The books included under the New Canadian Library imprint are mostly gems of Canadian literature. It's a shame that when McClelland and Stewart were swallowed up by Random House (now Penguin Random House) that the New Canadian Library books ceased to be published. This book is No. 36. In all there were over 200 titles published under this imprint.

William (Gander) Stake was born in 1896, the second son to the farming couple of Jackson and Susie Stake who lived in southern Manitoba. The farm was located near the fictional town of Plainville so we don't know its exact location but given that the author grew up near Cartwright Manitoba it is likely the Stake farm was in that general area as well. Gander did not get along very well with his older brother Jackie but he was quite close to his younger sister, Minnie, and little brother, Hamilton. Gander was a nickname given when his adolescent voice was prone to cracking as he sang in church, causing one wit to say he "honked like a gander". Gander loved being out on the prairie with his dog and he grew to love farming, stepping into Jackie's shoes when Jackie left the farm after arguing with his father about not being paid. This meant he stopped attending school but that didn't bother him too much except it meant he seldom saw Jo Burge, the girl he was set on marrying when the time came. When World War I started Gander wavered about enlisting not so much because he was afraid but because the whole business of marching and drilling and following orders was anathema to him. Then when the price of wheat skyrocketed and his father needed more help to get the crop in and harvested he felt he couldn't abandon his parents. Jo Burge, who seemed to be in love with Gander too, encouraged him to enlist but he refused. One of his classmates who returned from the war with TB married Jo and Gander thought his chance at romance was gone. Then a cousin of a neighbour visiting from Winnipeg caught his attention and he felt his heart surge open. Again he managed to offend the girl so again he was left to ponder his solitary future.

Throughout the whole book Gander's involvement with the farm is recounted in detail. This book vividly explains the work involved in farming in the early years of the 20th century before tractors and combines and balers enabled farmers to expand their operations and use less hired help. I am not old enough to remember threshing gangs moving from farm to farm to get the harvest in but I grew up hearing the stories about them, especially how the women had to prepare vast quantities of food to feed the gangs. Just this past winter there was a family of immigrants looking at the old threshing machine in the yard of the preserved farm in Birds Hill Park. None of them had any idea what the machine was used for so I explained a little to them. More people need to read this book to recapture the era that has been forgotten. ( )

A story about a man of the soil and his battle against machinery and the elements with some romance thrown in. ( )

Took me back to the Manitoba farm people I grew up with, a clear depiction of their lives and some of the pressures they faced--for instance the young man who only wants to farm, not go to war. Memorable scenes throughout. Quiet read, well worth the time taken. I loved it. ( )