Sat, Mar 3 2007 - TOC Book Club (View Original Event Details)
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Elliott did a lovely job hosting us at his home on Saturday morning for a lively debate about Jenn Mullen's pick "Lost Lands, Forgotten Stories" by Alexandra Pratt. It certainly generated a ton of discussion! Elliott seemed to enjoy the book the most, commenting that he admired the writers' ambitiousness in undertaking a journey which required a lot of preparation and tenacity. For the rest of us, we agreed with Dominic that the writing was too florid. Alana found the narrative unfocussed while Jenn M. and Steph were perpetually irritated by Ms. Pratt's laziness. The overall consensus was that the writer was rather whimsical in purpose and not entirely prepared for the physicality of her journey (Liz was particularly irritated by this). Alana called her a 'fanciful twit', an observation echoed by Tania and Dominic called her a 'prat' (haha, pun intended). If not for her sensible guide, Jean-Pierre (the only redeeming aspect to the book), Ms. Pratt would most definitely have been in grave danger because of her sloppiness and inexperience (she sets their tent on fire at one point, at another forgets their axe which Jean-Pierre must go back down river to find). This book is a good gauge of what NOT to do if you're considering canoeing/portaging/lining through the wilds of Labrador. Afterwards, Dominic revealed his selection, the Ken McGoogan book about the Franklin Expedition, "Fatal Passage", certain to be a fascinating read. We're looking forward to being hosted by Liz at her place (avec vin, fromage et fruit!) for a great evening of literary conversation.
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