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A review by tasmanian_bibliophile
A Land Apart by Ian Roberts
4.0
‘I thought Paradise was lost, not found.’
North America, 1634. The French, the English, the Iroquois and the Wendat are just starting to battle for control over the land. The French and the English have established colonies and want to control the vast natural resources. They also want to convert the ‘savages’ to Christianity and establish towns on the land they have inhabited. In New France, the Iroquois and the Wendat may have been evenly matched, but when the English sell the Iroquois guns, this balance is shaken. Étienne Brûlé may be able to get guns for the Wendat, but he knows that no-one can win.
The hero of this novel is Étienne Brûlé who has lived with the Wendat for years. He has embraced Wendat culture and has helped them develop a fur trade with France. Brûlé has fought alongside the Wendat against the Iroquois and has suffered with them as a consequence. In the novel Étienne Brûle is the only person who seems aware of the dangers of European colonisation.
Based on historical events, Mr Roberts has written an action-filled novel accompanied by beautiful black and white drawings. His novel draws our attention to the consequences of European colonisation including the impact of introduced diseases. Viewed from the 21st century, we know that the French insistence on civilising the ‘savages’ will not end well for either side. Read as a novel set in the 17th century, the French themselves succeed in looking uncivilised at times. For me, the novel succeeds on two fronts. Firstly, by conveying a real sense of the beauty of the countryside and secondly by making me more aware of this historical period.
There is no neat end to this novel, no sense of a story concluding. The novel finishes. The reader returns to the present, knowing that change has just begun. I finished the novel (and Mr Roberts’s notes) wanting to know more about the life of Étienne Brûle.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Atelier Saint-Luc Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
North America, 1634. The French, the English, the Iroquois and the Wendat are just starting to battle for control over the land. The French and the English have established colonies and want to control the vast natural resources. They also want to convert the ‘savages’ to Christianity and establish towns on the land they have inhabited. In New France, the Iroquois and the Wendat may have been evenly matched, but when the English sell the Iroquois guns, this balance is shaken. Étienne Brûlé may be able to get guns for the Wendat, but he knows that no-one can win.
The hero of this novel is Étienne Brûlé who has lived with the Wendat for years. He has embraced Wendat culture and has helped them develop a fur trade with France. Brûlé has fought alongside the Wendat against the Iroquois and has suffered with them as a consequence. In the novel Étienne Brûle is the only person who seems aware of the dangers of European colonisation.
Based on historical events, Mr Roberts has written an action-filled novel accompanied by beautiful black and white drawings. His novel draws our attention to the consequences of European colonisation including the impact of introduced diseases. Viewed from the 21st century, we know that the French insistence on civilising the ‘savages’ will not end well for either side. Read as a novel set in the 17th century, the French themselves succeed in looking uncivilised at times. For me, the novel succeeds on two fronts. Firstly, by conveying a real sense of the beauty of the countryside and secondly by making me more aware of this historical period.
There is no neat end to this novel, no sense of a story concluding. The novel finishes. The reader returns to the present, knowing that change has just begun. I finished the novel (and Mr Roberts’s notes) wanting to know more about the life of Étienne Brûle.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Atelier Saint-Luc Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith