Customer Reviews

Michilimackinac: A Tale of the Straits

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After reading Turrill's book A Bridge To Eden (which is a great read)I was not sure if this book could live up to Bridge. It was written about ten years earlier and is historical fiction. I was impressed with the amount of time he must have spent on this novel. The research and basic story is enough for me to recommend this book. The kicker is that it is so well written. Most historical fiction I have read can be very 'dry' but Turrill keeps it all fresh and moving. After reading both Turrill's books I must say that I look forward to anything he publishes in the future. His literary fiction is great and his historical fiction is very fine. Highly recommended!!

This book was so well written that the pages came alive and I was transported back in time. The author, David A. Turrill, must have put in a tremendous amount of time researching the history of the area as well as the culture and language of the time. I really enjoyed this book!

An enjoyable read, especially if you're not over-particular about language or have an extensive knowledge of the material culture of the time and place. Read it as a good tale imparting the major historic events; not much is written about Charles Langlade and it ought to be.

The events of history are well-depicted and the story is marvelously readable. The real problems with the book are the lack of understanding of the details of material culture (Natives are depicted with material culture much more in line with what existed 75 years prior to the beginning of the book rather than what existed at the time, for example) and worse, the complete misuse of vocabulary. I was willing to grant the use of "belie" for "betray" - a lot of people make that one. However, there is no excuse for the phrase "its chimney smoked vociferously." That error, and the others like it, should never have made it into the final draft.