From Publishers Weekly
Though this story is set in modern-day Canada, it seems to embrace the concerns and attitudes of an earlier timethe 1940s, perhapswhen Hemingway and the Lone Ranger instructed us in manly matters. Its protagonist, English professor Colin Dobbs, has entered middle age without such knowledge, until some atavistic urge causes him to take on the challenge of a bear hunt. Guided by a Stony Indian (whose way of saying "hey-up" in lieu of "yes" or "no" may make the reader growl), Dobbs grapples with a full-grown female grizzly who mauls him half to death. She is not the first of her sex to wound. Dobbs has been deserted by his wife, his daughter and his literary muse. When his daughter returns to nurse him, he begins the painful process of self-discovery that will eventually heal both body and spirit. Dobbs's awakening may have the opposite effect on readers. Marred by a prose style which hovers uneasily between the folksy and the pontifical, this novel by the author of Who Has Seen the Wind? makes its protagonist's life seem more like an exercise in self-help than an adventure in spiritual growth. December 16
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Mauled by a bear while hunting along Daisy Creek, English professor Colin Dobbs faces a difficult recovery both at home and at the university. His long-absent daughter, Annie, returns to play nurse and to ask what Dobbs has done with his life since her mother divorced him. At the university Dobbs discovers that he's afraid of what his colleagues and students might think about his disfigured face. On the lighter side in this symbol-laden tale, Dobbs finds himself in a legal battle with a dishonest taxidermist concerning ownership of the dead grizzly. A mixture of somewhat heavy-handed seriousness, honest emotion, and black humor, this ultimately entertaining Canadian novel deserves a readership. By the author of Who Has Seen the Wind? James B. Hemesath, Adams State Coll. Lib., Alamosa, Col. Murdoch, Iris. The Good Apprentice. Viking. Jan. 1986. c.522p. $18.95. f Murdoch's 22nd novel is organized thematically around sets of opposing characters and structurally around a dramatic string of reversals. Harry Cuno is a monster of will, ``a disappointed spoilt child.'' His son Stuart is a monster of will-lessness. Stuart avoids life's complications, while his stepbrother Edward, having precipitated a friend's suicide, is agonizingly caught up in them. Edward seeks absolution from his ``real'' father Jesse, a legendary painter and Lear-like figure imprisoned in a decaying ``enchanter's palace'' by the sea. Yet disaster at Seegard sends Edward back to the hell of London. The Good Apprentice is brilliantly orchestrated but somber. As Edward realizes, ``there are awful penalties for crimes against the gods.'' For larger collections. Grove Koger, Boise P.L., Id.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
