A superb book, which takes you on a transformative journey.

As fellow Canadian author and reviewer Mark Frutkin says: "Joseph Boyden's first novel is the story of two Cree friends, Xavier and Elijah, who leave their pristine northern country to end up in the horrific trenches of World War I. Loosely based on the real life of a famous Canadian sniper, the story is told from two first-person views: those of Xavier and his old aunt and only living relative, Niska. After the war, Niska is taking her wounded nephew back home north to the bush in a canoe. Their trip is the three-day road of the title, which also refers to the journey taken after death. The story of the war is told in flashbacks on this journey as Xavier recovers from morphine addiction. Niska also relates various stories to Xavier, believing there is 'medicine in the tale.'

"Boyden is a natural storyteller. Both the Native tales of the north and the grim accounts of the war in France and Belgium have the ring of truth .... Eventually, Elijah seems to feed on the death all around him, becoming a 'windigo,' while Xavier begins to question the sanity of the war and his friend's growing madness, realizing 'we all fight on two fronts, the one facing the enemy, the one facing what we do to the enemy'....Not for the squeamish reader, this is a powerful novel...."

BOOKRAY

I am really happy to share this book by a Canadian writer from whom I expect to have much more fine reading in future. If anyone out there in Bookcrossingland has or sees a copy of 'Born with a Tooth,' Boyden's first book (short stories), I would surely love to have a look at it.

Simple etiquette:
1) Journal when received
2) Message next reader for post address
3) Read and journal (within four weeks would be gracious)
4) Send and journal as posted

The order of go:
Dusties USA:NY>North America/In:02Aug07,Out:>7Aug07
bibliotreker USA:PA>North America/In:22Aug07,Out:04Sept07
passiontoread USA:PA>Worldwide/In:06Sept07,Out:10Oct07
CynthiaA Canada:ON>Worldwide>/In:12Oct07,Out 11Dec07
Tarna Finland:Pirkanmaa>Worldwide<-- en route to

This book has arrived in CNY safe and sound. I will finish reading my current book before starting this one. I will journal here then. Thank you Wordsnark!

Wow! What a wonderful book! Powerful, intence, vivid! I read most of this book on a treadmill and boy oh are my legs feeling it! This is a book that was close to impossible for me to put down(hence the sore legs, I do most of my reading on a treadmill).
I really like the analagy of 3''s. And found it ironic that my number is also 3. The ending turned out so much differently than I had expected and am pleased for that. I am afraid to comment on the book to much for fear of ruining it for other readers.
I am going to try and find another copy of this book for my youngest son. He isn''t much of a reader and I am always trying to change that a little. I think he would enjoy this book. If he would just pick it up!
Thank you Wordsnark, for yet another wonderful book! I am pming bibliotreker for an addy and will get the book in the mail.

Came in the mail today. Can't wait to get started on this. Thanks Wordsnark and Dusties.

Such a contrast between the worlds of Elijah and Xavier and the war in Europe. The two boyhood friends, hunters from the forests of northern Canada, become soldier-hunters on the battlefield. Interesting analigies like comparing the charred remains of a forest fire in Canada with the battle scared fields of France and Belgium. Not an easy read for me since I don't usually read war novels but this one was more than that; it was a test of friendship and doing battle with the windingo, maybe the greatest battle of all. I'm glad I read it just the same. Thanks wordsnark. Will send it on to Passiontoread as soon as I get an address.

9/4/07
In the mail today.

Got in the mail today. Thanks bibliotreker. I am so anxious to read this! Am finishing up another bookring book and this will be next on the list to read. I also love getting postcards along with the bookrings. Thanks for sharing!

I enjoyed the book but had a little difficulty with the constant war narratives. Seemed to go on and on, not unlike true to life war. Can certainly understand the addiction to morphine under those terms and also the post traumatic stress disorder many veterans had. I truly "felt" for all the characters which makes a well written book and experienced author. Thank you Wordsnark for sharing and to bibliotreker for mailing. Have gotten the address for CynthiaA and will send it on it's way to ON.

Mailed 10/02. Postcard included. Happy reading!

Arrived today, with a second bookring book, of course. They always arrive in pairs, I find. I'm looking forward to this and will hurry it along as fast as I can.

A wonderful book. I hadn't ever considered the role of Canadian First Nations soldiers in our world war efforts and this book makes you look seriously at that issue. I loved how the gifts that Xavier and Elijah had as hunters helped them as soldiers. I was fascinated by the contrasts between the two of them, so different from each other, and yet so dedicated to each other. I also enjoyed the mysticism that was very much a part of the story. Fascinating, suspenseful, intense, and a very different way of telling a 'war story'. I thank you, Wordsnark, for sharing. The book has been mailed to Tarna today.

YAY! It’s here! Thank you, Cynthia A.
I see the envelope is marked on December 15th, and I’d like to say something about the efficiency of the Canada Post (I’ve had my own experiences there as well) but I can’t; I mailed a book addressed to Canada from Finland last year — and it’s still travelling. And I know it would have been journalled asap.
However, I’m sure Three Day Road was worth waiting for. And the Terry Fox bookmark — it made me miss Canada and Thunder Bay. *Sigh.*

First of all, I am truly sorry for having kept this book so long. I started reading it around March last year. For the last eighteen months or so I’ve been living in different places due to some plumbing repair work and other renovations in my building and had Three Day Road with me practically all the time—except when it got lost (twice, actually).
Excuses, I know, but still.

Anyway, I finally finished it, and loved every word in it. The storyline is great, everything the cover promises and more, but what I liked most was the way the story was told. I like the rhythm of the text. The pace is pretty slow and tranquil when it’s Niska’s turn to be the narrator, and it’s often so even on Xavier’s turn. On the battlefield, however, it’s accelerating and becomes even breathtaking sometimes. The book really has a hold on you partly because of the changes in the rhythm.
Being Finn, I enjoyed it even more because of some of its familiarity. I don’t claim to know the First Nations/Native cultures more than anyone else, on the contrary, but there are some things we share. Deep sense of silence and recognizing different kinds of it is one of those things. Matatosowin (steam bath, or our Finnish sauna) is another. I was surprised when in the matotosowin Niska says, “I know that Nephew will have trouble hearing me and so I have no need to talk out loud.” [Italics are mine.] Traditionally, sauna is a sacred place where you just sit and “listen to the steam”, as my father says, and forget the rest of the world. It’s a place where both your soul and body gets purified, as I once tried to explain to a Canadian friend of mine.

What makes a novel great, in my opinion, is that it allows different kinds of readings. Three Day Road does that, it has several themes which are vitally important to the story: choosing or finding balance between two cultures, war and what it does to those involved, friendship, different kinds of pressures, survival, an so on. Right now, it’s all blurred in my mind. This novel really is thought-provoking. I’ve got to let simmer in my mind a while before I’m able to get the whole picture.
Even though Three Day Road is much more than mere war story, I have to say that I’m glad I had Canada and the First World War by John Swettenham in my shelf. I skimmed through it and even if it doesn’t say a word about First Nations soldiers (I never even realized there were any in WWI), it did widen my horizons on the subject. These two books accomplished each other as well as deepened my insight on the topic.

I had a marvellous reading experience. Thank you, Wordsnark! I might get a copy of my own someday and reread the novel. Also, I’ve just added Through Black Spruce and Born With a Tooth on my Wish List. And if I’ll get the latter before you do, Wordsnark, I’ll sure send it your way next. (I hope I’ll read it a bit faster than this.)

I thought I wouldn’t release this book into the wild, mainly because you don’t get so many catches when releasing English titles—unless they’re Agatha Christie. ;-) I’ve changed my mind, however. Such a great book deserves an interested reader, and I think I know the perfect place for Three Day Road to find one. In Museum Centre Vapriikki here in Tampere, there’s The Life and Times of Sitting Bull exhibition and I think I’ll visit there tomorrow. It’s gonna be one of my 2009 Canada Day challenge releases and a Multiculturalism Day release too.


Joseph Boyden Homepage at Penguin Group (Canada)
Joseph Boyden at Wikipedia


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Edit June 27, 2009: KTMC #30.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Jätin Intiaanipäällikkö Istuvan Härän maailma -näyttelyyn, tuolille alakertaan.

LÖYTÄJÄLLE: Kiitos, että nappasit tämän kirjan mukaasi ja tulit vielä vilkaisemaan sen matkapäiväkirjaa! Tieto siitä, että kirja on hyvissä käsissä, on minulle tärkeä. Siksi pyydän sinua kertomaan, että se on sinulla. Toivon myös, että luettuasi kirjan poikkeat uudestaan täällä kirjoittamassa mietteitäsi lukemastasi. Sinun mielipiteesi kiinnostaa minua. :) Samalla voit myös kertoa mahdollisista jatkosuunnitelmistasi kirjan varalle. Jos olet kiinnostunut BookCrossingista, mutta haluaisit tutustua siihen suomen kielellä, kurkkaapa näiden linkkien taakse: * BookCrossingista suomeksi http://bookcrossingfinland.net/wiki/Etusivu * Suomenkielinen keskustelufoorumi http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/30 * BookCrossing suomenkielisessä Wikipediassa http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookcrossing LUKUILOA!!!

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