Review: Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden

NOTE: May contain **SPOILERS**

Another great one from my Canadian Literature class!  This book gave me a deeper appreciation of what natives went through in residential schools and how they were treated by colonists.  This is something I was admittedly ignorant of.

The story takes place over three days and slides back and forth with past and present events.  I have decided to stop giving too much of a synopsis of the books I read, and instead share my opinion of the book so that you might be more interested in reading it.  To give you a brief summary, a young man returns from the war quite damaged and over the course of the three day road with his aunt back to his home in the woods, you learn about his experience overseas and the awful consequences of participating in the war.

For someone who doesn't read or seek out war books, this is the second one in a row that I have read and  enjoyed.  It is less about the war and more about native issues, but a lot of the story takes place while two young native men are stationed overseas in the trenches.  I felt that the paralells it pointed out between serving in the military and living in residential schools frightening.  I don't know much about residential schools, but I have no illusions about them being good places.

My favourite part of this book is the regular reference to the lore of the Windigo and how it relates to certain people in the war.  There is something so disturbing about actual canibalism, but when you start to see the similarities that Boyden is showing between actual canibalism and bahivours during the war it is distressing.

I liked this book a lot and recommend it (as I did with Generals) to anyone who might normally hesitate to pick up a war novel like I would but enjoys a good story.   


Title: Three Day Road
Author: Joseph Boyden
Year of publication: 2005
Publisher: Penguin
Rating: 4/5

The Carnivore by Mark Sinnett

Told from the viewpoints of a man and a woman in a troubled marriage, The Carnivore by Mark Sinnett is nothing short of torrential. Ray, a retired policeman, and Mary, a retired nurse, are an older couple reflecting separately on their life together. Ray is dying of emphysema and is trying to relive the heroics of his past through the appearance of a Toronto reporter, who is eager to revisit the events of Hurricane Hazel for the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the disaster. Ray is a hero in the eyes of Torontonians for his actions during the Hurricane in 1954, and is enjoying his last chance at glory. However, he conceals from the reporter the deeper, more shameful story relating to his marriage, his mistress, and the unfortunate collision of the two resulting from Hazel’s arrival in their lives.
Ray and Mary each reflect on the events leading up to, and resulting from, Hazel’s wake and how it left their marriage forever strained. Mary, a devoted and virtuous wife, shows that obligation to beliefs and forgiveness won’t always make things easier and happier in the end. Ray, a man weakened by desire and manipulated by addiction, shows that guilt, regret, and responsibility, aren’t enough to curb you from hurting those you love. Ray never denies his own self-interest and his greed for life, but he also never apologizes for it, even in his final moments.

Suffocation and drowning are recurring themes in the book. They come up repeatedly, especially with the obvious water related deaths due to the Hurricane and also with Ray’s inability to breathe due to his emphysema. But there are also less obvious occurrences of these themes. Most notably, the idea of how both Ray and Mary feel they are suffocating in their marriage to one another.

The story flips from past to present and offers shocking and ironic twists along the way. Sinnett leaves you guessing about the sordid details of the story until the very end. He also successfully paints a detailed portrait of 1954 Toronto for those who may not have been around to see it. The incorporation of the landmarks and events of that time into the novel make the fictional part of the story that much more real.

This story is about human nature and Mother Nature, and the disasters that both can produce, leaving tragedy in their wake. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a realistic look at the sacrifices you should, and shouldn’t, make for a partner, and the importance of being honest with oneself. A good drama and a fantastic first read of this author. I look forward to reading his other work.


Book Information
Title: The Carnivore
Author: Mark Sinnett
Year of publication: 2009
Publisher: ECW Press
Pages: 253
Awards: n/a
Purchased at: n/a
Reading Time: 6h 19m
Rating: 4/5