Manitoba Books

It has been a long time since i have enjoyed a book as much as those written by Farley Mowat. His respect for native cultures and his skill at describing their environment are what make these books so enjoyable and interesting. I will read all of his works--it is well worth the time.

Readers can count this book as one more captivating true tale of Canada's far north, told by its best-read authority. The young Farley Mowat, returning disillusioned from the War in 1947 and thinking to become a biologist, joined with a taxonomist on a collecting "scientific" expedition into the Barren Lands of Northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The headstrong 26 year old was improbably paired up with a disciplined naturalist of the old school, who killed and skinned every animal he could shoot, poison or trap. After a while, Farley, having seen enough killing in the war, became disillusioned with this approach to appreciating the wonders of nature, and deserted his post in favor of exploring the largely uninhabited territory in the company of an Indian half-breed, Charles Schweder. His real desire was to contact the "People of the Deer," the Imhalmiut. These people came to be idealized in Farley's mind as a people "uncontaminated with the murderous aberrations of civilized man."

Mowat gives a clear picture of the hardships encountered by the few inhabitants of this harsh landscape. By the time of the expedition, the Imhalmiut had dwindled to only a few scattered bands, having been nearly wiped out in a succession of epidemics. Farley tells of the well-intended but sporadic and largely ineffectual aid given to them by the Canadian government and its minions, and how Schweder had been traumatized by his experience in a partially successful rescue attempt he had made the year previous. His rescue of a six year old replacement for his child bride, dead of starvation, presents the reader (and Mowat) with a thought- provoking moral dilemma. So much for the myth of the noble savage...

For me, though, the message of the book was how uncaring and ruthless "Mother Nature" really is, and how down and dirty a bare-handed struggle it is. He, Thoreau-like, at one point meticulously gives a complete list of the things they chose to carry on their epic trip down an unmapped river system: guns and ammo, flour, sugar, baking soda, canned food, gasoline and oil for their outboard motor, tarps and tents. Even with all these products of Western technology, their trip was hair-raising and nearly disastrous. And the bugs!

For such a rough subject, this turns out to be an engrossing tale and hard to put down. On the other hand, the map requires a magnifying glass to read and there are no illustrations. I really appreciated, though, the last chapter, in which he follows up on the fate of the characters he encountered, giving the reader some "closure" as it is disgustingly called these days.

I found it a little curious, though, that Mowat felt the need to apologize in a postscript for his use of some now politically incorrect words, such as Indian, half-breed, and Eskimo. This is largely a story of the encounters of people with different cultures, of different races, viewed through eyes that are quite a bit more honest than is usually tolerated by the demagogues and girly-men of our sensitive time.

No matter how many books he writes, Farley Mowat continues to amaze his fans. His non-fiction is never dry or uninspiring, though he's a talented fiction writer as well, and this faithful reader of his work is certainly not disappointed. Thank you again, Mr. Mowat for your great writing. It is truly appreciated!
Chrissy K. McVay

A book I could not put down. It is a well written insight into a world that none of us will ever experience. Mr. Mowat is a great story teller and a national treasure. Anyone who is interested in the least about people and lands of the north must read this book.

Farley Mowat has been one of my favorite authors since I was in 6th grade in the early 1960s. I ordered a copy of "Two Against the North" from the Arrow Book Club and read it over and over. The story of two boys from different cultures trying to survive winter in the barrens was riveting to me, a gal firmly stuck in the suburbs. Mowat's descriptions of glacial landforms in that book remained with me and were recalled with every earth science and geology lesson I ever took. (The book can be found in some libraries under the title "Lost in the Barrens"--a great read for a middle schooler curious about the world outside familiar places.) Part of what I loved about No Man's River was that the journeys described were clearly the basis for many aspects of "Lost in the Barrens"--kind of like an echo of an old favorite. Mowat is the consummate story teller--reading his books makes you want to sit around a campfire with him for several hours hearing spin his yarns. One of my favorite quotes comes from him--"Never let the facts get in the way of a good story." No Man's River has jaw-dropping adventure as well as thought provoking commentary on the clash of vastly different cultures. Enjoy!

Most of us dream of adventures when we are young ... but the responsibilities of the world often derail them. David Scott's story is a tale of the dream of adventure fulfilled.

I read this book several years ago from the library. I rarely buy a book but this one I have. Great adventure story about the challenges two young men face living in a cabin for a year in Manitoba. The description of the first six days trying to find the cabin after getting dropped off is a page turner.

Makes me wish I did something similar at that stage im my life as opposed to sitting at a cubicle. This books gives me the inspiration to maybe strike out and seek my own adventure someday.

Although I found the book simple and intellectually unchallenging, its sincerity, freshness and admiration for the wilderness and being a part of it were emotionally stirring. It reminded me of the importance of being able to step away from comitments to work, banks and acquaintances to experience something larger than all of us. We need this to remind us of the essence of being alive and human.

The opening sequence of their expedition rivals that of any true life-and-death experience, including "Touching The Void." A must-read for any winter-camper who ventures off the beaten path more than a few days away from luxuries like mechanical heat from an automobile. This is one of the most profound stories of northern wilderness experience that I have ever read. Their story is similar to going to the moon on an Apollo mission, with no backup and no radio contact, and making it on their own. Truly the best story ever told of a modern Arctic expedition with a happy ending. This is a book that I read and immediately gave to a friend to read, and it has passed around to no less than 12 people as a "must read" already, and is still in motion.

I love outdoor adventure books and this book is a great one. This is a story of living and thriving in the Canadian wilderness. I was fascinated with the authors adventures of building a cabin, hunting moose, and exploring. If you like outdoor books I recommend this as a must read.

Known primarily as a writer of horror fiction, Masterton enters the Ken Follett/Robert Ludlum field with CONDOR. Masterton weaves a masterfully tale involving three groups of people and how their stories end up coming together.
Senator Reynard Kelly is poised to become the next president of the United States. Kelly has some deep dark secrets however going back to the time of World War II. He also has a mistress named Chiffon and a wife, Greta, who has left him unofficially. Kelly bribes his wife to come back and be his first lady, and sends Chiffon to a different fate, although not the one he planned.
Nine year old Michael Osman while playing in nearby woods stumbled upon the wreckage of a WWII aircraft. He finds the dead crew and six vials of some mysterious liquid. Hours later, the boy is dead and an epidemic of terrifying proportion is unleashed.
In Sweden, a British vacationer named Humphrey recognizes Hermann, a Nazi fugitive; he is soon joined by operative Bill Bennett in tracking down this infamous criminal.
How all these stories weave together makes for some interesting and provocative, as well as exciting, reading.
Masterton is to be commended for this intricate plotting, and in-depth characterizations.
A good read!

This Graham masterton's book is different from his usual supernatural horror novels. This is more like a political thriller, mixed with a deadly virus, murders, ex-nazi, sinister president candidate... and altogether became a very exciting novel. Once you read it you can't put it down.

If you like KEN FOLLETT (code to zero, third twin), you will love this book. I only read horrors by Graham Masterton, but this book is his best. READ first 20 pages and you wont be able to put this book down. Best page turner.

This Masterton book is a masterpiece in writing. I have read many of Masterton's stories, but this one, centered around the discovery of a Nazi plane, kept me riveted till the very end.

Imagine what happens when you discover a crashed plane with strange liquid in it. Two boys come upon the crash and start playing with the liquid. One of the boys become sick, the other does not. In fact, the sick boy turns out to have come down with German manifested plague, which quickly spreads to other people while Americans try to figure out what's going on.

Graham Masterton is master at Horror. King and Koontz, although good, have nothing on Masterton. Masterton doesn't play it safe with the reader. He is graphic with his details, making him truly chilling. In Condor, the reader is drawn into the plight of the characters. Read this book. You won't regret it.

This novel is hot. A journey always fills one's mind with questions, and this story does exactly that. It explores the mysteries of every-day life with crisp sexy writing. Let me know when this writer puts out his next book.

Wayne Tefs' eighth novel starts out in a bar at the Winnipeg airport on the afternoon of Good Friday. Clinton Dokic is waiting for a flight borne to Thompson, Manitoba, where his wife is about to give birth to their first child. The flight is repeatedly delayed by snow, and to pass the time, Clinton, his younger brother Darryl, and their mother drink heavily and pick at a plate of french fries. When the blizzard finally shuts the airport down, Clinton isn't about to let that keep him from getting home. Fortunately, Darryl happens to own a Jeep. Of course, driving 700 kilometres on deserted highways in the middle of a blizzard is a bad idea, but, as Darryl notes, at least they don't have to do it sober.
The drunken, ill-advised mad trip is not exactly a new literary form, but 4 X 4 is not the typical road novel. Tefs manages to avoid the clichés and keeps the novel from descending into picaresque. Instead, he focuses on the road and on the enforced togetherness of a long trip that becomes increasingly oppressive in the atmosphere of secrets that each family member is keeping from the others.
This polyphonic novel is told in the rotating voices of each of the three people in the car as well as that of Clinton's wife, Kaly, who is waiting alone in Thompson. As each character speaks, it becomes clear that there is even more isolating the members of this family from one another than they realize. Something as simple as a car trip, at the birth of a child, is not going to bond them.
As the Jeep makes its way through northern Manitoba, Darryl reflects on the fact that even today there are still a few places on Earth that have not been formally surveyed. Cartographers call these places "sleeping beauties" They are not unexplored places, just places that are not thoroughly understood; they are places where surprise is still possible if you look hard enough. It's a comforting thought that applies not only to geography, but to the most intimate relationships. It is a beautiful metaphor that perfectly sums up the novel.

Written by an English teacher and lifelong friend of Canada's beloved, award-winning author Margaret Laurence, Alien Heart: The Life & Work Of Margaret Laurence is an inspirational evaluation of Laurence's works, drawing from insights into Laurence's life to foment a deeper understanding of her novels and short stories. Chapters follow Laurence from her girlhood to her passing in 1987, drawing deeply upon research as well as quotes and personal testimonies to weave the tapestry of her life. Enthusiastically recommended for fans and scholars of Laurence's books.

Written by an English teacher and lifelong friend of Canada's beloved, award-winning author Margaret Laurence, Alien Heart: The Life & Work Of Margaret Laurence is an inspirational evaluation of Laurence's works, drawing from insights into Laurence's life to foment a deeper understanding of her novels and short stories. Chapters follow Laurence from her girlhood to her passing in 1987, drawing deeply upon research as well as quotes and personal testimonies to weave the tapestry of her life. Enthusiastically recommended for fans and scholars of Laurence's books.

It's a wonderful compilation, with a profound emphasis on the Arapaho source (even including a grammatical sketch) and the original oral texts. All of the stories (for lack of a better word) are accompanied with the original Arapaho, and in some of them, broken down morpheme-by-morpheme. If you're interested in the Arapaho language and its structure and use, this is a wonderful resource, and it's probably a good book to have in any library of Native American languages.

My only warning is that this is not a "story book" in any traditional sense. If you're just looking for some interesting Native American stories to expand your cultural knowledge and share with your children, this book will likely be far more specialized and academically oriented than you'd like. The stories themselves are interesting, but they're not meant for the lay-person to read for entertainment. However, if you're really interested, give it a try, and who knows, you might find yourself wanting to know more about the Arapaho language and culture, and that's never a bad thing.

Told by respected Arapaho storyteller and ceremonial leader Paul Moss (1911-1995), and edited by Co-Chair of the Northern Arapaho Language and Culture Commission Alonzo Moss Sr. and linguistics professor Andrew Cowell, Arapaho Historical Traditions presents stories of Arapaho oral tradition in English for the first time. The stories are presented line by line in both their original Arapaho and in English, with extensive notes, grammatical information, and a glossary to help the reader follow the mechanics of the translation if desired. The stories include tales of horse- stealing, capture and escape, friendly encounters between tribes, diplomacy, battle, and conflict with the U.S. A superb primary source of Arapaho history, tradition, and culture, and a welcome addition to college library and Native American studies shelves.

If you liked the movie FARGO, well, that probably won't have any bearing on whether you like the Blood Girls. It will however help you gain some understanding as to how odd life can become in the ridiculously small towns that pepper the vast expanse of Northern US and Canada.

The town's denizens are a confusing mix of the painfully placid (spending way too much time waxing reminiscent about the old flour mill or a pot of delicious honeybutter), and religiously zealous (those characters in the book who are the Blood Girls and claim to be affected by stigmata - Jesus' bleeding wounds on the hands and feet). They only thing they all have in common is that they have gone crazy from living in what is the closest equivelant to a modern reincarnation of a Siberian outpost.

Cooke's poetic style (she has had at least 2 books of poetry published so far) makes for a narrative richer than a black forest fudge cake. Even details that others might consider excrutiatingly minute are dressed in their finest prose. This means that the story moves at the pace of maple syrup. But Cooke isn't here to rush you. There is after all no hurry.

This doesn't mean she can't surprise you now and again - and trust me there are a few big ones. In all, if you are a "gentle reader" (as Cooke wants you to be) and are patient, you are in for a potent dose of rural intrigue that may have you thinking twice before you take that next road trip....

If you liked the movie FARGO, well, that probably won't have any bearing on whether you like the Blood Girls. It will however help you gain some understanding as to how odd life can become in the ridiculously small towns that pepper the vast expanse of Northern US and Canada.

The town's denizens are a confusing mix of the painfully placid (spending way too much time waxing reminiscent about the old flour mill or a pot of delicious honeybutter), and religiously zealous (those characters in the book who are the Blood Girls and claim to be affected by stigmata - Jesus' bleeding wounds on the hands and feet). They only thing they all have in common is that they have gone crazy from living in what is the closest equivelant to a modern reincarnation of a Siberian outpost.

Cooke's poetic style (she has had at least 2 books of poetry published so far) makes for a narrative richer than a black forest fudge cake. Even details that others might consider excrutiatingly minute are dressed in their finest prose. This means that the story moves at the pace of maple syrup. But Cooke isn't here to rush you. There is after all no hurry.

This doesn't mean she can't surprise you now and again - and trust me there are a few big ones. In all, if you are a "gentle reader" (as Cooke wants you to be) and are patient, you are in for a potent dose of rural intrigue that may have you thinking twice before you take that next road trip....

Summer vacation with a ghost-story telling Grandpa is always filled with thrills and chills. But this year in Gimli, Manitoba, twins Michael and Angela and their cousin, Sarah, find the summer nights and sights prove more frightening than ever. Not long after Grandpa tells a spooky myth about an Icelandic ghost called a Draugr, the trio encounters something ghastly in the woods. Can ghosts really come back from the dead to cure their unrest? Sarah, Michael and Angela don't want to wait around to find out. And, just as the pieces to the mystery start to fit, Grandpa tries to send them back home to the United States. Before they leave Gimli, however, a dog turns dead and Grandpa suddenly disappears. Determined to get to the bottom of the strange happenings, Angie leads the others on a wild goose chase--that may just turn into a ghost chase. "You do have the Grettir's blood." I didn't know exactly what she was talk about, but I nodded as if I understood. Althea looked at me up and down..."Perhaps I've underestimated you. All of you. Maybe it would have been better if I told you the truth from the beginning." She paused for another second. "Alright," she said. "I'll tell you everything I know, and you can deal with the nightmares and the possibilities--it's a deal. But first each of you must give me your version of what happened. And don't leave out the smallest detail." Again we spoke about seeing the little boy in the forest and about how he had disappeared... Draugr is a wonderful book for young teens of either sex---a quick, but engaging read, with compelling chapter openings and cliffhanging endings. Arthur Slade has woven just enough fright into the story to keep the reader sitting on the edge of their chair, yet anxiously turning the pages. With Slade's newest book, The Loki Wolf, soon to be released by Orca, readers won't have long to wait for their next "shivers."

Lynne Remick, Reviewer

As an elementary teacher I found this book to be a great motivator for my Grade Six students. I found the content to be very enticing for this age level without the "gore" that is present in other books of this genre. Slade does an excellent job of filling all chapters with suspense and encouraging the reader to forge on into the story. An excellent classroom resource to excite readers and a wonderful read.

So many of the Canadian reserves suffer the same problems.
Only if all the reserves could open up and deal with the abuse problem.

This book thoroughly and thoughtfully examined the complexities of providing child welfare services in First Nations communities. The story of Lester's suicide was heartbreaking but the strength of the people who wanted to help was inspiring. This would be an excellent text for use in Native social work programs to highlight the many challenges on reserve social workers face.

All the ghost stories in this book are interesting and unusual although they all come from the same area. From stories that illuminate the theme of seeing ghosts as glimpses into the past to ghosts that manifest themselves as robed skeletons this book has it all. The tales range from places people feel are haunted to places where the haunting apparently makes it too well known.Two of the most eerie stories are ''Not a Normal House'' and ''The Ghost from the Closet''. This book is the most consistently interesting of any ghost book I have ever read.Whether you believe in ghosts or not, this book is good entertainment. Yet as many collections of ghost stories warn, ''Don't read this at night''. Unfortunately, I did and I left the lights on for a long time after that!

If you enjoy ghost stories you`ll enjoy this book. Its full of Fascinating stories about people who have had encounters with ghosts or had paranormal experiences in Manitoba. A very good book to read on a boring day.