The Macken Charm

Writing of events in small, isolated communities is inherently difficult. While many books are produced depicting that environment, the results are too often contrived stories, lacking reality. The true existence of such communities, on the other hand, is usually too mundane for successful story telling. Drama seems lacking; the people's lives seem too common for a writer to tackle and present in a way to capture reader attention. Unless the writer has exceptional ability.If you pick up The Macken Charm you will encounter such a writer. You will meet a man who's spent his life in such a place, yet who has the aptitude to convey how much drama such lives can endure. There's nothing false or contrived in the events surrounding Glory's funeral or the times preceding it. Hodgins has given us the lives of this remote community through the eyes of the youthful Randy Macken. Randy, torn in many directions over relations with his family, the blood relatives and the married-in ones, coincidental with his wish to escape the isolation in the nearest big city - Vancouver. It's an old story, but Hodgins deals with it in ways rarely achieved by today's urban writers. His ability to see the family's interactions through the eyes of this young, if discerning, man reveals the talent of this writer.Although Hodgins' portrait of Randy Macken is valid and captivating, it's the presentation of Randy's cousin Toby that shows Hodgins at his best. A figure that could have been buried in dramatic surrealism, Hodgins brings this tragi-comic figure to life in subtle steps. Toby's entry is sly, almost a backstage insertion into the day's events. But he's a central figure in Randy's life and in the minds of Barclays, Mackens, Aaltos and the rest. To discover why, pick up this book and spend a quiet day reading and reflecting on people you probably know. You will discover one of North America's finer authors, one whose books you will seek out as treasures to be added to your shelves.