Danial Neil
The Trees of Calan Gray
Fernie, B.C.

:Oolichan Books, 2015
267 pp. $19.95
ISBN 978-0-88982-297-9 (pbk.)

Duane Hamm’s review

I liked that this book was written by a local Oliver author.

When I put this book down I felt affirmed in my belief that being “different” can mean one is unique, that the way one “sees” the world may have value to others, that the trials in life (our disadvantages) do not always lead us into darkness but instead can lead us into the light. This book did that but not in a light way. There are underlying themes of mental illness and dysfunction, descriptions of prejudice and physical abuse but they do lead into dreams, change and hope.

The author’s writing style is very lyrical, not something I’m used to, but it took me only a few pages to become attuned and feeling the rightness of that rhythm to this story. Through the narrative voice of the main character, Calan, I was drawn through the chapters. Each chapter is headed by the names of trees, the trees that “talk” to Calan. Even the chapter headings are designed to solidify the connection and reverence for nature that makes this young boy so “different”.

Early on the events seemingly happen too quickly, out of the blue, but it is just as one would expect a child would perceive them. Then as the main character matures events slow and the overview of the world broadens.

There are incredible details of life in 1960’s and 1970’s Canada. Characters are sympathetically written and Calan has an attractive archetypal reverence for nature; and yet none of the events described or the characters distract one from the author’s narrative.

This author has a story that rings true and the writing is rich, detailed, effective and compellingly poetic: a book that resonates and stays with the reader long after it has been set down.