Tarcadia

I'd heard about this book from a friend, and while it took some doing to locate a copy it was worth every bit of effort to do so. What an amazing telling - I literally could not put this book down once I began that first page... heck, I was hooked from the very first line. Written in first person, the words fly by - as if the speaker were sitting right in front of you, telling you all about those times and adventures and what it meant to live among the tar ponds and what it mean to be boys growing up near and around Sydney Harbor, Nova Scotia. The experiences described are rich in detail and color - the personalities as three dimensional and as real as if looking at your own hand in front of your face - and my own world, after having been expanded by the experience of reading this book, has been unquestionably enriched. It's not going to be everybody's cup of tea, of course, but if there's any bit of an adventurer in your soul, and especially if you're open to living (even vicariously) a slice of life in Sydney (a rather unique corner of Nova Scotia), then by all means indulge yourself in the experience of this novel. One of the best I've read in years. (Be clear: I genuinely loved the book and am thrilled to recommend it - nothing more.)

This engaging story of a young boy coming of age in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia is simply a delightful gem of fine writing. Michael Chisholm simply glows with realistic pubescence with all the humor and aching that can bring. His brothers, sister, parents, along with all the other aptyly portrayed Cape Bretonners, remind this writer so much of his own late boyhood and of the time spent on Cape Breton near the titular tar ponds. Beyond the underlying theme of death and loss, the novel also speaks volumes regarding the ecological equipoise of the steel mills, the coal mines, and national pride. Campbell's descriptions of the cityscape of Sydney are also spot on and make this writer long to visit that city again. Gaspereau Press has packaged this delightful book attractively as well. Canadiana at its sparkling best.