The Reunion

They are a large tribe. Every two years or so this Norwegian American family holds a reunion on one of the family farms located in Hay River Township of Dunn County, 10 miles north of Menomonie, Wisconsin. This family of farmers, laborers, lawyers, school teachers, businessmen, environmental specialists, Lutheran clergymen, professors including a celebrated nuclear physicst, politicians, computer wizards, journalists including one ex-Times man, writers, novelists, musicians, poets, artists, have established themselves as American citizens without ever forgetting their Old Country roots. This novel is centered on one of the frequent family reunions that took place in 1983.

The story of that gathering, however, deepens through its fictional elements, and becomes darker, grander, and more passionate. This is that story.

Minneapolis-born Steven Fortney is a graduate of Muskegon Senior High school in Muskegon Michigan, and then of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in philosophy. He attended Luther Theological Seminary for a year. He is a practicing Buddhist and a longtime Associate of the Jesus Seminar. Buddhism is the reformation of Hinduism, he says, therefore, Buddhism is the Lutheran Church of Asia. The author is, after all, though in unexpectedly complicated ways, Reformed to the core. He taught 31 years at Stoughton High School, was a labor negotiator for 25 years, and served as an alderman on the Stoughton City Council for 21 years. This is his sixth novel. He lives with his wife, Ruth, in Stoughton, Wisconsin. They have four children and six grandchildren.