The Curve of Time: The Classic Memoir of a Woman and Her Children Who Explored the Coastal Waters of the Pacific Northwest (Adventura Travel Series)

Rating:
Summary: A simple, but simply delightful collection of stories
Review: A thoroughly readable account of summers spent in a simpler time. Muriel Wylie Blanchet's accounts of many consecutive summers spent sailing north from Victoria into the wild, sparesely populated islands and coastal communities of British Columbia is a delightful read.
She prevailed as a mariner, amateur mechanic, and raconteur at an age and at a point in history when merely being a widow and mother of 5 young children would have been daunting enough.
You can feel the anticipation of her young family as they embark each year to see new places and meet new friends. As they grow, so does the reader's appreciation for the isolation, raw physical beauty, and many charms of Canada's west coast.
I have referred many friends to this book, and all have become devotees. You do not need to have ever been to the west coast, or even to have been on a boat, to appreciate this delightful tale.

Rating:
Summary: A simple, but simply delightful collection of stories
Review: A thoroughly readable account of summers spent in a simpler time. Muriel Wylie Blanchet's accounts of many consecutive summers spent sailing north from Victoria into the wild, sparesely populated islands and coastal communities of British Columbia is a delightful read.
She prevailed as a mariner, amateur mechanic, and raconteur at an age and at a point in history when merely being a widow and mother of 5 young children would have been daunting enough.
You can feel the anticipation of her young family as they embark each year to see new places and meet new friends. As they grow, so does the reader's appreciation for the isolation, raw physical beauty, and many charms of Canada's west coast.
I have referred many friends to this book, and all have become devotees. You do not need to have ever been to the west coast, or even to have been on a boat, to appreciate this delightful tale.

Rating:
Summary: A Book You will Read more than Once
Review: I read M. Wylie Blanchet's book,THE CURVE OF TIME, for the first time last summer and decided to re-read it again this year, as it was so utterly delightful. Ms. Blanchet's love of nature, the ocean, her wonderful children and people--from the hermits who lived in splendid isolation on the BC Coast in the '30's and '40's to the Coast Indians, who left lonely villages behind--is one of the best books ever. This collection of essays, in no particular chronological order, left me amazed at this remarkably self-assured widow who made sure her children learned about people, literature and the beautiful world that surrounded them in British Columbia. It was easy to imagine my own children in that environment and I could almost see my children swimming with hers in those great sun-warmed coves in BC. The book ended with the "sense of place" they all felt upon returning to their "Little House" on Vancouver Island, surrounded by sea and forest. I wish I could somehow learn more about their lives. Thank you, Timothy Egan for making sure we all knew about this obscure author.

Rating:
Summary: A Book You will Read more than Once
Review: I read M. Wylie Blanchet's book,THE CURVE OF TIME, for the first time last summer and decided to re-read it again this year, as it was so utterly delightful. Ms. Blanchet's love of nature, the ocean, her wonderful children and people--from the hermits who lived in splendid isolation on the BC Coast in the '30's and '40's to the Coast Indians, who left lonely villages behind--is one of the best books ever. This collection of essays, in no particular chronological order, left me amazed at this remarkably self-assured widow who made sure her children learned about people, literature and the beautiful world that surrounded them in British Columbia. It was easy to imagine my own children in that environment and I could almost see my children swimming with hers in those great sun-warmed coves in BC. The book ended with the "sense of place" they all felt upon returning to their "Little House" on Vancouver Island, surrounded by sea and forest. I wish I could somehow learn more about their lives. Thank you, Timothy Egan for making sure we all knew about this obscure author.