A Touch of Strange: Amazing Tales of the Coast

Having read the first two of Hammond's books, I had to have this one too and it didn't fail to disappoint, to say the least. I think A Touch of Strange is my favourite of all three of this real-life west-coast trilogy. It's grittier than the others and there are even more great characters -many old ones but several new ones too- than in the other two books combined, which I was not expecting. There is high humor and fairly gruesome tragedy, as well as some almost epically poetic moments. Something of the ancient Greeks and Romans here, or perhaps closer to a Viking bard?

This is the third and last book in the ever-fascinating series of stories told to the author by his father. In the first, "Tales from Hidden Basin", we meet Hal and Cliff, the Tom Sawyer-esque boys growing up in the wilds of the west coast of Canada in the first years of the twentieth century. In the second, "Haunted Waters", we have the various adventures of Hal (Hammond's father) as an adult, exploring the atmospheric inlets and forests more or less on his own. "Haunted Waters" is presented as a collection of short stories, each one of them a stand-alone gem. In this one, "A Touch of Strange", there are somewhat more stories, and it has more of the feel of a novel, as in "Tales from Hidden Basin". Indeed, some of the characters we meet in "Tales" are met again, older. In this way, "A Touch of Strange" ties up some loose ends and answers some questions. It is bittersweet at times, and more than ever there is the feeling of sitting in an interesting old room and having a captivating old man tell them to you. I would say that this book is equally well-written but quirkier than the others, and even more evocative of a lost world. I'd recommend reading all three of these books, and of them, "Tales from Hidden Basin" and "Haunted Waters" could be shared with your children. Then when they become teenagers, give them "A Touch of Strange." These are unforgettable books.