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Aaron Brown’s Overburden is a candid portrayal of life on the Range. Not the “non-baised” candid, but the “honest, sincere” candid. The story zips right along, bringing you into a completely different Minnesota than mine. Part way through you’ll realize some folks work in mines, kick red dust, neglect to go back for misplaced geraniums (sin), and even erroneously call hotdish “casserole”.
First off, I found a Paul Gruchow quote. I got the feeling I’d like this Brown book. But what’s the asterisk? Go to the end of the chapter… and… I was saddened to find Gruchow had committed suicide. Yes, that Paul Gruchow, who led us fun places at my alma mater, St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Downer. Somehow I think I knew that, but buried it so well I had forgotten.
Life is short, and Brown knows it. While we’re here, we’re true people of this land, connected to each other and with our surroundings. Especially in northern Minnesota (but also where I am, in southern Minnesota), those surroundings include resources miles below the dirt we walk on. The earth may seem flat, but really, it isn’t.
Brown, who is intensely creative, is also politically minded. As a boy he used crayon to scribble “Vote Dukakis” and swears he saw Mike Dukakis drive by his boyhood home. No, Dukakis wasn’t in a tank, but perhaps he could have been inside that passing limo.
We learn a lot about his family, everyone’s job, the nitty gritty, iron mining, and what people are inclined to do on the Range. I’ll never pass another junkyard without thinking about Overburden, and now I realize “Red Step Press” (the book’s publisher) is probably named after a certain type of man-made, earth formation. Oh, and I learned frozen frogs will vomit their insides if you (kindly) place them in a warm bath. And I want to know what the heck is in that Nashwauk radar ball.
As much as life’s different on the Range, there’s a lot that is the same. Brown’s Henry, Doug, and George’s dad. He takes fatherhood and family very seriously. At printing time, twins Doug and George were only one. I wonder if Brown made it through the “terrible two’s.” From my experience, twins like to run in separate directions, leaving you wondering which one to go grab, first.
Brown also values being a Democrat and using a collective voice. Hey, me too! He describes January as a bear, and March as Larry. We’ve got that down here, too, especially March being like “Larry licking the doughnut.”
If you already know about hotdish and want to understand the whole of Minnesota, give this book a try. It’s fabulous, darling.
You can also find writer, college instructor, and political organizer Aaron Brown, blogger, here.