Captivating - master storytellingOctober 19, 2008 John E. Knight 8 out of 9 found this review helpful
In reading "Through Black Spruce", I found myself intrigued as much with author Joseph Boyden's writing style as with the story itself. The book slapped me with some confusion in the first three chapters, as I realized that Boyden was using a double narrative style, and the majority of the book alternated between the primary narrator - bush pilot and Cree native, Will Bird and then the other narrator his niece, Annie Bird. The style is an effective method of telling two separate stories of individuals struggling to find their identities - Will the Uncle straddling his life between the traditional ways of the Cree - living off the land and a today's world which seems to be full of personal problems.I am struck by Will the hard-drinker and endless smoker who also is a jogger, and the hunter who also becomes friends with an old black bear. Annie becomes engaged in two extreme living worlds - one the one hand a tomboy who is a skilled trapper, and on the other hand a short stint in the life of being a supermodel. The two narratives have common touch points, and the reader begins to sense the final convergence early, which unfortunately becomes predictable before the end of the story.
Nevertheless, an excellent book, a learning experience about the Canadian northern region around James Bay and the people who live there.
Through Black SpruceOctober 17, 2008 The Avid Reader(Toronto, ON) 4 out of 7 found this review helpful
I read Three Day Road in about 2 days....I couldn't stop reading. It was gripping!
And now this book by Boyden. It's utterly amazing! I can't remember the last time I ate a book with my eyes...I'll read everything he writes in future.
beautiful and hauntingSeptember 30, 2008 Alexandra(Alberta, Canada) 15 out of 18 found this review helpful
I read Three Day Road a couple of years ago and it immediately became one of my favorite books. Since then, I have regularly checked for updates as to when another Boyden novel would be released... Once again, I've been blown away. A beautiful and haunting book that will stay with you long after the last page. Believable details and the tragic, yet lovable characters made for an intense story. I, honestly, could not put this one down.
