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W.P. Kinsella has called
Who Has Seen the Wind, the quintessential novel of growing up on the Prairies, "Canada's Catcher in the Rye." W.O. Mitchell, who was born and grew up in small-town Saskatchewan, evokes the immensity of the landscape with a lyrical prose style, from the ferociousness of the wind to the far reaches of the bright blue sky. It's probably the most important Canadian novel of boyhood.
Mitchell used memories of his own childhood to create the world of Brian O'Connal, balancing a finely drawn sense of humour with a delicate nostalgia for a world that had already been lost even as Mitchell wrote about it in the aftermath of the Second World War. Like children everywhere, Brian is curious about everything, and the author allows him to freely explore his prairie world, taking in everything from gophers to God, from his feisty Irish grandmother to his friends Ben and Saint Sammy, the town of Arcola's local madman. Mitchell gives readers a most memorable glimpse into the ins and outs of small-town life during the Depression years, always through Brian's eyes, and in doing so creates a poignant and powerful portrait of childhood innocence and its loss. --Jeffrey Canton
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Growing up in a small town on the Canadian prairie, Brian O'Connal is facing some of the big questions of life. Brian is 4 when he discovers a nest of newborn pigeons. How did the birds get into the eggs? Why did one die? After the premature deaths of his father and his dog, as well as the death of his grandmother, Brian asks himself why people die--why they "finish up." W.O. Mitchell reads his own work in a reflective, almost reedy tone. Despite being elderly when he recorded this work, his portrayal of a 4-year-old mind is authentic. Mitchell makes Brian's confusion palpable and his grief heartrending. A.B. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to the
Audio CD
edition.