The Friends of Meager Fortune

by David Adams Richards

Book Overview

Growing up in a prominent lumber family in the Miramichi, brothers Will and Owen Jameson know little of the world beyond their town and the great men who work the forest, including their father. But... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385660944
• ISBN13: 9780385660945
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Doubleday Canada
• Length: 366 Pages
• Weight: 1.26 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The Friends of Meager Fortune

David Adams Richards has done a terrific job of describing the mid-twentieth century Canadian lumber industry. He has provided the reader with a wonderful cast of characters who are all affected by a vicious rumor. I wanted to reach inside the book and shake the characters, who not only believed the rumor, but did nothing to find the truth. Two soldiers become involved with a woman married to one, but attracted to the hero. When her husband disappears, the rumor spreads through the small town. In the meantime, the logging goes on, the loggers endure the treacherous terrain to get the logs to the river, the valiant horses perform their duties, and the Canadian winter provides unbearably harsh conditions for the loggers. The story includes a faux murder that gets tied into the original rumor, the hero of the story is accused of the murder on the basis of the discovery of a mutilated and unidentified body. All the while, Meager Fortune, who does not appear until well into the story, is taking care of the loggers on the mountain. He is the one who discovers the betrayal of one of the loggers who is tagging the logs with a competitor's stamp. But he does not report this betrayal. In the end, the hero dies an heroic death, and the long-lost husband reappears, putting an end to the long-running rumor that had virtually destroyed reputations and resulted in the conviction of an innocent man for the death of another man, who never died. This book was so well written. The characters were well described, and I (and I hope other readers) was able to empathize with the rumor victims. I cried real tears when Owen died, breathed a sigh of relief when Reggie reappeared, and wanted to give Meager Fortune a hug for his undying dedication to his logging buddies. Kudos, Mr. Richards. I loved your book.

"A man like many here would not live in the world to come."

Mid-twentieth century Canada is a time of vast change in the lumber industry, although few can see the decline of the old ways that looms on the horizon, massive amounts of timber moved by the grueling labor of men who have defined their lives in the felling and harvesting of trees. Will Jameson, who takes over his family's business upon the death of his father, is only sixteen when he achieves the status of legend. But Will's untimely death, though prophesied by a palm-reader, throws younger brother Owen into the breech, Owen forever fighting the long shadow of his more accomplished and manly sibling. Even though he has returned from the war a hero, Owen cannot measure up in the eyes of the town. It is never Owen's intent to save his family's fortune, but he feels obligated to aid his widowed mother, the stoic and gullible Mary. Owen's problems emerge through the power of gossip and innuendo. His war hero status deteriorates as the town whispers of his obsession with Camellia, wife of Reggie Glidden, Will's best friend. Undeniably attracted to Camellia, Owen's affection remains innocent, Camellia the unwary manipulator of the situation as she encourages Owen to take over the company and help her locate the now-missing Reggie. Soon the rumors reach a deafening roar; with Reggie's mysterious disappearance, it is assumed that the couple has done away with the man who stands in their way. That this is mere supposition carries no weight in the world of public opinion, especially when a story is circulated by Lula Brower, a vain young woman set to appropriate Owen for her fiancé until felled by a stroke that alters her fortune as a marriageable woman. Meanwhile, Own throws himself into the lumber business, desperately harvesting the timber in one of the most dangerous areas of growth, his men held barely in check with their internal feuding and petty grievances. While some, like Meager Fortune, remain loyal to Owen, others allow themselves to be seduced by Owen's rivals, further complicating an already dangerous endeavor to save the Jameson's interests. When an unidentified body is found floating in the river, despite the fact that it is too decayed to be recognizable, the town assumes the worst, pointing the finger of guilt at the suspected miscreants, Owen and Camellia. As the industry is doomed in its present incarnation, so too are the innocent lovers, tried by public opinion, rumors flying from mouth to mouth in lieu of facts with amazing speed. The locals gather gossip, embellishing it at will, passing it along to strangers until no semblance of the truth remains, the town seething with rancor at an assumed crime. In a rapidly changing century, where mechanization is on the rise, this sad drama plays out against the majesty of the great wooded forests providing sustenance for families who spend their time spilling lies to alleviate their uncertainty. Seen through the telescope of time, the history of an era is rendered insignificant compared