Review 396: Wild Life

Wild Life by Molly Gloss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Set in the first decade of the 1900s in the rural Pacific Northwest where the primary jobs of men were logging and fishing. Charlotte Bridger Drummond (C.B.D.) is the main character, trying to manage 5 boys and no husband, he either ran off or is dead. Charlotte has the help of Melba to keep the house and manage the children while C.B.D. writes. Her stories and novels bring in income to keep the household going, and presumably Charlotte’s sanity.

The book format is in the way of a diary, although not entirely chronological. Inserted are pieces of stories from C.B.D., snippets of poems or other quotes and the occasional newspaper clipping. These extra bits relate to the journal entry, with the result of it all not being too disruptive. I liked this unusual form for the novel, it provided a closer feel for our heroine that is quite a sharp character. For she does what she wants despite that women don’t or shouldn’t and is a devoted advocate for women being able to do anything a man might.

The action begins when Melba’s granddaughter goes missing in the deep woods, when the father takes the little Harriett with him to the logging camp where he works. Of course, this was a bad decision as logging camps are notoriously dangerous.

Charlotte cannot just stand by and wait for news, as she doesn’t think men will tell the women who wait the truth and full details of what has happened. Rumors are flying around with most saying Harriett was taken by a large hairy beast, what we call bigfoot, or sasquatch, among other names.

I didn’t like this book very much through much of it, Charlotte is a hard person and unlikeable. But it was also the style of writing, although I did like the format. But somewhere near the latter part of the book it changed, and my thoughts softened for the book.

It’s an embarrassment to admit this was given to me over twenty years ago and I finally just now read it. Also, the is the second book I recently read in which this is the case. (Let’s not mention the other gifted books I have lying around unread.) Hard to say how I would have approached this book back when I got it, but happy that I can finally say that yes, I have read it.