Woodswoman

Rating:
Summary: Not a Barbie Doll
Review: This woman lived in the wilderness, not an easy task, she loves the outdoors, and because she is blonde and pretty, does not make her a barbie doll. Take this woman seriously.

Rating:
Summary: A nature loving feminist view on Woodswoman
Review: Woodswoman, by Anne LaBastille is an autobiography of ten years of LaBastille‚Aeôs life. The novel is uplifting and personal, and enjoyable to read. LaBastille‚Aeôs writing style is easy to read, making the 277 pages fly by. It is a novel of LaBastille‚Aeôs life after her divorce and her triumphs trying to make it on her own. She moves from a condo to a plot of land in just a few months. She does not know where to live so she decides to build a log cabin. Her dedication and proactive confidence is shown in the novel when she designs, builds, and maintains a log cabin all by herself. This novel never makes many political statements. She makes it accessible for everyone to read the novel no matter what their beliefs are. She only tells the story of her life in the Adirondacks. She never mentions any social events or movements that occur at the time. She does not even mention any historical facts. She does not want to tell the reader about social policy related to her life, she solely wants to invite the reader into her life as she tells them a story. La Bastille does a beautiful job at intimately drawing the reader into her life. She makes her life into an ideal adventure which the reader is left day dreaming about even after the book has been completed. When she visits a neighbor or an old friend the reader feels as though they are visiting this person as well. She does a great job at character development even when the a character does not play a major role in the novel. She poetically describes the changing seasons and all of the natural beauty around her and how they effect her life. She spends a few chapters in the novel just describing the life in the woods during every season. The details are so rich that the readers can make clear images in their head of the setting. I can easily visualize LaBastille sitting at her table in her cabin writing this story to the reader. To enhance her descriptions she also provides many comely pictures of her hiking, the log cabin, a pond, a layout of her cabin, and many general pictures of her performing woodsy things. I was given this novel by my sister who is traveling around the United States. She had picked it up from a used book store and told me that I had to read it. She said that I would relate to LaBastille‚Aeôs life and that it was an engaging read. Only a few pages into the novel and I was already falling in love with the story. I am a female who loves the woods, pets, camping, and feminism. LaBastille is a symbol of a strong female. She is not afraid to live in the woods all alone and she has the courage and willpower to build her own home. My dream home is a log cabin and I hope that it will be tucked away in the woods like hers. I also love to build and do creative projects on my own like she does. In the novel one of her only companions is her pet wolfs. I own a dog which is part wolf so I relate to her caring for her dog. I also love to backpack and camp. LaBastille shows her love for the recreation of backpacking as a dynamic part of who she is. When I read this novel the world seems like a utopian. A type of world that nowadays one would only experience in the Yukon or Alaska. While I read the novel I have to remember that it is written in the 1970‚Aeôs. A time when she does not have to worry about giardia or pollution. She very rarely mentions any environmental issues. She dislikes hunters on her property and is worried about her dog being shot, but she does not even have that big of a problem with trappers. LaBastille seems to understand the necessity and economic drive for trappers in order to support their families. She also dislikes the increasing number of boats on the pond. She often comments on the absence of loons on the pond due to the disruptive motor boats that overtake the pond. LaBastille‚Aeôs biggest hatred is seasonal cottage owners. Seasonal cottage owners do not respect the land well enough and they do not see the impact they lay on the land all year long. LaBastille is ‚Aeòone‚Aeô with nature and her surroundings. She knows how to live peacefully in a land that would be frightening to city dwellers. The only change to the novel I would make is for there to be more knowledge and concern for environmental and political problems that happened around her life and the time period that the novel was written. She seems too naive about the environmental impacts she makes. She also does not seem to know how politics impacts her life and the Adirondacks. I think that this novel could have had more depth to it by adding how her life related to the world outside of her little cocoon. Overall I really enjoyed the novel. I would suggest it to anyone regardless of their political and environmental views. It is a strong and encouraging novel for feminists and nature loving people to read. I look forward to reading the sequels to this novel.