It's 1970s Canada. The small island community of Bear Lake is awash with rumours of lay-offs and wildcat strikes at the mill. But for young Tom, nothing is more important than hanging out with his best friend, Cormic, except perhaps catching a glimpse of Sasha Dovonovitch, the foreman's daughter.
When a tragic accident occurs at the mill, the whole community unites - but in a small town, pointed fingers and hushed gossip can only stir further trouble....
***
[He had been walking for some time through the rain that washes in from the steel-grey Atlantic over the evergreens that run, as seen from above, like a livid and innumerable army from shore to shore]***
(Fairlight Books, 11 July 2019, 144 pages, ebook, copy from @FairlightBooks via # NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed)
***
***
This novella turned out to be much darker than I expected. The novella is beautifully written and it was a pleasure to read every page. This is a simple tale of growing up in a small town where everybody knows each other and the town depends on the Mill for survival. The town is dying. The Mill is a contracting industry where there are fewer jobs outside of the Mill and the future does not look well for Bear Lake. I love books that are set in small town so completely fell in love with Bear Lake. The author does an amazing job of bringing the town and the resident to life. The main focus is the complicated relationship between Sasha and Town. However, we are introduced to a whole host of brilliantly written, human characters. The accident takes place about halfway through and isn't really an accident. This dark turn seemed unexpected to me. The character of Jamie, one of the first men to be paid off at the Mill broke my heart a little. He's seen as a nuisance by the locals because he drinks away his unemployment checks at the local bar and causes trouble. I felt great sympathy for him. He's only recently graduated from high school so losing his job is a real blow. He didn't deserve what happens to him. I love how rumours about what happened to Jamie circulate for years, typical of a small town. This was a real treat.
