macCloud Falls

4 and 1 / 2 stars

What a wonderful, wonderful story.

Gilbert “Bert” Johnson is a cancer survivor from Edinburgh. He travels to the Vancouver, BC area to learn about a possible grandfather of his, a James “Jimmy” Lyle, the nephew of a wealthy self-made man named John MacLeod. Jimmy married a First Nations woman and learned the languages and brokered a treaty between the First Nations peoples and the British Colombian Prime Minister. He lived in a little log cabin with his wife high up in the mountains.

The wonderful thing about this book is not only the quality of the writing, but the descriptions of the beautiful scenery around the MacCloud Falls area. It was very interesting learning about the changes in the locale’s name and the different spellings of MacLeod, and how MacLeodsville became Cloud Falls. The history of the transportation and the people in the little village; I could see it all in my mind’s eye. I could smell the woods and see the rivers rushing downstream. The white man’s need to “Christianize” the First Nations peoples and the Scottish colonization of British Colombia are also discussed.

On the plane to Vancouver, he meets a woman who is also a cancer survivor. She may bear a slight resemblance to Sigourney Weaver, but she hates being asked if she’s Sigourney. She travels with her dog Hero. She receives a postcard from Bert as she returns home to Vancouver with a cryptic note on it. She rushes to Cloud Falls to make sure he is okay. While there, she happens across his journal and reads a fascinating story about herself – but not. She recognizes herself in the story, but is also surprised and a little uneasy that he seems to have changed the details of their meeting. She is also uncomfortable with how insightful Bert has been in talking about her.

The writing style of Mr. Jamieson is a little disconcerting. For someone who might like short to the point chapters and a lot of action, this book could be seen as being a little tedious. But once one gets used to the meandering and lyrical style of writing, the book draws the reader in. It is very well written and the use of language is wonderful. The descriptions in the book, whether talking about the scenery or people’s history, are beautiful and well-drawn. It was a joy to read and I’ll definitely be looking into more of Mr. Jamieson’s novels.

I want to thank NetGalley and Luath Press for forwarding to me a copy of this most wonderful and beautiful story for me to read and enjoy.