| Lancette Arts Journal Founded in 2000 |
Book Reviews From our Archives |
February 2005 |
Cape Breton Road
by D. R. MacDonald, Doubleday Canada,
288 pages, hardcover, $32.95 ISBN0-385-25901-8
An Inexplicable Story
by Josef Skvorecky, Key Porter Books,
179 pages, hardcover, $29.95 ISBN 1-55263-368-3
By J. M. Smith
This is the tragic tale of Innis Corbett, an artistic young man born into a rural Cape Breton community, whose family moved to Boston when he was a child. When his father is killed in a car accident, Innis is raised by his mother. She has a fondness for men and liquor.
Fancy cars and pot help Innis to escape his unstable home life, and they become his ultimate downfall. At the age of 19, he is arrested, deported to Canada and taken in by his uncle, Starr, a rather down and out Cape Breton bachelor. The subsequent appearance of Claire, an attractive women in her late thirties, initiates an uncontrollable spiral toward tragedy.
D. R. MacDonald's exceptional prose coaxes the reader into an inhospitable, isolated community of priceless local characters, held to the island by ties of memories, ancestors and acceptance of their harsh lives. Haunting descriptions . . .
To Read the full article, go to our ABOUT US page and click on Contact to request the item.
Copyright © 2004-9 CamKohl Arts Productions