The Cure for Death by Lightning by Gail Anderson-Dargatz

from goodreads

2.75 stars

There are books on my to-read list that seem to have been on there for eons. I don't know why I just don't hunker down and read them. Most likely because some other glittery fancy piece of literary art catches my eye and my to-read faithfuls get thrown back down to the bottom.

This was one of those books. I first heard about it when I was a teenager at Girl Guide camp (well I was actually a Pathfinder by that point, but I figured most people would know what a Girl Guide was rather than a Pathfinder). One of my tent mates was reading it and I was intrigued by the cover.

I didn't know anything about it. But I somehow built up an expectation of what the story would be. Well the story ended up being nothing like I thought it would be. It was darker then I thought and more magical. I don't know if this contrast in expectations clouded my judgement or liking of this book, probably. It's funny how we build up expectations on things we really don't know anything about.

Synopsis

Beth Weeks is a teen living on a farm in British Columbia during World War II. Beth is coming into her own and trying to figure out life. Her father is quite domineering and suffers from the shell shock of World War I. Her mother is also coping with being so far away from her family. When a young girl is found torn apart in the woods the townspeople suspect a bear. Others, including some of the nearby Native community suspect it is Coyote, who is notorious for his mischief.

This book looks at the challenges of farming, the challengs of war, the challenges of mental illness and the challenges of living in a small community, where neighbours and judgements abound.

My Thoughts

This was totally not the type of story I was expecting. For some reason I thought it would be a bit more light hearted, instead it was quite serious and dark. There is nothing wrong with serious and dark, it just threw me for a loop when I was expecting something different.

I liked how the author didn't shy away from the prejudices of the time. There was a character who I assume had Downs Syndrome. He was referred to as mongoloid and most of the towns people thought he should be sent to an asylum and be sterilized. While that is almost unthinkable now, it was thought of to be quite the normal thing to do back then.

I liked how the author sprinkled recipes throughout the book. Some of them seem quite yummy. I loved how the recipes even included how the woodstove needed to be set up. Baking today is so convenient. It doesn't involve too much planning. I take this convenience for granted. I forget how hard it would have been back then to keep the temperature consistent. All we have to do is push a few buttons.

I also liked the exploration of the idea of everyone needing a private place to figure things out. For the mother it was her scrapbook and talking with her dead mother. For Beth, it was her hiding spot. For me it is in the shower. I think I do most of my most awesome thinking under the nice warm stream of water.

The characters and town were vividly written and could be easily pictured. I just didn't care for them. The only character I really cared for was Filthy Billy. The rest seemed hard to figure out and ordinary. I guess that was the point, this was a book about ordinary people and how they all had some issue or other to deal with, but that didn't make me like them or feel sympathetic towards them. Frankly, with some of the things that happened to Beth, I'm surprised she didn't have even more issues.

All it all, the book was okay. I might have liked it more if I didn't have a preexisting idea. It took me a long time to get through. I almost gave up at one point because it wasn't holding my interest, but I kept going, and in the end I'm glad I did though I don't think this will be among my favourites.