A trail in the woods becomes a path between the human and natural worlds in Lavine’s philosophical novella…Readers will find much to enjoy in its parallel structure, which creates a meaningful conversation between human experience and the natural world, and the work’s themes of community, ecology, and identity remain compelling.
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An affecting novella with a creative use of narrative structure and a deep emphasis on ecological responsibility.

Lavine’s playful, gently challenging novel of man, nature, and animal intelligence braids the narratives of two quite different lives sharing a stretch of Vermont ski-country wilderness. First is retired trail-builder Jonathan Prester…then there is a starving female catamount, a big-cat species officially declared extinct in Vermont since 1881. The catamount serves as an occasional narrator while fighting to keep her two cubs alive, and these singular chapters prove Lavine’s strongest material, a genuine feat of defamiliarization and imaginative power…The ending boasts weight and power, and Lavine’s mix of nature writing, mystery, and metafiction is unusual and ambitious, if potentially alienating. Still, this is original, moving, and thought-provoking.
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Takeaway: Singular novel of Vermont nature, animal intelligence, and metafictional play.

A brilliantly scripted and intriguing read from cover to cover, "The Last Catamount" is a carefully crafted novel that will hold a very special and enduring appeal to readers with an interest in the interplay and life experiences of sentient wildlife and humans.