Howard Mosher, Disappearances (1977)
Good Reads meta-data is 255 pages rated 3.91 by 663 litizens.
Genre: Magic Unrealism.
DNA: North Woods; Species: Vermont.
Verdict: Picturesque.
Tagline: They went thatta way!
The escapades of the ever optimistic Quebec Bill and his coming of age son Wild Bill told in episodes. Many involve the unseen border between ‘Canady’ and US in the news now. Different taxes, different laws, different religions, different languages, different women, different police, are all reasons to cross that boundary, even in depth of winter. Some of their adventures defy one or more laws of nature, but suspend disbelief and go along for the roller coaster ride. Think of it as a cousin of Latin American magic realism with snow, ice, sleet, floes, sheer, piercing winds, hungry critters, and other wintry delights.
Quebec Bill comes up with one fantastic scheme after another, and each one…fails more spectacularly than the one before, but his glass remains half full.
***
This was Mosher’s first novel in the sequence of Kingdom County. I had read four or five others before I backtracked to this one. Ripley, the book explains a lot about both the Vermont Country Store and Bernie Sanders.
I couldn’t help thinking how fragile the ego of some readers must be when I read the comments on Good Reads from those who scored this book ‘1.’ They seemingly cannot let go enough to suspend disbelief. ‘Tant pis,’ as Quebec Bill might say. I have heard it said that it takes all kinds but I can’t see why in many cases.