"Through Black Spruce", by Joseph Boyden

The novel is a follow up to Mr. Boyden's award winning novel "Three Days Road", recounting the histories and lives of two fictional James Bay Cree families (The Birds and the Whiskeyjacks).

This latest novel centers on Will Bird, son of Xavier Bird, the heroic soldier we were introduced to previously. The story comes to live through two intertwined monologues. We follow Will's thoughts while he recovers from a serious plane crash, a near death encounter that has left him comatose in a hospital bed. Will is an engaging storyteller, a bush pilot by trade and a charming alcoholic by fate with many tales of adventure to tell, some a hoot and some distressful to hear. Alternate chapters are narrated by his niece Annie Bird while she sits in vigil by his bedside trying to stimulate him back to the living. She uses the time to recount her adventures in Toronto, Montreal and New York while in search of her lost sister Suzanne.

These flashbacks create short stories in their lives, each one a glimpse into the desolate forests that surround James Bay and the all too similar affect the underground fashion world can have on someone not accustom to the rat race of the big cities. Each layer reveals secrets of violence, incompetence, kindness, love and compassion.

The novel is hard to get into at first, the story launches quickly into two narratives, each one hard to decipher which character is talking and how the bits of information fit together. I gradually immersed myself into the tale and once settle, let the story run its course. I was drawn in by the vivid description of Canada's vast wilderness and its inhabitants who call it home, the Cree. It was an eye opener realizing the challenges and hardship native people face in big cities where there is a multitude of cultures all trying to survive. The characterization is powerful and the players come across as genuine and loveable. Although the pacing is very slow and the reading is tedious at times, in retrospect I enjoyed the refreshing and informative look into another way of life..

"They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children" by Roméo Dallaire

L.Gen. the Hon. Roméo Dallaire (Ret’d), was the commander of the UN mission to Rwanda, there he experienced first-hand the horrors committed during the 1994 genocide. In his memoirs “Shakes Hands with the Devil”, he highly criticised and exposed the failures of the international community. Mr. Dallaire is known to be a strong humanitarian, an advocate of human rights and has dedicated his life to the cause for which he has been recognized and has received numerous awards.

In his second book, he reveals another important cause he is equally dedicated to: the fight to eradicate the use of child soldiers.

From the opening pages it is evident that Mr. Dallaire is very affected and still haunted by the memories of the Rwanda genocide. He relates how the life of a child is drastically altered when he is abducted, brainwashed and forced to act as a combatant in a rebel army. Some as young as nine are taken captive, drugged and forced to witness and in some cases even slaughter their own parents. Escape is not an option, if they manage to survive all they would find is the charred remains of their past. Their fate in camps is contingent on their will to survive. They are deprived of food and sleep, rendering them totally dependent on their captors for survival while undergoing a crude form of guerrilla tactics before they are often sacrificed in combat. The fate of young girls is even worse, they are not only trained as soldiers they are often used as sex slaves and their chance of a respectable marriage becomes a dream of the past and unthinkable. In post war, these children are so psychologically damaged they are rarely able to achieve a place in society.

Since 1994, the problem of child combatants has spread to many impoverish populations. The children are an easy target for recruiters in societies plagued with a high proportion of unemployment, little social order, high mortality and a rocketing HIV rate.

Although “They Fight like Children, They Die like Children”, is a troubling and touching account, I find, the narrative has less passion and drama then his first book. Most of the chapters are informative and interesting; there are a few in which the narrative changes. One of the chapters expresses the thoughts of one of these children in battle to the point of his demise by a U.N. soldier. The next chapter describes the thoughts of the Blue beret soldier facing this child. These two chapters appeared to be unsuccessfully dumbed down to attract a younger audience. The last chapter, a long and never ending cry to rally into action the younger readers in my opinion turned into an everlasting rant. The mix of styles created an awkward read.

I may not have appreciated the presentation at its fullest; nevertheless, Mr. Dallaire’s quest is most admirable. His point is well taken, all of us adult and young must shoulder the responsibility

"The Associate", by John Grisham

Grisham's best known trademark is his ability to write mesmerizing legal thrillers. With a political overtone to his one, he has brought us another story that is absorbing enough to keep readers attention. If you liked "The Pelican Brief" and "The Firm", you may want to read this one.

The hero is Kyle McAvoy, onetime editor of the Yale Law Journal, whose post-graduation plans were to work as a legal-aid representing illegal migrant workers. His dream is chattered when he is visited by Bennie Wright, a sinister fellow who has discovered a skeleton in Kyle's closet: a video of Kyle's fraternity brothers, gang raping a girl in his apartment while he watched on. Bennie threatens to make it public and destroy Kyle's legal career if he doesn't accept a job at the prestigious law firm of Scully& Pershing. He needs Kyle inside the firm to obtain confidential information and documents regarding a law suit against two defense industries.

We have two main themes playing throughout the novel that criss-cross each other, first the novel highlights the extreme pressure of being an associate in a powerful firm where it is expected two work limitless billable hours in order to artificially inflate their customers bill. The other is Kyle's reluctant role as Bennie's in house spy.

The author usually writes intricate plots that have his readers flipping page after page. This novel started in the same manner but for some reason mid-way, the storyline fizzled and the pacing began to bog down. Although not unique, Kyle's character is interesting and rather smart. I particularly liked his clever plan to outwit Bennie; it provided some unpredictability and helped maintain my attention. As for the supporting characters, most were rather dull and some I would even consider a distraction to the main plot. I felt Grisham ran out steam towards the end, this has left me with a so so memory of the novel