I Cheerfully Refuse

Leif Enger was raised in Osakis Minnesota, and later moved to Duluth, on the shore of Lake Superior, where he bases the events of I Cheerfully Refuse. Previously a reporter and producer for Minnesota Public Radio, Leif Enger has written four novels as of 2024. His first is titled Peace Like a River (2001) after lyrics in the hymn “It Is Well with My Soul,” and it centers on a family’s struggle to escape legal troubles and find peace after defending themselves against attackers. So Brave, Young, and Handsome (2008) centers on a man rediscovering a sense of purpose after befriending an outlaw. In Virgil Wander (2018), a man experiences amnesia after surviving a car accident that throws his car into Lake Superior.

I Cheerfully Refuse, Enger’s fourth novel, explores a dystopian world through a man’s journey and has undertones of Greek mythology. As in his earlier novels, Enger drew inspiration from the Lake Superior area, as apparent when the protagonist, Rainy, must navigate the treacheries of the lake. The novel imagines a near-future world in which many contemporary issues only worsen. As Enger explained in an interview with Danny Klecko: “The dystopian society these characters occupy—with its resource scarcity, malignant ruling class and climate upheaval—only extends many developments playing out today.” He added, “My aim was to see where people find hope, when the very idea of a future is under threat” (Klecko, Danny. “Leif Enger Is ‘More Intrigued by Questions and Less Satisfied With Answers.’” Next Avenue, 2 Apr. 2024). Enger chooses to explore a dystopian world to better amplify the sense of hope through the grief and adversity his protagonist faces. One of the core pillars of the novel is finding a future where there doesn’t seem to be one. Because the novel’s dystopian world foregrounds easily recognizable issues, the characters’ struggles seem familiar. Another way that Enger explores this sense of finding a hopeful future is by evoking the myth of Orpheus: The protagonist, Rainy, shares many qualities with Orpheus and takes a similar journey in search of lost love.