Life In The Bush by Roy MacGregor

by Roy MacGregor

In 1929, at the age of twenty-two, Duncan MacGregor, the son of a lumber-man and great-grandson of a voyageur, an avid reader and ardent baseball fan, headed off into the largest tract of preserved bush in the world: Ontario's Algonquin Park. When he got there, he was home for the rest of his life.

Working as a lumberman until a terrible accident ended his career at age 73, Duncan MacGregor was neither conventional nor predictable. He loved his labour in the bush, but mourned the careless way trees were destroyed. He worked ten hours a day, six days a week, by choice, but regretted having so little time for reflection. He knew the land intimately, but could not name its plants and insects. His knowledge about the world was vast, but he never travelled. He could talk on any subject, but was a man of few words. He saw relatively few people, but could charm anyone. He adored his children, but did not live with them.

In this beautifully crafted memoir of his father, Roy MacGregor paints an intimate portrait of an unusual man and spins a spellbinding tale of a boy's complex relationship with his father. He also evokes, perhaps for the first time in Canadian literature, the bush the way bush people see it, an insider's view of life in the totemic Canadian wilderness.

From the true nature of fishing to the harsh realities of raising a family in the woods, from the role of fear in the bush to the small nuances of family relationships, A Life in the Bush is painted on a canvas both vast and richly detailed. A story that captures the tough physical demands, the rich life of the senses, and the unselfconscious freedom that comes from living apart from town and city, A Life in the Bush is a work of extraordinary warmth and insight, destined to become a Canadian classic.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Canada, Biography, Memoir

Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Roy MacGregor is a Canadian author of fiction and non-fiction.

Reviews

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what I was embarking on by reading this book, but my friend Moira’s recommendation was all I needed. Turns out she was right to say this book was worthwhile. I only knew Roy MacGregor’s name associated with sports, which for me was not a draw. But I learned about him, his family, Algonquin Park, and more through his excellent prose. A touching, thoughtful, fascinating memoir. (I would probably have given it five stars except I was thinking all the fishing and so on might not engage everyone.)
Recommend.

[Huguette Larochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the book, i got very attach to Roy Father, try to find his grave.
this my second book from this Author .
i read the story about Tom Thompson.
I like the history of Algonquin park life .

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 / 5

I remember liking the Screech Owl series when I was a kid, so I was interested to read one of Roy MacGregor’s more adult-oriented books, and this one seemed to be one of the most well received. A Life in the Bush, by description is a memoir of the author’s father, a longtime lumberman and resident of Algonquin Park. But the book also functions as something more, in following the course of Duncan MacGregor’s life, it also follows the development and change of Algonquin Park. It captures the vastness, the solitude, the self-reliance; of nature, paralleling these portraits of the bush with a young boy’s and later young man’s analogous relationship with his father. As someone who has spent a lot of time in Algonquin and the Muskokas, the book is able to strike the right chord, capturing some of the magic of the bush/wilderness in words. It definitely leaves you with the feeling that you need to make a return visit to Algonquin Park, to appreciate the history you’ve learned and see the sights that the book describes, again with your own eyes. I might not be the biggest fan of memoirs, but I found the book enjoyable due to my own connection to nature/wilderness and some of the Northern Ontario history. I did find at times, the book a bit annoying to follow, due to some inconsistent pacing with the flashbacks/timeline, and while I was a bit ambivalent on it, the book does have copious descriptions about fishing, which might not be for everyone. Overall, a solid memoir and one that hits closer to home for Ontarians.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot for its beautifully descriptive writing by a devoted son about a quirky father - a chain smoker & heavy drinker-who was full of tales & anecdotes & charmed all who knew him. He worked his whole life as a lumberman in Algonquin Park right up until at age 73 & still working 6 days a week 52 weeks a year, & not ready to quit, Duncan Macgregor is struck by a lumber truck sustaining injuries that will end his working life, but emerging after several operations & a long convalescence, still the self-taught lover of books of all sorts, newspapers, baseball & hockey, fishing & hunting, and walking with a cane to the hotel to get his daily beers & the library to get his books, & the pharmacy to get his lottery tickets- rather than stuck in a wheelchair( which was his prognosis) until his death in his late 80's. The book describes the evolution of Algonquin Park from its beginnings to the 1990's with references to many different areas in & around the park which are familiar to me & which enhanced my appreciation of it. Though there is a lot about fishing & baseball & hockey(more than I cared to read as none is an interest of mine), the sensitive & melancholic account of a difficult life, a broken relation with his wife(until she takes him back after the accident to the Huntsville home while he had lived at the lumber mill in the park previously), but a loving one with his children & grandchildren, and the real feeling for nature as found in the bush make this book a truly enjoyable read.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damn that was good! What a great story teller Roy Macgregor is! So much of the story I am somewhat familiar with as I have been to Algonquin Park many times and driven through to the Ottawa Valley
My friend lost a fish and I recommended this book to her and she bought it for her mother who knew few of the characters depicted in this story. What a small world.
Reminds me very much of some of my family

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not wont to give a perfect score to a memoir, yet this Roy MacGregor offering nails it for me. For anyone who is passionate about Algonquin Park, the Valley from Ottawa to Trout Creek and every place in between, a must read!

[Jose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a classic in the Canadian literature
The author tribute to his father and the men of that generation of the 1920 and 1930 who dedicated their lives in bush for a living or for the love of the forest.
Well written I really enjoyed .

[Preeti Nichol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant read for when you want to forget about the rest of the world. In some ways it is like a romp through the history of Algonquin Park. Warning though: there is a fair amount of fishing…. So take that for what you will!

[Marion Listgarten · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it.

[Anny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Algonquin Park is my absolute happy place. I loved learning more about its roots and I loved this book.

[Mack Hughson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book chronicling his late fathers life and the deep history of the Algonquin bush and surrounding towns. We need more men like Duncan Macgregor, now more than ever!

[Doug I · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have ever fished, been to Algonquin Park, or you happen to possess a soul, you will enjoy this book.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I have read in a very long time. First five star review I have given on GoodReads too I think.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wilderness is a spiritual necessity, an antidote to the high pressure of modern life, a means of regaining serenity and equilibrium.

[diagnosed bookaholic · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Life in the Bush is a biography that a son has written for his father. Predominantly set in and around Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada. It is about his family history, lessons from father to son, just real genuine life growing up surrounded by nature. His father was a lumberman, so you may learn a bit about logging. Some other big topics are fishing, trapping, reading, and sports like baseball and hockey. All these topics are not of much interest to me, but this book as a whole surprised me. Because in the telling of his story, he caught my interest. This was a beautiful biography about growing up wild in Canada.

Genre: Biography, Nature
Trigger Warnings: alcoholism, death, blood, gore
Typo Count: 2

[Debbie ☕️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled with this one. Not what I expected so not totally fair with the rating but that's how I felt.

[Clare Hutchinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely family memoir in a very familiar part of the world. Needed a slightly stronger edit to assist with the repetition (I think the story of the wolves and the little dog was told 3 times?).

[L Prunskus · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admired Roy MacGregor for writing a book that revealed such personal aspects of his life. I think that takes a certain kind of courage.

Although the book was filled with some charming family stories and, at times, great description of the beauty of Algonquin Park, it was in serious need of editing. One more fishing story and this frustrated reader would have contacted Penguin herself. In spite of this, the essence of carefree boyhood summers and the love of family managed to overcome the sorely needed editing.

Books about fathers and sons and living the life of a logger will undoubtedly have a male-centric focus, but I was troubled by the apparent lack of concern for Roy's mother who was left mostly on her own to raise four young children. Why did she have to make regular trips to the logging camp to "ask" her husband, Roy's father, for money to support their children, to buy them food and clothing, only to have their marriage problems attributed to money and her constant complaints about it? Both parents were hardworking people who obviously cared for their children but in the blame department, I felt Roy was an apologist for his father who had retreated into the bush to live as a bachelor. Yes - he worked with commitment at a physically demanding job, but so too did Roy's mother and she had other responsibilities all around her, every day and every night.

I love Algonquin Park. I admire hardworking people and I appreciate a good anecdote, but in all honesty, I can't say I enjoyed this book. Perhaps the intimacy which was the great strength of this book was also its undoing.

[Lisadoran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I savored this book. I recognized home in it. I learned about my Uncle Gibb and a gem of family history. I laughed when I recognized Ottawa Valley quirks and name like partridge and princess pine. My mom knew Dunc by reputation. He was probably my grandfathers age and I grew up with men like him all around me. I loved Roy MacGregors conversation around people who love the bush and who live and work in the bush, his description of the tangle of Ontario bush. This is a lovely book. It made me homesick.

[1.1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really, really good biography of an idiosyncratic father with many very amusing and interesting anecdotes. The writing is good and functional keeps the book moving along, allowing Roy MacGregor to tell some incredible stories. This book only gets mawkish briefly towards the end and I think a little sentimental business can be easily forgiven in a work of this nature.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having a grandfather who spent time working in the bush of northern Ontario in the 1930s, it was neat to hear about the quirks of such a personality. There was something lacking in the flow of the book though. At the end it felt like a stream of consciousness memorial to his father rather than a well structured memoir.

[Ryan Arthurs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had been meaning to read this book forever as an Algonquin Park lifer. Its a great read and its a fantastic history of the Park and the surrounding townships. Must read for Algonquin Park lovers & canoe enthusiasts.

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this book up as a souvenir of my week in Algonquin Park. It definitely kept me there long after I returned home. Only complaint is that it got a little drawn out and repetitive with the fishing. But that's fishing, I suppose.

[Kathleen McRae · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really enjoyed this book because it was funny in parts and also it gave a great view of a life lived in another era and real people

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought this book while on my honeymoon in Algonquin Park, Bear Trail Couples Resort!!! Loved it! Have read it twice already!!! I loved getting to know his Dad!

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

trolling for mackinaw - amazing

[Jim]

Great book about Algonquin Park, the bush and fathers.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it... makes me want to go outside and paddle!