Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

John Bargaard — the central character of Peter Geye’s new novel — possesses powerful muscle memory from his days as a ski jumper. He remembers the intensity of focus, the feeling of flying through the air, the shattered glass moment of landing. 

But he’s just been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, and he faces the real prospect that his memories — and the secrets he harbors — will dim with his future. 

,” Geye’s latest book. Like many of his earlier works, this one is set in Minnesota, with winter as a backdrop to many pivotal scenes. But unlike books like “Wintering” and “Northernmost,” this one is personal. 

MPR News host Kerri Miller talks with Geye about what makes “The Ski Jumpers” so intimate to him on a special Big Books and Bold Ideas. Hear why this book took decades for Geye to write, how his own history of ski jumping inspired him and why the central questions of this book are the gateway to Geye’s truest religion. 

Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on 

for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.

Arts and Culture

The Thread® - Books and Literary News

Shows

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

Minnesota Now with Nina Moini

Host

Author

Peter Geye’s new novel tells the story of an athlete who is pushed by a grim medical diagnosis to reveal a secret past he might soon forget. 

Peter Geye’s new novel tells the story of an athlete who is pushed by a grim medical diagnosis to reveal a secret past he might soon forget. He talks about writing the book and what makes this one so personal on a special edition of Minnesota Now, featuring MPR News host Kerri Miller. 

Minnesota author Peter Geye on his new book 'The Ski Jumpers'

A book cover and a picture of the author.

Minnesota author Peter Geye on his new book 'The Ski Jumpers'

Go Deeper.

Like this?