The bridge needed to be replaced but had its own diehard backers, those who wanted the relic to remain forever, for the sake of tourism and for their eternal heritage and for its own exquisite beauty.
I was scrolling through a list of upcoming novels a publicist sent me the other day and I caught myself thinking: ''I don't wanna read any of this. What's wrong with me? Have I become so hard to impress that a synopsis and an intriguing cover can't do the job anymore? Truth is, literature has become marketed like vaccuum cleaners or pick up trucks. It's hard to stumble upon a novel that is a pure labour of love. You have to have heard about it from trusted reviewers or friends. Well, I have the immense luck of stumbling upon Trevor Ferguson's THE RIVER BURNS, a gorgeous, sprawling novel that happens to be 100% Canadian, both in its content and its creation. Sometimes, the biggest and shiniest diamonds are in your own backyard and you just didn't bother looking if there was something worth digging down there.
THE RIVER BURNS is kind of complex and ambitious. There is a large cast of characters, yet there is no clear narrative hierarchy established. Trevor Ferguson imbues the reader with the responsibility of singling out a hero from his thoroughly layered cast. The town of Wakefield is, in some sort, the real character. The single-lane covered bridge over the nearby river is a source of discord amongst the residents. Some would like the preserve it as a cultural heritage, but the local loggers would like to see it replaced by a more modern construction. The O'Farrell brothers, Denny and Ryan, stand on both sides of this conflict, trying to hold their lives together as a force greater than them both is changing the world they've always known.
The prose of Trevor Ferguson is the showstopper of THE RIVERS BURNS, but it's not the only factor in the equation. I'm thinking a John Updike meets post-Shutter Island Dennis Lehane quality of prose, to give you an example. The words of Trevor Ferguson carry their own weight, though. They create their own paradigm. It can be a little too manucured at time, especially before the first dialogue scenes, but once you establish a relationship with these thoughtgul, rational, witty and tough characters, it doesn't matter if he prose gets flowery at times. Not only there is an aesthetic and contemplative pleasure to reading THE RIVER BURNS, but there is a subtle and nuanced moral drama and a town trying to bear the weight of tradition and progress.
Denny called it smoking, althought he rarely lit up anymore. Smoking meant just hanging with the guy and the morning found him by the old covered bridge where he and his friends Samad and Xavier waiting in line with their big rigs. The guys stll smoked and he had the tendency to stand downwind so the scent would find him as the others puffed away. He might breathe in deeply but he didn't call it inhaling exactly.
Quitting was his idea. He did it on his own when Val first got pregnant. He didn't want her smoking, so he didn't either. Harder for her than for him. He still missed it, though, and the other guys could tell.
Trevor Ferguson never allows himself to become emotional with his characters and I enjoyed the work of restrain. Don't get me wrong, the debate over the bridge gets very tense and emotional, but the author doesn't take sides. Subtlety and restrain are important variables to have in a moral drama like THE RIVERS BURNS, so that it doesn't sink into melodrama and pastiche. Trevor Ferguson walks a tight rope between both sides of the argument and while he can lean one way or the other, he never loses his balance. The characters of THE RIVER BURNS are so rich because they are not consumed by the bridge issue, so the novel is layered with love stories and various minor local issues that makes small towns what they are. Impressive storytelling display by Trevor Ferguson.
It doesn't matter if you're a mystery or a science-fiction reader. It doesn't matter if you enjoy fiction or narrative non-fiction. Passionate readers never turn down a great story and THE RIVER BURNS is s superb, detaile and sprawling intergenerational narrative about the repercussions of a rapidly changing economy on a small town. Trevor Ferguson draws a complete portrait of how these repercussions manifest themselves, from ideological debate to ultimately crime. THE RIVERS BURNS is a testament to the unwitting power of men over their creation. It's a moving, slightly romantic story that captures the essence of what it means to be alive better than most of what's out there. Great reads you don't expect to have are always the best. THE RIVER BURNS will be released officially on April 22nd.
BADASS