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Farley: The Life of Farley Mowat

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There are many sides to Farley Mowat, and this biography touches on all of them. James King presents Mowat as an ambitious writer, a proud Canadian, a melancholy husband, a mischievous only child, and a passionate environmentalist. In the space of relatively few pages, King describes Mowat's very active life, remarking on every book, every beloved pet dog, many of his travels, the Second World War years, both marriages, and his troubles with publishers and editors.

Did he leave anything out? Well, you can be sure that the Farley his friends and family know is still private, but not completely. This is primarily a book about Mowat's relationships with people, his moods, and his mistakes. It's a "warts and all" biography, but it's written with Canadian politeness --- James King is even-handed and fair. Farley cooperated with King on it, opening up archives of correspondence and submitting to interviews. He made no conditions, and King honored that with a respectful portrait.

Aspiring writers should read this book. Farley had a bumpy but very successful career, starting with a controversial book (People of the Deer) in 1952. He spent the next 30 years trying to identify and master his literary strengths. His editors, his father, and his wife Claire helped him figure it out. If you want a successful writing career, you can learn a lot from this book.

For fans of Farley Mowat, you get to find out how he came to write each book, how well they sold, and which books had the greatest effect on him. (Never Cry Wolf is his best-seller. Sea of Slaughter meant a great deal to him and required a lot of time and emotional strength. The Top of the World trilogy was never taken seriously by his publishers. Etc.) This is a well-written biography of a great man. I highly recommend it.

"Farley" by James King is a decently thorough biography of the renowned Canadian author, activist and veteran Farley Mowat. This book is not the most exciting read, nor does it flow that smoothly; what it does do is provide the reader with an excellent overview of all the works of Farley Mowat and how they fit into the author's life experience. For any reader looking for a way to sort through Mowat's huge collection of books and decide which ones to pick up, this book is perfect.

Mowat has written a huge number of books, so King's ability to catalogue them all into a cohesive and readable book is quite a literary achievement. Besides offering a guidebook and behind the scenes look at an author's life and work, King's book is a portrait of the man himself, and in a way the segment of Canadian (and American) society that identifies with him. I am referring to the left wing activist groups that champion the cause of exploited peoples (indigenous societies), wildlife conservancy and protection. Mowat was in many ways the one of original proponents of organizations such as Green Peace and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Much of his life was devoted to these kinds of causes. The fact that he was such an articulate author who made important connections through Canada and the world at large made him all the more able to push his causes and bring awareness to the injustice and carelessness that plague mankind's darker sides. Farley was such an advocate for Socialist causes in Canada that he drew the ire of many governmental figures who disapproved of his exposure of corruption and callousness. Mowat was so indignant that some would think he went too far in his beliefs, espousing out and out Communism during the Cold War. He was even denied entry into the U.S. during the 1980's for his often outrageous activism. Though he did become quite a radical, Canadian society as a whole vindicated much of his thinking regarding Socialized programs such as Healthcare and protection of natural resources. So Although Farley remains a radical, his voice has found listeners in Canadian and American mainstream society.

Farley's anti-establishment positions were quite strong because of the character of the man himself. King's book is quite revealing of Mowat's early life. An only child, Mowat grew up in several locations in Ontario and Saskatchewan due to his father's job running Canadian libraries. His father Angus was a veteran of the First World War, who upon his return became slightly disillusioned at societal norms, much like other members of his generation such as Ernest Hemingway. Angus took up writing as a tonic to heal his wounds, but he never found any success. His son Farley would undergo a similar transformation during and after the Second World War, where he fought in Sicily and Italy with his father's regiment the Hastings and Prince Edwards. This experience had profound influence on his mind and the course of his entire life, both as a man and as a writer.

Farley was disgusted with brutality that is so commonplace in human nature. The war sent him on his life's mission to correct these mistaken instincts prone to destroy and kill. His wartime experience gives all his later positions credibility, as he suffered for his country and had seen what men can do to one another. As a result, his career as an author sheds light on many forms of human degradation concerning the environment and eachother. As a flipside to the coin, his other books offer simpler ways to live in harmony with the natural world, which to Farley were an antidote to the pain and destruction he and his father witnessed in the World's two largest and most destructive wars. Many authors write antiwar pieces, but the ones that have been there and seen its horror have true validity and the right to call for change in the standard that makes killing a commonplace activity in human society.

King's book puts forth Farley's life and his causes with clarity, but some parts feels summarized, while others feel longwinded. A good entry point to Farley's life and work.