town of Stay More, has given us a fascinating and triumphant story of survival—and the most original love story ever told.
The Washington Post
Early during her abduction, Robin begins creating paper dolls, names them after residents of Stay More, and then begins inventing adventures for them -- adventures that can be found in Harington's other novels. (Three of them have been reissued by his new publisher, and I hope more are on their way.) With is as whimsical as a paper-doll show while being deeply rooted in the earth; it gives the Garden of Eden myth a happy ending, and should find the wide readership that Harington so richly deserves. — Steven Moore