Ivan Ashley

This book is the third in a trilogy called the Red Island Clay story. I haven't read the other two books but based upon this one I don't think I have missed too much. As a picture of life in rural Prince Edward Island it is bearable but as a work of literature it is downright awful.

Mary Wasson was born in PEI in the early 1900s and, except for a few visits off island, she spent her ninety plus years on the island. Her father died when she was just six but her mother and two older brothers managed to keep their farm going. Fred Lowden was a young man from a farm called High Meadows that was not too far away but far enough that his family went to a different church. Fred had seen Mary when he did some business with her brothers and he must have liked what he had seen because a few weeks later he turned up at her church for Sunday service. They were soon stepping out together and then, inevitably, got married. High Meadows was known for producing superior Shorthorn cattle and the farm was profitable even during the Depression. Mary and Fred had three boys, the youngest being Tom who was Mary's favourite because he looked like his father. The book goes on to detail the lives of the Lowdens.

If you can overlook the spelling and grammar mistakes and the juvenile writing style and the frequent forays into religion, then you might enjoy this portrayal of farming life in one of the most beautiful parts of Canada.… (más)