Helen Orgler Orgler من عند Bhagla, باكستان من عند Bhagla, باكستان

As much as I like and respect John Straley, not that I know him well, I have read his novels of Cecil Younger with a touch of exasperation. I have a knee-jerk reaction against novelists that portray Alaskans as quirky throwbacks to whatever time isn't now and I am not terribly receptive to a style of writing that is more poetry than prose. Mind you, I am fully aware that both of these characteristics are in large part responsible for the success of John Straley novels, nevertheless... Having said that, I loved this book. The setting was the Pacific Northwest and southeast Alaska, during a time in history that is not generally embraced and/or publicized, the period of violent struggle between big business and labor unions. It was full of interesting characters whose quirks were accepted, by me, as being a result of actually living in a "time that isn't now." They became who they were and reacted as they did due to the difficult and turbulent era in which they lived. The prose did not aspire to poetry. It was beautiful in the way that the hands of a hard-working man or woman are beautiful. It was no-nonsense, workmanlike, but showing experience and skill in creating a world that I wanted to remain in for much much longer.