"A rich, satisfying novel about family members who make amends after a lifetime of estrangement."--The Minneapolis Star Tribune

"an estranged father and son find reconciliation in the final week of the father's life...Geye tackles the subjects of death, dying, and living with admirable insight and courage...Geye engages the complexities of family dynamics skillfully and handles especially well the kind of family grudges and misunderstandings that can cripple relationships for decades, as they do here. Inspiring, wise, and enthusiastically recommended for all readers." --Library Journal

"A reader can just about feel the cold spray of Lake Superior and taste the softness of the lefse.... The best sections of "Safe From the Sea" are the stories Olaf tells, and the questions Noah asks, especially about the tragedy of the Ragnarøoslash;k. What we expect from a man vs. nature story is not that man will win, but that man will be wise and valiant, and give it everything he has. Olaf's account of the wreck lives up to the great tradition of adventure storytelling. His pain about the shipwreck is not only survivor's angst, but also specific guilt about a lost shipmate that he has never shared before.... Olaf's last wish presents Noah with a watery physical challenge of his own, and gives the back end of the novel a touch of fairy tale, a la late John Cheever."--The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"A finely crafted first novel...Give this book to readers of David Guterson and Robert Olmstead, who will be captured by the themes of approaching death and the pain and solace provided by nature."--Booklist

"At once a Great Lakes adventure, an ode to a vanished life, and a gorgeous examination of the healing of deep wounds between father and son. This is a tautly written gem."--Joseph Boyden, author of Three Day Road

"[A] lyric story of familial strife and reconciliation...Geye excels at capturing the importance of life's seemingly small moments and at cataloging their beauty...Geye shows how relationships--however flawed the participants--can be salvaged and strengthened when people strive to make things work through understanding and the search for and sharing of the truth."--ForeWord Magazine

"Geye is a skilled and subtle observer. Throughout the book, readers are given an affectionate and perceptive view of roughhewn northern Minnesota, not only its Walden-esque lakes and forests, but also its thrifty and honest people...Geye is a gifted storyteller...Geye might wince to read this, but he could be a first-rate adventure novelist. He also excels in creating characters who are ordinary and exceptional at the same time--high praise for any author. The characters in Safe from the Sea are maturely-crafted; there are no heroes or villains in the book, just good people working through tough issues with grace and good humor."--The New York Journal of Books

"Besides being a page-turning delight, his book is beautifully written, and the relationship between Noah and Olaf is one of the greatest father and son stories I've ever come across. This is a stunning novel..."-Steve Yarbrough, author of Safe from the Neighbors

"Peter Geye has rendered the Minnesota north shore in all its stark, dangerous beauty, and it is the perfect backdrop for this deeply moving story of conflict and forgiveness. Safe from the Sea is a remarkable debut."--Ron Rash, The Cove

"A deep hearted novel of bitten lives lived out on the cold shore of a ferocious world. In the silence of their existence, the dignity of their bearing, Geye compassionately renders the magnitudes of their despair, endurance and greatness." -Robert Olmstead, author of Coal Black Horse

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