"The Hermit's Story"

This story put me to sleep. However, it was not in a bad way. Usually, I enjoy action-adventure, horror, mystery, or romantic stories, but every once in a while I like to sit down with a story like this one and just let it lull me into a calmness akin to sleep. With his use of vivid description of the landscape of Canada, Rick Bass's story reminds me of J.R.R. Tolkien's descriptive passages in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. (Oh no, I just exposed my nerdiness).
I enjoyed Bass's connection between Ann and her dogs, and I liked that by the end of the story, Ann feels as if she has experienced the world through her dogs' eyes. I'm not sure that I've ever heard anyone else claim to have had an experience such as hers, so it made her claims even more unique to me. As I was reading, the vividness of the landscape and the underground lake became so clear and captivating that I wished I could step out of my dorm room and into Ann's frozen world. Bass succeeds in capturing my complete attention and drawing me completely into his mysterious blue setting.
The only problem I have with this story occurs when Ann describes the scene of Gray Owl's plunge through the ice. She watches him fall, regrets that if he drowns she will have to retrieve his pack, and worries more that his dogs will follow him to death rather than Gray Owl's own demise. At this moment, I was actually drawn out of the story as I grew angry at Ann's coldness, and it took me a page or two to begin to relate to her again.