Sugarmilk Falls

by Ilona Van Mil

Hidden among the glacial hills and lakes of the Canadian Shield lies Sugarmilk Falls, a close-knit community with the worst of secrets. Everyone, including the aging priest and the town’s sole policeman, who have their own reasons for concealing the facts, remembers a different version of what really happened there over twenty years ago.

But secrets cannot stay buried forever. As the thick snow of a winter’s night sets in, the inhabitants gather together, induced by a questioning stranger to talk openly for the first time about the sinister events of the past. Some think that it all began when Grand’mère Osweken, an Ojibwa shaman, lost the maple forests on a gamble during a game of craps. Others contend it goes further back, to the arrival of the schoolteacher Marina Grochowska, a newcomer with a tightly guarded past. Or perhaps it really started years before that when the woodsman Zack Guillem discovered a curious powdery coating over an area of foliage in the bush.

Beautifully crafted and darkly compelling, this is a remarkable debut that captures the spirit and repression of a blighted community as it slowly turns in on itself. Sugarmilk Falls has earned comparisons with David Guterson’s Snow Falling on Cedars , as it similarly takes readers deep inside a community riven by prejudice and by the secrets of the past.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Canada

328 pages, Hardcover

First published April 5, 2005

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love anything to do with the forests and Canada. I love maple syrup! So this book looked intriguing enough to satisfy me on many levels.
It took a while to actually get used to Ms van Mil's style of writing. It is in a narration format of the character speaking at the time. This then can change as the events the person is talking about. Played out in the event as a past or present tense with multiple characters talking. So it can be a little daunting at first to be aware of what is happening. However, once used to that style and figuring out who and whats it becomes interesting to see the main characters develop.

Quite a let down in some areas. Tended to go on too much about Matt's past but not really get into great depth as to why he makes his choices. I did not feel any tenderness between Marina and Matt. However perhaps that is only due to them both being scarred by the war having both their own wounds emotionally to deal with.

I found the ending rather a predictable one as to the stranger was. It became obvious once the gender was spoken of. However the ending is one of those, You make your own decision as to what happens next. Interesting, but to me I found that a bit of a let down.

Overall, I found much of it too bogged down and slow. The initial storyline was intriguing, and got me in, but after a while I thought, how many more wordy descriptives do we need, we already get it the place is beautiful etc. It seemed fattened out and became a chore rather than an enjoyment to read.

I did enjoy the to and froing and the story becoming untangled yet more tangled, it was a mystery all right and one I was becoming fascinated at, but it did seem to lack an oomph factor.
Nice enough book but I really wasn't thrilled with it. Just me though, others may find it terrific.
Did make me want to go to Canada and have some maple syrup!

[Ronald Kelland · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining read that tries to bridge the gap between pulpy mysteries and legitimate literature. Fir the most part I success. Main characters are quite well developed, but there are so many supporting characters that it was a little difficult to keep track of them at times. Well done on establishing the atmosphere of the place. The book is not overly descriptive, but I was able to very clearly visualize the autumnal vibrancy of the landscape, the loneliness of the wilderness and the bleakness of the winter. This book slightly predates recent attention on the abuses of the residential school system, but it is interesting to see the underlying issues riding just under the surface of a subplot of this novel. A well-written book that I enjoyed quite a bit.

[Pili · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo que más me gustó - e impresionó - es que había 3 líneas de tiempo, numerosos personajes, muchas subtramas, y a veces, todos estos elementos ¡en una misma página!... siendo el mérito de la autora que la historia siguiera siendo fácil de seguir y los personajes fáciles de recordar. En muy pocos libros he visto esta facilidad.

Coincidió también su lectura cuando mi esposo y yo empezamos a ver la serie "Fargo"; por lo que me resultó más fácil imaginar la ambientación del libro.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I am getting tired of portrayals of indigenous people in literature that are less fullsome than those of other ethnicities. Maybe it is just that I don't feel that the characters are well enough developed or that I think this book tries to do too much and strays from the plot I would prefer to see. Maybe it is because I find that each chapter may be well written but disconnected with the chapters that surround it. Not a bad book, but definitely not one I will reread.

[Azu Rikka · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5☆

[Miranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm willing to admit that I don't always finish novels. It doesn't happen often, but once in a while, something prevents me from finishing something that I'm trying to read.

That's what happened the first time I picked up Sugarmilk Falls, by Ilona Van Mil. It was a few years back, and now I can't quite remember why I stopped reading it.

But a couple of weeks ago, it jumped out at me from my bookshelf. I decided I needed to give it another shot.

Sugarmilk Falls is a small community in northern Canada. It doesn't often see outsiders, and those who do come usually only stay long enough to finish whatever job happened to bring them there. But one outsider brings with her a secret. One that will lead some of the community's most prolific members to desperate acts.

Sugarmilk Falls covers a lot of ground in its 300 and some pages. It doesn't exactly keep a steady timeline, instead jumping from one event to another, across both past and present.

I'll admit, that jumping around can be a bit difficult to follow at times. But, it's definitely worth it. The plot of the novel captivated me; it left me questioning things to the very end. And even though I was saddened by what had happened to some of the characters, I was actually quite happy with the ending. It fit the rest of the novel, and was just the right kind of bittersweet.

*This recommendation was originally posted on my blog.

[Annie McFox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel was a bit tough going at times and it took me awhile to get into it.
I was intrigue by the setting, somewhere north with sugar maples and lots of lakes and forestry.
The narrator changes with the chapters as does the time period which I managed alright.
The indigenous characters and the woodsman who lives like them are not very fleshed out characters, they are written in a stereotypical way. I think this is deliberate to show the racism of white Canadians particularly from the time period of the book. I was disappointed with the ending and the explanation of the murder of the 5 people together.

[Stephen Hickman · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting setting and cast of characters. I found it confusing because who the narrator was at any given point was impossible to fathom. That gave it a slightly mystical feel but sadly the plot did not come together sufficiently well for me to be able to love it. The emergence of a narrator at the end was simply too convenient and it struck me that this needed a strong editor to help structure the novel and perhaps have sent the author away to look for a stronger finale. All the elements are there but perhaps released before it was ready.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the mood of anything set in either Canada or the Pacific NW. I found myself loving parts of this, but the anonymity of the "outsider" until the very end felt like an after thought to me. I didn't mind the presence throughout but at the end when the focus is turned around it felt utterly anti climactic.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't to fond of this one. I couldn't get into it. I didn't find it very interesting.