I got this ex-library softcover from Better World Books. Originally published in French in 1935, it's about the lives of homesteaders in early 20th-century Alberta, Canada.

It's clear from the beginning that Roger, the optimistic young husband, has wildly underestimated the requirements of life on the frontier - and that his wife Louise is terrified by the wilderness and desperately wants to cancel the experiment and go back to the city, but doesn't want to quash her beloved husband's dreams. This... is not going to go well!

They give it a good try, though, aided by an older couple who have their own homestead farther up the lake shore. At first the younger people take their neighbors' advice with a rather patronizing air; Roger thinks he doesn't need advice from an uneducated homesteader, and Louise finds it a bit jarring to have the cheerful but somewhat rough-and-ready Mrs. Roy giving her so much sympathy.

The young people soon learn that they indeed do need help and advice - sometimes by making impossible-to-fix mistakes that they then have to live with, such as choosing the wrong placement for the stable and the cabin. They've underestimated the sheer physical labor needed, and while Roger does toughen up, achieving some skill with axe and rifle, Louise doesn't like the way it's turning him into a coarse and taciturn man. Her attempts to get him interested in writing again are well-intentioned, but probably not that good an idea - distracting him from the work that needs to be done if they're going to survive... Then again, she's rather hoping that they fail so they can leave this place.

And then the baby is born, a child that Louise thinks might help her make peace with the vast forest surrounding them...

Very moody, sometimes lyrical - the descriptions of the beauties of the wilderness balance those of the brutally hard work, the swarming mosquitoes, and poor Louise's dread. Excellent example of "failure to communicate" wreaking havoc in a marriage...

I left this book on a bench in the Chelmsford Public Garden on North Rd.; hope the finder enjoys it!

July 10: Edited to add: thanks so much to the anonymous finder for rescuing the book! I do generally use plastic bags to protect books that I leave outdoors, but as this one was on a bench in a very public area, I thought it would be found long before the weather changed; clearly I was mistaken, as it seems to have sat there for days. I've dried out some soaked books myself, with some success, so I hope this one survives. And thanks again!

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[See other recent releases in MA here.]

*** Released for the 2018 Allergic to A release challenge. ***

*** Released for the 2018 Canada Days release challenge. ***

On 7 July 2018, while tending the Chelmsford Public Garden, I found this book on the bench where it was released. Unfortunately, it was quite rain-soaked. I am drying it out and pressing it back into shape. After I have read it I will release it in a zip-lock bag to keep it dry.

While I think the concept of book sharing is wonderful, this is probably the most depressing book I have ever read. I am passing it on, although my first impulse is to throw it away. I am placing it back on the bench where I found it in the Chelmsford Public Garden.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND this book. 7/30/18

I stopped by the Chelmsford Gardens again today to drop off another book (Gigi), and was amused to see this one still on the bench where the anonymous finder left it on July 30. The plastic bag does seem to have protected it from the rainstorms that blew through between then and now. I don't know if the finder will ever see these entries, but I wanted to add another thank you for rescuing the wet book in the first place, and for re-releasing it even though the finder didn't like it at all. If you find any more BC books I hope they're more to your taste!

I left this book in the Little Free Library on this very warm day; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]