Three Beautiful Things 09-08-2026: Reflections on Kendra Langford Shaw's Novel *The Pillagers' Guide to Arctic Pianos*

1. I spent most of today finishing The Pillagers' Guide to Arctic Pianos. 

I didn't foresee at all how this novel would fit so perfectly with two aspects of my pursuit of the arts in 2026. 

First of all, Debbie and I have decided to attend every Northwest Passages presentation we possibly can in Spokane, whether or not we are familiar with the featured writer. So, in July, I learned about Kendra Langford Shaw and her new book. Committing myself to read these books I hear the authors talk about has greatly enriched my reading life. 

Second, Debbie and I have joined the Science/Nature Book Club at Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane and one of the great rewards of reading The Pillagers' Guide to Arctic Pianos was discovering, from the opening chapter, that while this novel is very much a character driven family saga, even more, for me, it's a book exploring the power of the natural world in the fictional Arctic site she created. 

2. Whether it's sea lions, moose, farming and eating octopuses, flooding rains, a rampaging river, fjords, reefs, goats, chickens, demanding trails and barely passable interior roads, vulnerability to disease and injury in the wild, and any number of other elements of the natural world these characters confront daily, this novel examines not only the power and grandeur of nature in the Arctic, it examines the indomitability of the non-human natural world in relation to human beings. 

As a result, this novel explores survival, the ever-present reality of death, and the combination of courage and foolhardiness of generations of characters as they move into this unforgiving land, working in a variety of ways to make the best life they can. 

And then there's the pianos.

And the piano hunters. 

You'll have to read the book to find out what this completely make-believe aspect of the novel is all about, but it's inseparable from the power of the arctic elements and the persistence and dreams of characters in his novel. 

3. I admit it. 

I'm not crazy about the idea that writers "kill off" characters, as if it's cruel or random or a punishment. 

When Kendra Langford Shaw spoke in Spokane back in July, an audience member asked her about "killing off" characters. 

Shaw never repeated the phrase "kill off" but talked about characters' deaths in her book as catalysts for change and as challenges that force characters to evaluate how they will move forward now that the deceased character is no longer with them. These deaths transform the ongoing story. 

I won't give away who dies in this novel, but I will say that as painful as it was to experience their deaths, each death moved the story forward in ways that never would have happened had the characters not died. The deaths deepened the story, gave us as readers insight into grief, love, flexibility, service to others, resolve, and other virtues.