|
New Found
Land
by
Allan Wolf
| |
Book: New Found Land
Author: Allan Wolf
Story: I would say that this is a fiction-ised version of an actual major event in American history, the expedition of Lewis and Clarke to find the North passage. All of the storys are true, but conversations, thoughts etc. are fictional. Written from the point of view of many crew members (They are all real people from the expedition) including Sacagawea and Lewis’ own Newfoundland. The story takes you through the everyday trials of the crews' journey through an unknown America, making peace with “savage” Indians, hunting Buffalo, being attacked by vicious grizzly bears and surviving treacherous, icy winters and unbearable hot, dry summers.
Opinion: I was shaken by the odd style in which this book is written, a style which I haven’t come across before, a form of split first person, but this grew on me with time. It is a book which is easily put down, but seeing as how I am fascinated by this period of American history, I really enjoyed it. It’s not incredibly exciting, but because you grow used to the characters, their stories and their habits, it keeps you reading until the end. I love the way that the everyday things that they do are mentioned and often described, the things they eat, how they live and what they wear. The excitement of discovering new things is felt by many of the characters, as well as the contentment, and the way that many of them are on the trip to prove something to themselves. Sacagawea’s emptiness, anger and restrictedness was well portrayed as well as her spirituality and depth. But something was missing. I would though, recommend this to any history lover, and I was very pleased with the section at the back of the book which tells us what happened to the crew after the expedition.
Rating: **** (4/5)
back to skullyz reviews
|
|
