Woodsmen of the West

by Martin Allerdale Grainger

Other authorsMurray Morgan (Afterword)

Paperback, 1988

Status

Available

Genres

General Fiction

Fiction

Collection

Michael Lieberman Collection

Publication

Seattle : Fjord Press, 1988.

Description

WhenWoodsmen of the Westfirst appeared in 1908, most readers could not relate to its rendering of the rough edges of logging-camp life. M. Allerdale Grainger refused to sentimentalize the West – he drew from life. While his dramatic and loosely structured tale is at heart a love story, it also tells of what happens when the novel’s British narrator encounters a small-time logging operator whose obsession with lumber is matched by his lust for power over other men. Today the novel is recognized as marking a significant shift in fiction written in and about the Canadian West. The accuracy of its detail makes it one of the finest examples of local realism in Canadian writing. It is also a fascinating chronicle of conflicting personalities, and of the genius of British Columbia hand-loggers, the culture of camp life, and the intrigues and corruption of the lumber business at the turn of the century. The New Canadian Library edition is an unabridged reprint of the original text, complete with the original photographs.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member lamour

Grainger was writing fiction but includes himself by name in the narrative. He did work as a lumberman and his experiences provided him with the details about life cutting timber in the British Columbia forests in the early years of the 20th Century. Try to imagine cutting down the monster Douglas

Fir towering 200 feet into the sky and 15 feet in circumference with axes and a crosscut saw in rain & snow. Once it was down, you had to move it to the water by hand where you tied it with others into a boom for the tow down the coast to the mill in Vancouver. Truly the life lived by a hardy man.

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LibraryThing member wjburton

I liked this depiction of early working life in British Columbia. The bookseller I bought the 1908 first edition from quoted the opening lines from memory. My favourite character was a minor one, a man named Al residing at the Hanson Island Hotel, with a damaged eye that the narrator provided care

for. I thought the narrator was somewhat self-effacing and there wasn't much of a plot, in keeping with a semi-autobiographical novel. The long recounting of Carter's career seemed mystifying until he later became Martin's boss. I enjoyed the accounts of hand-logging by the sea, the patched-up character of the donkey engines and the steamboats. The long (60 miles) voyages by leaky rowboat beggared belief but were undoubtedly based in fact. I think this novel deserves a second reading as there were many general observations on life that I found interesting.

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