Broken Ground (Between the Covers Collection) [Abridged] [Audio Cassette]

Duncan Fraser (Author), Ron Halder (Author), Jennifer Clement (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2001

Jack Hodgins’s novel is a chorus of voices describing how a community takes root in a hostile landscape. After World War I, returned soldiers from across Canada were given land grants on Vancouver Island. Thrown together, these men and their families break ground while they battle the elements and their own memories of wartime slaughter.

Editorial Reviews

Review

#1 Book of Fiction for 1998 “Absolutely enthralling.”
–Quill & Quire Jury

“Jack Hodgins’ latest novel is destined to become an indispensable tool for comprehending this country.…At moments when his characters and his landscape are deeply intertwined – whether moments of horror or lyrical delight – the results are magical.”
–Toronto Star

“Broken Ground is rich and complex, gradually drawing the reader into its many threads while vividly portraying the Canadian soldiers’ experience in the First World War and their subsequent struggle to carve a life out of the wilderness while dealing with the past. This is a finely written fictional history that touches, informs, and makes you think.”
–Quill & Quire (starred review)

“Jack Hodgins is in serious danger of becoming a cultural icon, in the fine tradition of Margaret Laurence or Robertson Davies or Farley Mowat.”
–Edmonton Journal

“Spanning much of this most bloody and turbulent of centuries and balancing different points of view, both male and female, young and old, Hodgins tells a uniquely Canadian story which is not only powerful but ennobling. As such, Broken Ground is a profoundly moving affirmation of life and a resounding declaration of faith in a century that has severely tested humanity’s spiritual resolve.”
–Kitchener-Waterloo Record

“He is, after all, one of this country’s great virtuoso writers, and Broken Ground is one of his best.”
–Vancouver Sun

“Sparks immediate memories of W.O. Mitchell’s knack for capturing the pain of growing up. Here Hodgins matches Mitchell in sensitivity and perception.…A significant and good book.”
–Montreal Gazette

“Splendid.…A terrific story.…”
–Calgary Herald

“It may be Hodgins’ best novel yet, mingling moments of magic and lyricism with visitations from the Inferno ” the latter represented by scenes of trench warfare and a horrific fire that sweeps through the community. Hodgins’ evocation of the fire, in particular, is one of the few scenes in Canadian history that deserve to be called ‘epic.’”
–Toronto Star

“Hodgins builds up a sense of connectedness and shared experience, stories told and retold as the fibre of the community.”
–Globe and Mail

“Jack Hodgins always goes after the hard stuff: precision, honesty, wit, morality and a good, energetic story. Broken Ground might be his best book.”
–Ottawa Citizen

“It is a powerful novel, a complex and deeply moving novel.”
–Canadian Forum --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

In this powerful novel, a chorus of voices tells the story of a community that takes root in a hostile landscape. Shortly after World War I, returning soldiers are given land in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island. Thrown together, the men and their families break ground — while they battle the elements and their own ever-present memories of war.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions; Abridged edition (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0864922809
• ISBN-13: 978-0864922809
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Broken ground and broken hopes, January 20, 2001

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Broken Ground (Hardcover)

Jack Hodgins once recalled a writing seminar attended by William Golding. When a student mentioned she'd heard authors should "write what they know", Golding "mounted his transparent Nobel pedestal" to thunder that he'd never been marooned on a desert island nor constructed a cathedral. Jack Hodgins may have listened to his relatives relate land clearing on Vancouver Island. He may even have blown a few tree stumps. Certainly, he never slogged through muddy trenches on the Western Front in France in 1916. Good thing; we might never have had the opportunity to relish his descriptions of the agonies of living through and having to remember that conflict in later years. For Hodgins is a master of writing "what he knows" in combination with what he learns or conjures. The result is an engaging read, writing not to be missed.

Broken Ground's account of veteran resettlement in Canada strikes a touchy spot. Seeing the remnants of post-World War I rural allotments [don't grace them with the name 'farm'], along country lanes in the US and Canada or in bleak isolation in Australian paddocks, induces the conjuring of ghosts. Cramped houses, wretched and sagging, roofless or home to hay bales were once inhabited by families seeking a promised future. These abandoned sites are vivid testimony of how fragile that future valid rewards given men who'd survived Western Civilization's [sic] most horrendous conflict. Hodgins gives us a fresh reminder of the impact of that strife and the pitiable acknowledgment given its participants. They had just spent years combating enemies both human and natural, only to return home and learn struggling to survive remained central to their lives.

Hodgins, who has a fine knack for portraying people, here expresses several voices in depicting those post-Great War conditions in rural Vancouver Island. The common thread of those voices is Matt Pearson, veteran, farmer, teacher. Hodgins' style makes it easy to consider Pearson a projection of Hodgins himself, thrust back in time, living an imagined life. Pearson isn't hardened by the war, although he's certainly toughened. Disillusionment assaults, but doesn't overwhelm him. Pearson's role grows as the book wends its way to a conclusion in modern times. Throughout the book, Hodgins' portrayal of the survivors of that era of unfulfilled promises reflects what he knows, yet hasn't lived. It's a fine expression of writing talent. You needn't be either Canadian nor World War I veteran to enjoy what Hodgins has produced. Reading this book requires no more than to be sympathetic to human values.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book worth the trouble of getting, July 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Broken Ground (Hardcover)

I realy enjoyed this novel. Sometimes it was difficult but always worth the effort. A settlement on Vacouver island in the 1920's is the setting. It was mainly for soldiers returning from WWI. So in addition to the grind of removing huge stumps and trying to farm the land they worked in the woods as loggers, or shop keepers; WWI was always in the background. The characters did not especially become close to me but I still liked the over all flavor of them. I don't think they were well developed in the sense of getting real close to them. The main character, Matt Pearson is developed and you understand him as the ending is disclosed...