Tales from Hidden Basin

Reminiscent of "Little House on the Prairie" crossed with "Huckleberry Finn," it's a collection of true stories, chronologicallly told, about two boys' upbringing on an island off the BC Coast in the first two decades of the 1900s. As written by one of the boys' sons, an undiscovered reclusive author, (himself also reared on the BC Coast,) it tells of the magic, mystery, and adventure in an almost perfect Garden of Eden. It presages two books (Haunted Waters and A Touch of Strange) by the same author telling of the adventures of one of the boys as a man. This is a sleeper that survives many re-readings. Mythical. A classic. A successor to Curve of Time.

No health and safety restrictions for these boys growing up in the wilds of early 20th century western Canada! Diving for money thrown from visiting boats, stalking inhumane deer-hunters in the dead of night, playing practical jokes on psychotic camp cooks; not only would kids not have opportunities like this today, there'd be social services to contend with if they did! This is a unique perspective of a bygone era, with yarns almost too good to have really happened, although they have the ring of truth in the capable hands of Mr. Hammond. There are characters, such as Jack, Charley "The Old Indian", and even the visiting German pot-mender, who ought to be national folk heroes in Canada, as I have no doubt they will be as soon as the first film or TV adaptation is inevitably done.

I was very fortunate to be given a copy of this book for Christmas last year, as I don't think I would have found it for myself. It hasn't had nearly the attention it deserves, for if it had, we'd be seeing it everywhere. Two young lads growing up in one of the last frontiers to be discovered by the white man, having no end of fascinating adventures, these stories are all true (if Mr. Hammond is to be believed, which somehow I think he is), unique, funny, informative, and delightfully engaging. They could hold their own in any decade, and don't rely solely on their unusual context as so many of the genre seem to, but are well told and have a breadth that one might not expect. If you are interested in the west coast of Canada, you must buy this book. If you are indifferent to it but like a good read, you likewise must buy it. I can't endorse it strongly enough. That Mr. Hammond's father told his son of these times and events, remembering such detail, and that Mr. Hammond was then able to write it all down, is our great gain. There are two other books courtesy of Mr. Hammond and his father Hal, and I recommend them also. This one, the first, deals with boyhood and has the added benefit of being of equal interest to adults and older children alike.