Woodsmen of the West

by Martin Allerdale Grainger

When Woodsmen of the West first appeared in 1908, most readers could not relate to its rendering of the rough edges of logging-camp life. M. Allerdale Grainger refused to sentimentalize the West – he drew from life. While his dramatic and loosely structured tale is at heart a love story, it also tells of what happens when the novel’s British narrator encounters a small-time logging operator whose obsession with lumber is matched by his lust for power over other men.

Today the novel is recognized as marking a significant shift in fiction written in and about the Canadian West. The accuracy of its detail makes it one of the finest examples of local realism in Canadian writing. It is also a fascinating chronicle of conflicting personalities, and of the genius of British Columbia hand-loggers, the culture of camp life, and the intrigues and corruption of the lumber business at the turn of the century.

The New Canadian Library edition is an unabridged reprint of the original text, complete with the original photographs.

Genres: Fiction, Canada

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

Reviews

[Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's not many novels about west coast logging and this one of the best. It gives us a glimpse of turn of the century practises when mechanisation was making its first appearance on the coast. The action ranges from the logger's hotels in the Carroll and Hastings and Water St. area up to Knight Inlet, Port Hardy and legendary Minstrel Island. This was the time of hand loggers, beach-combers and gypo outfits in every inlet, cove and sound. Grainger is the hero of his own novel as he toils for Carter, a driven man obsessed with running his own logging show and damn anyone who gets in his way. Grainger offers insight into the mentality of the men who worked in the woods and their propensity for quitting at the drop of a hat. He explores the role of liquor in stoking the fire for this dangerous, exhausting and all consuming work. Grainger knew that loggers were a breed apart with arcane knowledge available only to them.

[Ebook Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. The e-book version can be found at:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/wood...

[Ibis3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminded me quite a lot of Moby-Dick except instead of whaling, the men are engaged in logging. We don't get the minutiae of the procedure we get from Melville (thank goodness), as the focus is rather on the character of the men who work on the frontiers of civilisation and the culture which they have constructed. It is quite modern in tone--a precursor to the unembellished prose of later decades--and very episodic. It has the feel of a memoir rather than a novel. The protagonist is likeable and the antagonist, a ruthless obsessive man, is given his due (about half the book is dedicated to a summary of his résumé and a character study).

[R.C.A. Nixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful and frightening story about the people drawn to destroy the original forests of Canada's west. Much of the book describes life in the work camps that ranged up and down the coasts, systematically chopping down every tree within a few thousand feet of the shore. Brutal work, led by brutal men, who found only emptiness and the bottle when they returned to the city when the job was done. Grainger's tough realism is the stuff of high art, a mirror that continues to reflect our tortured souls.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem of a story. Only 145 pages but I wished it had gone on a lot longer. Very insightful about early history in the Pacific Northwest. For the most part about the early days of logging on the Westcoast, but with a very strong connection to the maritime aspect as well since the primary mode of transport was in some cases by steamship, but more often by rowboat. The early loggers were a very tough breed.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review at my blog.