This book took me back to my young reading years, Yes, before I had even graduated High School. For I was a big fan of James A Michener and doorstop sprawling novels on Alaska, Chesapeake, and Hawaii to name just a few. Fell in love with those stories that spanned centuries and gave you a sketch of how it was and came to be.. I do not know if these books hold up today, but back then those book filled up a lot of my reading time.
Annie Proulx's Barkskins take two Frenchman who are one of the first in New France AKA North Atlantic Coast America, The tale takes you from the first beaver pelt traders to climate change scientists, The tale spans centuries, mostly focused on Forestry and the exploitation of that natural resource, Some time spans are given short shift, but the time periods seem to be tied to innovations or explorations of the Forestry industry, The readers follows the two sides of the family tree, the French side and the Native American side, The two side share in heartbreak and tragedies, but the Native American side gets the worst it, losing both land and culture. While the French side gains wealth with each century,
Ms. Proulx's writing style is always first rate. Beautifully written, the reader experiences both the hopelessness and the hope of each character, Both the chapters and the decades quickly passed as I devoured the book dur to readability and story arcs.
I first gain interest in reading this book due to the National Geographics TV series of the same name. So a Shout out to NG for greenlighting a the TV series and alerting me to this fine story,
