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Fiction

Sarah's Journey, ISBN IS 0-915317-14-1. Price $20.00 Cdn and U.S.

Born a slave in 1790 in the Virginia Panhandle Sarah, a beautiful woman, marries a supposedly free Negro, Lewis, whom she hopes will earn her freedom. Her husband is taken back to Kentucky from where he escaped and Sarah is sold to a neighbour who mistreats her. She is forced to escape with her three youngest children through the Ohio wilderness and arrives in Simcoe, Upper Canada in 1822. She keeps house for a young Scotsman, Duncan Campbell, by whom she has a son. As Simcoe grows from a village to a prosperous town under Campbell's leadership, Sarah and her children flourish as does the growing black community of escaped slaves. Her son-in-law, George Smith or the Black Pimpernel, who helps her older black children escape to Canada, carries on his work for the Underground from Simcoe. Faced with many challenges, including American invasion and the reintroduction of slavery at the time of the Canadian rebellion, Sarah Lewis shows courage and resourcefulness.

Sarah's Journey is not just escape to freedom but an adventurous passage through life. Her son by Duncan Campbell, hides his background and becomes one of the richest men in New York City; his untimely death leads to the discovery of his mother's story

On November 3, 2005, the Hamilton Literary Awards awarded Sarah's  Journey with the prize for best novel published in 2004

REVIEW

 

 

ASPECTS OF LOVE Soft cover. ISBN: 0-915317-11-7. PRICE: $9.95 US; $14.95 CDN. 

Three novellas explore the emotional and sexual relationships that can entrap, consume, frustrate and preserve the human spirit. "Helen" is an intensely erotic story of the love between a young man and an older woman. "Caravetti" deals with romantic love as against married love by contrasting love in Paris to love in a highly structured Spanish society, in which duty to family and the opportunism of purchased love reflect the ageless choice. "Adam" pursues the mental relationship between a homosexual and a heterosexual man in unrequited love, and the frustrations of both men in dealing with sexual attraction within the dictates of society.

FULL REVIEW

 

 

CHOCOLATE FOR THE POOR: A STORY OF RAPE IN 1805 ISBN: 0-915317-04-4 (280p.) $11.95 US; $13.95 CDN

Rape and wife and child abuse are common news today. Their distressing frequency makes us question the safeguards and the very nature of our society. Where have we gone wrong? Yet these crimes have always been present in civilized societies. CHOCOLATE FOR THE POOR is a fictionalized account of an actual event from 1805. Ephraim Wheeler, an unemployed labourer, raped his 13 year old daughter in the Berkshire Mountain community of Massachusetts. His trial and the reactions of his family, friends, and the authorities to this rarely revealed violation bring out the political divisions and varying attitudes of different segments of the society. By looking back to a simpler community struggling with the issue of rape, we are able to see the crime in the round and judge the actions of the protagonists from the perspective of our experience. "Held me spellbound," Angela Ariss, Children's Rights Advocate. "The political intrigues are brought to life vividly....Beasley allows us to see, and more importantly to feel, some of the forces that enmesh a man only too easily and drive him to acts otherwise incomprehensible." Hamilton Spectator. "Beasley takes the reader on a search for justice, both for the victim and the offender. The journey is not pleasant and the paths it takes bear striking resemblances to the crossroads we face today when dealing with such crimes." Brantford Expositor

FULL REVIEW

   

HAMILTON ROMANCE: A HAMILTON-TORONTO NEXUS ISBN: 0-915317-05-2 $14.95 US; $19.95 CDN HAMILTON (ONT) SESQUICENTENNIAL 1996 ED. Reduced price for orders directly to the publisher and PayPal $7.00 US; $10.00 CDN

A novel portraying the year in Canadian society after WW II. It is V.E. Day in Hamilton. The narrator runs into his ice hockey hero before the war and introduces him to Hamilton society with romantic consequences. "It gives the reader insight into the maturing process through the first person narrative of law student Tom Davis as he gropes his way to adulthood during the years immediately following the end of the Second World War. The book also bears witness to the unchanging nature of human frailty and the complexities of love, lust and hate." Brantford Expositor.  "A good read... funny and sad, just like life itself, as it traces the tale of young love...when everything seemed so different, yet things weren't really different".. Stony Creek News. "Great, well-defined characters," Lisa Brandt, CHML 900.

FULL REVIEW

 

THAT OTHER GOD ISBN: 0-945317-02-8 340p. $18.95 US; $18.95 CDN

In Vienna, Austria, after WW II, an American poet and mystic sets out with single minded determination to unite the peoples of the earth through meditation, telepathy, and the collective subconscious to bring them to the knowledge of the one true God of humanity. He finds unlikely help from an English artist, a Turkish dervish and an Austrian bureaucrat. For a time, the mystic and his friends succeed, and the world knows peace and spiritual joy until the failings of human nature undo the promise. As the story unfolds, the reader is challenged to question what lies at the core of the spiritual degeneration of our time. "This is a compelling book, a cry for peace at a time of widespread anarchy and unfettered violence...really interesting and exciting." .. Brantford Expositor. "The gripping style, detailed observation, poetic images. This book must be read!"--Peter Rankin, N.Y.C.; "Saving values lie deep within the human spirit which can lead to the salvation of the world."--Human Quest.

FULL REVIEW                  ESSAY- THAT OTHER GOD - exegesis

 

PAGAN SUMMER ISBN: 0-915317-07-9 256p. soft cover $10.95 US; $14.95 CDN

When Canadian students are entrained from the East to work as caddies, bellhops, waitresses, drivers, cabin girls etc. in a resort in the Canadian Rocky Mountains for the summer, and the rich guests are looking for entertainment, there is bound to be sexual combustion. Bellhop D'Arcy Morgan, full-blooded Canadian boy, responds to the needs of his guests as does a host of others in this rambunctious and funny tale of life as it has been lived summer after summer for over a century in a North-American paradise.

FULL REVIEW

 

 

 

DETECTIVE

THE JENNY: A NEW YORK LIBRARY DETECTIVE NOVEL ISBN: 0-915317-03-6 $7.95 US; $9.95 CDN Soft cover. 110p.

"Billing it as 'the largest recovery of rare postage stamps in US history,' the F.B.I. has finally announced the results of its extensive search for the 153 U.S. stamps stolen from the New York Public Library." Linn's Stamp News. Library detective, Rudyard Mack, with the help of an outspoken library union leader named Arbuthnott Vine leads us through the corridors of power in one of the country's showplaces. We see its "upstairs/downstairs" reflecting the life of New York City surrounding it like a rough sea about a lighthouse. Mack's tenacious pursuit of the 'Inverted Jenny', the 24 cent 1918 airmail stamp in which the airplane was printed upside down, combines with his subconscious pursuit of love to lead him to the mastermind behind the theft.  "An entertaining book based on the famous 24 cent US airmail invert. One you would enjoy on a rainy afternoon."--Global Stamp News; "An unexpected romance, in a nice little subplot. But the unraveling of a master plot is still the main focus and the solution is as surprising as it is ingenious."--The Simcoe Reformer; "The writing is fast paced, and for this reviewer the novel offered a pleasant diversion on a hot summer afternoon."--The Canadian Philatelist

FULL REVIEW

 

THE GRAND CONSPIRACY: A NEW YORK LIBRARY MYSTERY ISBN: 0-915317-06-0 $10.95 US; $14.95 CDN

Rudyard Mack, detective at the New York Library, investigates the political kidnapping of his girlfriend, Arbuthnott Vine, Library Union leader, who was planning a union action against City Hall. It leads him to the heart of a global conspiracy. "Remarkably topical in present day North America... it's solidly written. Once you get into it, you won't want to put it down." Stoney Creek News. "An intelligent yet gritty gumshoe mystery set in the heart of the Big Apple (it) delves into the underworld of unions, city politics, pay offs and international conspiracy.... an enjoyable read and food for thought."--Writers Quarterly.

FULL REVIEW

 

 

BOYS ADVENTURE, YOUNG ADULT, RIVER TRAVEL

    CANOE TRIP, by David Beasley       JSBN: 0-915317-21-4          PRICE: $15 Cdn & U.S.

 Tim persuades his big brother Chuck to go on a canoe trip down the Saugeen River in Ontario. They have to paddle through rapids and overcome the dangers of the river. In the forest and in the towns along the way they have many great adventures. Whether they are chased by moose, trapped by bears, harried by steers, mistakenly jailed, frustrated by big yachts and a madman in a motorboat, overturned in dangerous rapids. or entranced by the stories of a hunter and an Indian chief, the boys cannot be deterred from their goal of pursuing the river to its mouth. They learn to appreciate nature and to love the wild animals who live around them. And they cherish the friendships they make along the way. Through it all, despite disagreements, they learn to respect each other and grow closer as brothers and friends.

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Book Review  By Lynne White, The Ripple [Paddle Manitoba, fall, 2006]

Canoe Trip, by David Beasley, illustrations by Elizabeth Barrett Milner. Fiction paperback, 129 pp. Published by Davus Publishing. www.kwic.com/~davus

 My first impression on receiving this book was that it was perhaps an amateur publication and seemed geared more towards a school-aged audience. I decided, however, against very literally judging a book by its cover and gave it its fair chance. How glad I was that I did. What I found was a fun little adventure story involving my favourite pastime, canoeing, and some very interesting characters, along with some intrigue I would never have expected.

 The story follows an eleven-year-old boy, Tim, on a coming-of-age canoe trip guided by his seventeen-year-old brother Chuck, down the Saugeen River during an unspecified decade earlier this century. Along the way, the boys encounter everything from angry steers and bears to religious fanatics bent on a teaching the boys a lesson. They also meet some helpful farmers, pass through some beautiful countryside, and grow as men and as brothers. The novel is clearly aimed at a young adult audience, but the story can be enjoyed by anyone.

 What struck me most about the story is that while the setting is a canoe trip, and there is certainly a lot of tripping-specific description, the heart of the story lies more in the adventures that the boys have together. This is the type been of adventure that could have been set anywhere, but is enriched by being set on a river. The river even becomes a bit of a character in the end. You can make all the corny references you like about life being like a river, etc… but there are few journeys that can so quickly and easily transport you from a world of calm to one of danger and back again, or from one form of civilisation to complete wilderness and then on to a completely different culture.

 The climax of the book comes in the form of a murder-mystery/ghost story in the last few chapters, once again proving that you can never predict what you will find around the next bend in the river. The story-within-a-story kept me enthralled, and here the author's storytelling capabilities really shone. Until this point the narrative had been very direct, even crisp, but the final adventure brought out the author's talent for weaving a believable, eerie tale, with some intriguing twists.

 As the wife of a canoe-literature enthusiast, I am surrounded by canoe lore and culture in all of its written forms. 1 have even been known to pick up the odd "classic" now and again, and I certainly give my husband a good race to see who can get through the latest issue of Canoe & Kayak or Kanawa first. Unfortunately, all the paddling tomes around our place have spoiled me a little and 1 must caution others against stereotyping this book. If you expect a similar style of writing to Bill Mason or the McGuffins, you will he disappointed. Nor should you expect the technical aspects to reflect necessarily what you may be taught in a Paddle Canada course. But if you put your technical expectations aside, you will find a lovely little book that explores through the eyes of a young man what a few of us have already learned and the rest of us will learn over the rest of our lives. That life really is like a river, and that the adventures to be had around each turn are as much a part of that river as are the rocks and the water. So when you hang your literal paddles up for the season, pick up this book and enjoy a little literary paddle. It's likely different from your usual winter reading fare, but you can only re-read Path of The Paddle so many times. Right, honey?

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“In the hard-to-put-down category”

Book Reviews: “Canoe Trip”  Reviewed by Joe Slater

 

As the most recent past-copy editor for “The Paddler,” I occasionally had the opportunity to read books submitted to me for review. The most recent is “Canoe Trip”, by David Beasley, illustrated by Elizabeth Barrett Milner.

 

“Canoe Trip”, by David Beasley, is a children’s book that reminds me of a cross between “Huck Finn” and “Twin Peaks”. Like “Huck Finn”, the author uses a river trip as the thread that connects stories of the different adventures that eleven year old Tim and his older brother Chuck have while canoeing down the Saugeen River in Canada. Chuck is taking Tim on his first adventure, planning to run the entire river to Lake Huron, then shuttle back home via train.

 

Along the way they have to deal with Tim’s first attempts at whitewater, angry bovines, juvenile delinquents, Tim’s first love, a rogue religious cult and an almost-mystic encounter with wolves as well as lots of interesting folks. While all of this is going on, Tim and Chuck learn new levels of self-reliance, love and respect.

 

The writing is simple, on the level of kids Tim’s age, but is still interesting for adults. The story doesn’t say when the trip occurs, but to me it seems like it would have taken place a few decades ago, perhaps in the 1950’s or 1960’s. I can’t imagine two teenagers taking on a trip like this today. While most of the action takes place off the river, there is enough carnage to keep any canoeist interested in what’s going on. If you have kids interested in adventure, this will make a fine gift, and you’ll probably like it too.

 

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