The Curve of Time [Paperback]

M. Wylie Blanchet (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1993

The fascinating true adventure of widowed Muriel Wylie Blanchet who packed her five children onto a 25-foot boat at the end of the 1920s, and acting as skipper, navigator, engineer and mother, took her family into the coastal waters of Vancouver Island, summer after summer, charting a world they made their own, encountering storms, fogs, rough seas, cougers and bears with the high spirits, the courage and the respect for native cultures and the natural world of a bona fida pioneer.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Our world then was both wide and narrow-wide in the immensity of sea and mountain; narrow in that the boat was very small, and we lived and camped, explored and swam in a little realm of our own making."-- M. Wylie Blanchet

The Curve of Time features stories from the summer adventures of M. Wylie Blanchet and her family. This accomplished sea woman and her five children braved the gulfs, straits, and fjords that separate Vancouver Island from mainland British Columbia, Canada, during the 1920s and 1930s on their 25-foot cruiser, Caprice. From searching for the elusive sea horse to following Orca whales through rapids created by swiftly changing tides, Blanchet describes a time so recent, and yet so very far away. This book is playful and exciting, a trip that unites the reader with a family of adventurers that is one of a kind.

From Publishers Weekly

This sweet volume is Blanchet's recounting of summers spent sailing around Vancouver Island with her children in a 25-foot-long boat. Their adventures include close encounters with a cougar and killer whales, looking for seahorses and discovering Native American artifacts. But the book lacks a context. A short introduction by a friend indicates that the book was first published in Canada 30 years ago, that the author died six months later while working on a sequel, and that some new material has been incorporated into the present edition. The ages of her children are never given, nor are the sections in the book dated. Those unfamiliar with the region may be just as disoriented, since the distances covered are rarely given. Once it becomes obvious that such clues are not forthcoming, the book itself is readable and enjoyable, especially its descriptions of the wildlife encountered on these journeys. With a little more care, however, this could have had meaning for more than just a small circle of Blanchet's friends. (Apr.) *CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 170 pages
• Publisher: Seal Pr; 1st edition (March 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878067273
• ISBN-13: 978-1878067272
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #458,694 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I know the story well, the author is my grandmother, February 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Curve of Time (Paperback)

I've read the the book many times and never tire of it. My father was one of the five children:Peter. I was only 5 or 6 when Capi died but I can still remember her. She was a very'matter of fact' woman. My dad was able to relate many other stories and expand on the ones in the book. When he grew up he sailed up and down the coast. Only 1 of the 5 children remain alive today and she ( Joan) resides in Victoria.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Lovely, December 18, 1999

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Curve of Time (Paperback)

The book is wonderful both for the things that it does and does not say.

The book is full of charming episodes that made me envy them and the certainty and beauty of their life: the rare pleasures this little family sees in their boat; the way that they read Maeterlinck together; the other pioneering people they meet on their way.

But just as the beauty is very real, so too are the things that she barely touches on: the loss of her husband; the fear for her children; the decision to turn her back on the world of the cities. I admired her tremendously for the hard things as well as the easy. The lyricism of the book was deepened by the clear difficulty of her choices.

Highly recommended.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite book on the Inside Passage and on women., February 8, 2000

By 

Mike Kirby (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Curve of Time (Paperback)

This is clearly my favorite book on cruising the Inside Passage and about women. Capi was an inspiration not only as an adventurer but as a mother, accomplished mariner and author. I only wish she had written more or that more had been written about this amazing woman. Her literary style was wonderfully understated. She tells an exciting story of cruising the Inside Passage alone with five small children as though she were taking an inconsequential stroll around the block. Only those that have experienced these waters can fully appreciate the courage and self confidence of this remarkable woman. This book should be mandatory reading for all young girls.