Affectionately named the Grandfathers' retreats, these sojourns into the depths of the Maine woods have inspired Gould's finest and most emotionally resonant writing to date.
With a naturalist's sensitivity to his environment, and his great good humor, Gould writes of hiking through dense forests, of fly fishing for salmon and trout in deserted creeks, of campside culinary triumphs, and of friendship and shared reflections on careers, family, and the modern world. The resulting book is a wonderful, memorable meditation on the beauty of the Maine woods and on John Gould's ever-interesting life.
As always, John Gould's dry-as-a-bone wit made me laugh out loud while reading. This memoir of his long friendship with his son's father-in-law deals with their shared annual vacation trips, through many years, into Maine's paper company owned north woods. The basic absurdity of a place where Maine residents rarely worked because they literally "couldn't get there from here" - it was easier for French Canadian workers to come in from Quebec, thanks to the lack of public roads - sets the tone for much of the book's humor. I found it a quick and easy read as well as a thoroughly delightful one.
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