Sunday, December 9, 2007

Mrs. Mike. Benedict & Nancy Freedman.

I read about this book in the Oprah magazine and got to it before there were a million holds on it at the library. It was great! A lot of times when I read books written pre-1960, I have to work to keep my attention on the page. It’s amazing how writing styles have changed in 50+ years. But this was a gripping book that kept me reading and reading.

It’s based on the true story of Katherine who, in 1907 at the age of 16 moved from Boston to Alberta to live with her uncle. She moves because the weather in Alberta is supposed to help her pleurisy. Once there, she meets Mike, a Mountie and they marry in short order. They move to the Northwest Territories where Mike is posted.

There, they encounter a lot of winter (my number one reason for not marrying a Mountie.) They also encounter illness, isolation and crime. They meet hearty pioneer stock and see a lot of tragedy as well as suffer some of their own. The transformation of Kate from a young, invalid girl to a mature, world-weary married woman (at the age of 20) is both charming and heartbreaking.

Be prepared for 1940s era descriptions of Indians (read: not very p.c.) Be also prepared for the main character to find her identity through her husband. But most of all, be prepared to like this book. A lot.

4 comments:

  1. You have such a knack for sharing about a book, just piquing my interest, and not giving anything crucial away. Nice! -S

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was 'forced' to read this in grade 9 in high school. By chapter 2 I couldn't put it down. I now own a Hard Cover copy, given to me by my best friend for my 30th birthday 28 yrs ago. ;) My daughters are now reading their own copies.

    ReplyDelete
  3. yeah i had to read this book 2 in 9th grade. The first half of the book is plain boring but the last half is excellent.

    ReplyDelete
  4. My mother read this book in 1947 and named me for the Mountie in 1949...

    ReplyDelete