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Peter Loon
Post-American Revolution teen Peter Loon is charged by his mother to find her long-lost love and along the way teams up with former-seafaring parson Zachariah, with whom he is swept up in a fierce territorial battle between wealthy landowners and hardscrabble homesteaders. 10,000 first printing.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
45 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 29, 2017
As I have previously written in other reviews, I get a kick out of champagne East Coasty Atlantic-type historical fiction. While others yearn for West Coast blue skies and heat, I look to the Right Coast for its older, haunting quality. There is something about the New England-New York-Central Atlantic Coast area that seems full of historical funkiness. Maine, for instance. If aliens have really landed on earth, wouldn't Maine seem like the perfect place for them to settle? Think about it. Maine.
Thus this book came into my collection. Peter Loon, the title character, is a teenager from the backwoods of Maine who goes on a quest, just after the Revolutionary War has ended. He is told by his mother to go find the man she used to love, but never married. Peter's own father has died but Peter's mother never really seemed to love him. Imagine getting hit with that as a teen. Off he goes on an adventure which seems to be his odyssey to adulthood. Kinda. He meets good and evil folks with names such as Zachariah, Elspeth, Obed, McQuigg, Crispin, Manasseh...New England-Atlantic all the way. Maine.
The Bells of Liberty will be pealing!
The Ghost of Freedom soon be stealing!
Leaves fall and winter is cruel. By the time I finished this sojourn, I was a little dizzy with the various characters, but it was fun if not thoroughly engrossing. Maine.
Book Season = Summer (gates of perdition)
Thus this book came into my collection. Peter Loon, the title character, is a teenager from the backwoods of Maine who goes on a quest, just after the Revolutionary War has ended. He is told by his mother to go find the man she used to love, but never married. Peter's own father has died but Peter's mother never really seemed to love him. Imagine getting hit with that as a teen. Off he goes on an adventure which seems to be his odyssey to adulthood. Kinda. He meets good and evil folks with names such as Zachariah, Elspeth, Obed, McQuigg, Crispin, Manasseh...New England-Atlantic all the way. Maine.
The Bells of Liberty will be pealing!
The Ghost of Freedom soon be stealing!
Leaves fall and winter is cruel. By the time I finished this sojourn, I was a little dizzy with the various characters, but it was fun if not thoroughly engrossing. Maine.
Book Season = Summer (gates of perdition)
March 26, 2008
Well, that was it. My last Van Reid book. Unless he publishes again. Pause while I go to moosepath.com...
Nope. Nothing yet.
Still, I so enjoy his way with a yarn, the way history is inherent in the plotting without the appearance of research or exposition, the simultaneous innocence and maturity of his worldview. I like it all.
And in another year or two, I'll decide it's time for Cordelia Underwood again and I'll try to keep a year between re-readings just to marshall my resources.
Nope. Nothing yet.
Still, I so enjoy his way with a yarn, the way history is inherent in the plotting without the appearance of research or exposition, the simultaneous innocence and maturity of his worldview. I like it all.
And in another year or two, I'll decide it's time for Cordelia Underwood again and I'll try to keep a year between re-readings just to marshall my resources.
November 18, 2013
There are not enough books written in praise of sense and moderation, particularly when it comes to historical fiction, and particularly when it comes to the lesser-known and lesser-publicized chapters of American history. Van Reid tackles the days post-Revolution with humor and sympathy, shining a light on continuing rebellions and illustrating the importance of level heads on both sides in finding a way past conflicting claims (a lesson certain modern-day political entities could take well to heart.) Plenty happens as our titular hero embarks on his quest and gets swept up by history, but it is clear that heroism doesn't lie on the side of sturm und drang but in the clear-eyed calmness that recognizes that violence should never be the first resort as, far too often, it only results in more violence.
To me, Van Reid is a national treasure, perhaps not quite on the level of Marilynne Robinson, but definitely up there with Kenneth Roberts. Looking very much forward to reading more, and re-visiting Cordelia Underwood, as well, when I'm finally unpacked.
To me, Van Reid is a national treasure, perhaps not quite on the level of Marilynne Robinson, but definitely up there with Kenneth Roberts. Looking very much forward to reading more, and re-visiting Cordelia Underwood, as well, when I'm finally unpacked.
October 20, 2017
really didn't like the writing style. boring
June 27, 2019
Peter Loon is a gentle young man set off on an adventure of his mother's making in post-revolutionary war Maine which was then a part of Massachusetts. Van Reid brings to life the life of the forests, and a time not to far in the past that seems like ancient history. His writing is perfect for a 21st century reader to enter into the 18th century - his lyrical, but not too, funny, but not laughing at anyone, gives us conflict without drama... This is a delicious read and if I knew Maine's geography and history I'd have rated it 5 stars :-)
January 22, 2021
While I don’t have the same deep feelings of attachment to this novel as I do the Moosepath stories, I still appreciated this different voice of Van Reid. This book was slightly less wholesome than the Moosepath books, and a good deal more somber. Th characters are well drawn, and the sense of the locale involved is expertly done.
March 13, 2021
An enchanting post-Revolutionary war tale that follows young Peter Loon on a personal expedition with surprising results and plenty of fascinating characters and unexpected events. Thoroughly enjoyable.
March 10, 2018
No matter the era in which the novel is set, Van Reid makes Maine come alive for the reader. Really enjoy this author.
August 19, 2021
Another exceptional book from Mr. Ried. The milieu is one seldom explored in fiction - post Revolutionary Maine - and it contains insights on humanity that are useful at any time.
July 22, 2011
Reid moves back in history with his “Peter Loon,” the tale of a young man sent on a quest by his mother to find a long-lost “uncle” to aid the family after the sudden death of Peter’s father. Peter lives in backcountry Maine at the time when the state, still a part of the larger Massachusetts, was torn by dissention between the wealthy and land-greedy gentry and the poor homesteaders who did the work to clear the land.
The opening of the book, which reads a bit slow, retells the courtship of Peter’s parents and reveals the identity of the man whom Peter is sent to find: his father’s old best friend and his mother’s former suitor. Peter doesn’t learn this truth until the end of the book, however, and sets out on a fruitless quest to find this stranger in a world that he quickly realizes is much larger than he ever imagined.
Peter’s awe at the enormity of the world and the variety of its inhabitants is almost palpable as we follow him from adventure to adventure. Early in his quest, Peter joins forces with a traveling preacher, Parson Leach. At his side, Peter becomes embroiled in a heated dispute about land, meets several beguiling young women in need of aid, comes to appreciate the wide difference between rich and poor and, ultimately, becomes a man. His maturation doesn’t destroy his innocence, however, and we leave him with a sense of promise and hope for the future – both his own and that of his homeland.
Although the book lacks the fast pace and more obvious hilarity of Reid’s Moosepath League series, it retains Reid’s characteristic old-fashioned prose, sense of adventure and subtle droll humor that make it worth the read. The insight into Maine’s early history is an added benefit.
My favorite quote is now my new way of describing my best habit…when Peter meets Captain Claydon, one of the rich landowners, he is astonished by the fact that someone would spend all their time “abiding in the pages of a book.” What a wonderful way to describe the delicious time spent reading!
The opening of the book, which reads a bit slow, retells the courtship of Peter’s parents and reveals the identity of the man whom Peter is sent to find: his father’s old best friend and his mother’s former suitor. Peter doesn’t learn this truth until the end of the book, however, and sets out on a fruitless quest to find this stranger in a world that he quickly realizes is much larger than he ever imagined.
Peter’s awe at the enormity of the world and the variety of its inhabitants is almost palpable as we follow him from adventure to adventure. Early in his quest, Peter joins forces with a traveling preacher, Parson Leach. At his side, Peter becomes embroiled in a heated dispute about land, meets several beguiling young women in need of aid, comes to appreciate the wide difference between rich and poor and, ultimately, becomes a man. His maturation doesn’t destroy his innocence, however, and we leave him with a sense of promise and hope for the future – both his own and that of his homeland.
Although the book lacks the fast pace and more obvious hilarity of Reid’s Moosepath League series, it retains Reid’s characteristic old-fashioned prose, sense of adventure and subtle droll humor that make it worth the read. The insight into Maine’s early history is an added benefit.
My favorite quote is now my new way of describing my best habit…when Peter meets Captain Claydon, one of the rich landowners, he is astonished by the fact that someone would spend all their time “abiding in the pages of a book.” What a wonderful way to describe the delicious time spent reading!
November 17, 2014
synopsis:
peter's father dies, and his mother beseeches him to go find a particular person. peter has never heard of this person, so as he travels along, he asks different people if they have heard of this mysterious personage. peter gets into trouble, gets out of trouble, makes friends and enemies along his way.
what i liked: the history and the characterization.
what i didn't like: this was another book that i just couldn't get into. the writing was well done, the characters well drawn, i just wasn't interested.
peter's father dies, and his mother beseeches him to go find a particular person. peter has never heard of this person, so as he travels along, he asks different people if they have heard of this mysterious personage. peter gets into trouble, gets out of trouble, makes friends and enemies along his way.
what i liked: the history and the characterization.
what i didn't like: this was another book that i just couldn't get into. the writing was well done, the characters well drawn, i just wasn't interested.
September 23, 2015
I remember being delighted by "Cordelia Underwood" and looked forward to reading this one, but wasn't drawn in by the characters or their circumstances. I think I might have enjoyed the book more if I'd been expecting more of a history lesson (which is largely is - and there's nothing wrong with that, but I was expecting more of a character story). Young Peter Loon gets swept along by regional events and seems more of an ambitious spectator than a dynamic protagonist.
January 11, 2009
Not quite five stars, but still solidly good. Would be good for church book clubs, as it's clean.
Post-Revolutionary War/coming of age/journey novel with appealing characters, well-turned phrases, and a window into the war's aftermath (specifically, who owns the land in a new country? Those who settled it or those who were deeded it by the no-longer-recognized king of England?).
Post-Revolutionary War/coming of age/journey novel with appealing characters, well-turned phrases, and a window into the war's aftermath (specifically, who owns the land in a new country? Those who settled it or those who were deeded it by the no-longer-recognized king of England?).
May 15, 2012
Reid does a great job with the historical setting, and the characters have enough depth to keep the reader caring about them.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews