Journey [Paperback]

James Michener (Author), James a Michenr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 3, 1992

When news breaks in England in 1897 that gold has been discovered in the Canadian Klondike, Lord Evelyn Luton, a veteran explorer, resolves to set sail at once for the goldfields. This thriller charts the attempts of Luton and his men to reach the Klondike despite set-backs and freezing cold.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In straightforward, unadorned prose, Michener spins an old-fashioned historical adventure as he follows a British expedition's doomed trek across Canada to the Klondike gold fields in 1897-1899. The group's leader, Lord Evelyn Luton, is an arrogant ass whose colossal stubbornness costs the lives of three of the five men. Totally dissimilar is the party's poet, frail, sensitive Trevor Blythe. Accompanying the four well-bred Englishmen on the journey is a shrewd Irish poacher who acts as the "servant." Besides exploring class tensions, Michener offers insight into how the British viewed their two former colonies--America and Canada--at the turn of the century. But basically this is an absorbing little tale of hubris, courage and redemption (Lutton, humbled by the tragedy, goes on to help Lloyd George rearm England just before WW I), as the dazed adventurers meet Canadian hucksters and friendly Indians, and cope with frozen rivers, mosquitoes, scurvy, dwindling food. In an afterword, Michener explains the germination of this saga, expanded from a section cut from his much longer novel Alaska. Maps. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club dual main selections.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

YA-- This book is a departure from Michener's traditional style of writing long, in-depth, historical sagas featuring one locality. Here he has taken one slice of history, the gold rush of 1897, and shown the courage of five men as they deal with adversity while trying to reach the gold. Four British aristocrats and one Irish servant start their journey in England with visions of finding gold in the wilds of Canada. It begins easily enough, but soon disaster meets them at every turn. Readers will be drawn in by the strong characterizations, the intriguing plot, and the single-minded resolve of these men to reach their dreams. A novel that gives readers a real feel for the frenzy and determination of the men associated with the gold rush--all in less than 250 pages.
- Susan Penny, St. Cecilia's School, Houston
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Mandarin (December 3, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749301309
• ISBN-13: 978-0749301309
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,550,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It is worth it., July 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Journey (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read several James A. Michener books. For a book that is very short for Michener's usual fair, this is very good. Why? For this one, Michener sticks to one plot. No, you don't have his usual descriptive settings or his lengthy battle of some animal trying to survive. This book just tells the story. A very good story. The plot involves five men from Britain who go to Canada to get to the gold rush in 1897. There real mission is to get there by traveling only on British territory. No one has ever done that. As any one knows, traveling in Canada over mountains is not that easy. These five men will soon discover that the idea of adventure for the sake of honor may be a high price to pay. One of the reviews I saw for this book listed on Amazon, didn't like the idea of killing off some of the characters. One wrote that this book was depressing because of that. James A. Michener doesn't write anything without history backing him up. Killing off some of the characters proves how hard this journey really was. And, I am sure that some men did see this as an adventure not a suicidal journey. Some men just don't see the big picture. If you have never read a James A. Michener book, this could be a good one to start with. But, you have not read anything until you've read a Michener epic. Try Texas, Hawaii or Caribbean.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great story, though an unengaging protagonist, September 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Journey (Mass Market Paperback)

I had read Michener's "Hawaii" and found that enjoyable though somewhat drawn out. I had trouble starting "Chesapeake" and "Centennial," two books with apparently slow introductions that I shelved for later perusal. Journey was the best of all the Michenor books I've explored, with an engaging adventure story and great wilderness background.

The tale is set in the period of the Yukon Gold Rush from 1897 to 1899 and follows the endeavors of five men; four Englishmen and their Irish servant, to reach the gold fields of Canada through a British-only route. The leader of the group, Lord Luton, is bound and determined not to venture through the United States due to his priggish snobbery and stubbornness, a misguided decision which proves to be painfully costly. The descriptions of Canadian life, its wonders and dangers are vivid and enthalling. The pitfalls of the expedition had me turning the pages rather enthusiastically, and some of the characters were quite likeable.

However, I had some real problems with the protagonist of the story, Lord Luton. I disliked him so intensely that it served as a detriment to the book. Michener did a splendid job depicting this thoroughly unlikeable man in the context of the English lord with cherished rules and customs (no matter how ridiculous) but I still found him so insufferable that I found myself hoping the character would be removed from the story, and the tale would focus upon the remaining survivors. Certainly he had some good qualities such as bravery, a good work ethic, and concern for his fellow travelers, but the negative aspects of his character overwhelmed the positive. I despised the way he (and the book) referred to the Irish servant, Fogerty, the best of the bunch, as "his gilly."

Throughout the tale Luton apparently learned nothing about the foolishness of his decisions and actions, nor does he reform any of his mannerisms into more reasonable modes of behavior. The sacrifices made on the journey are ever more poignant because the person responsible for them never even finds remorse for his actions.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Foreshadowing Gone Amuck, February 17, 2005

By 

Aaron Lohr "Visionary" (Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Journey (Mass Market Paperback)

You can tell James Michener does his research. His knowledge about the peoples, wildlife, climates about Europe, Canada and the USA during this time is top notch and I certainly learned many things.

However, the story itself leaves much to be desired. Five guys go for the gold and find much trouble along the way. That's it in a nutshell. Now to my main problem.

Michener tells us over and over again that the lead character was going to make a decision that would be tragic for the members. He tells you this almost every other page, so that when it does happen, you aren't moved or anything. You're waiting the whole book for things to fall apart and you know they will. So the book is a test of patience, with little to make the wait worthwhile. The characters themselves are not all unlikable (particularly Harry Carpenter) but they are unbelievable.

Lord Luton is too stubborn in his decisions without reason. He obviously really wants to get to the Klondike his way. Everyone tells him it's the worst plan and would likely kill them all. Yet he refuses alternate plans. Why?? Michener never tells us why he is so stuck on this one route. Luton doesn't want to cross through American territory for some reason, but even when presented with options that would be easier and meet this criteria he refuses. Simply unbelievable. And Harry Carpenter, knowing that death may be in store for all of them, goes along with it out of some sense of loyalty. Maybe that's how people were. If so, then these characters that you are going to be spending the whole book with are either incredibly fake or incredibly irresponsible. Either option is incredibly unenjoyable.

I finished it, and while his command of the English language is stellar, the book is not. Pass on this one and read his others (Alaska, Chesapeake).