Barometer Rising (New Canadian Library)

If I hadn't read "Barometer Rising" for an English lecture, I think I would never have learned about the Halifax explosion in December 1917. I certainly hadn't heard of it before. Maybe because of the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki people sort of forgot about it, at least this side of the atlantic. As far as the novel goes, I really liked it. It's probably not a masterpiece, but it's characters are well-thought out and original. The love relationship between Penny and Neil is unusual (or maybe not that unusual if you really think about it) and the description of Halifax is evocative (at least for someone who has never been to Canada). The concise style of the book also pleased me and on the whole it kept me in suspense, although the scene of the collision itself seemed too short to me after having read real-life accounts of it on the internet. But of course the aftermaths are more important with respect to the theme of the novel, i. e. the coming of age of Canada. Some of the nationalistic remarks seemed a bit too strong - especially at the end there thrown in your face from all directions - but I guess it was a different time then. The end could have been a bit better; among other things Penny sort of disappears. But on the whole I recommend this book, if for nothing else, then for historical value and a nice read.

*****  2000-07-05

I had to read this book for english class... and I love it. Ithink that this is the the most amzaging book ever. I think thatColonel Wain kicked ( ). I thank my teacher for making me read it.

*****  2000-06-15

BAROMETER RISING is above all a novel of place and that place is Halifax, Nova Scotia in December 1917. MacLennan is very good at evoking the sights, colors, smells, and sounds of the city and its environs. If you have ever visited that small, but charming city, you would probably enjoy reading this novel just for nostalgia's sake. A competent, but not great writer, MacLennan portrays pleasingly rounded characters who are not stiff or one dimensional and weaves a plot that resolves itself in various ways on the occasion of the huge explosion that destroyed most of Halifax on Dec. 6, 1917, the biggest man-made explosion in history before the nuclear age. The story is rather too neat and a little banal in the way ends are tied up. If five stars are for the greatest novels you've ever read, and four for those that don't quite get up to that level, then three are for an average, competent job that can give you a couple nights' pleasure when the branches are scraping at the window in the winter wind. Try it, you might like it, but if disasters are not your bag, then avoid this book because the main character is an explosion.

*****  1999-10-28 Robert S. Newman

I just loaned this book to someone who is visiting Nova Scotia on vacation. I have read it a couple of times. It's a good introduction to Halifax history and I think has a real feel for the flavor of the city. The explosion scenes are fascinating. On the other hand, the ending is a bit weak and some of the author's passages about the future of Canada seem a little outdated now.

*****  1999-06-17

I thought it was a one of a kind book, and the Halafax boom was cool

*****  1999-05-30