The novel begins with a bang, a stunning opening chapter followed by five almost as vivid, but then narrative thrust is lost amidst a welter of irrelevant characters and explorations of the lives of the protagonist's parents and grandparents. Eventually the plot is slowly resumed, and by the end is moving at a reasonable pace, but it's too late: the reader has been kept waiting too long.The digressions are often powerful in themselves, and do shed light on the main characters, but they overwhelm the book, occupying at least half of its total bulk. There is much exquisite, carefully-polished writing throughout. I suspect this material would have worked better as a collection of short stories. A disappointment, but with moments of excellence. Set in 1958 in a small remote community in the southern Okanagan region of Canada, the story centres on the two Stark brothers, their family and a group of friends, enemies and neighbours. While the actual events take place in the space of a week, the narrative moves in flashbacks to previous generations and the early settler years. The people living eking out a living in this harsh environment, bear the inherited burden of poverty and misery. In their struggle to make ends meet they easily turn to violence, alcohol and drugs, petty and major crimes. Award winning Canadian poet and author Patrick Lane captures the essence of the harsh landscape of the northern edge of the Great Plains, evoking its atmosphere through achingly beautiful flowing lyrical language. Contrasting environment with the bleak reality of life for the people who inhabit this wild and unforgiving land, Lane has created a powerful, thought-provoking and at times challenging and unsettling novel. This is not an easy novel to read. The poetic beauty of Lane's language does not always fit or alleviate the sense of irritation and displeasure the reader feels with, especially, the precise description of arbitrary violence and careless disregard of others. However, drawing on his own wide-ranging experiences and a deep familiarity with the land and the region's stories, Lane captures a place and its inhabitants that is authentic as it was real in the specific region and period of time. It is a powerful and an significant book that allows important lessons to be drawn, especially when addressing issues of disenchanted and malleable youth. An amazing achievement for a debut novel by a poet of long standing.
What do You think about Red Dog, Red Dog (2008)?
The word descriptions are incredible--you can tell Patrick Lane is a poet. Very bleak, though!
—sweeper
Yet another book I couldn't finish. Just didn't hold my interest at all.
—1218Bubbly
good written in a strange way but good
—sukmylipgloss
