| Title | : | The Uncharted Heart |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0676973434 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780676973433 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 225 |
| Publication | : | First published May 8, 2001 |
The stories in The Uncharted Heart bring to life the harsh struggles, the dreams, the greed, the obsessions, the xenophobia — and the love — experienced by the traders, trappers and prospectors who flocked to northern Ontario during the Porcupine Gold Rush (1900-1922).
"The Uncharted Heart" (the genesis of which lies in a true story) tells of a government surveyor's magical encounter with a French woman of native heritage who has survived alone in the bush after the sudden death of her trapper husband and children. "The Ice Woman"is the tale of an Ojibway nebaunaube — a lake mermaid — discovered encased in a block of ice by a fur trader at the edge of a lake during the spring thaw. In "Paper Son," a Chinese houseboy to a small-town doctor and his sick wife alleviates her pain by making opium from the poppies in her garden. In "Traplines," a trapper's wife uses her wits to defend herself and her child from the advances of a violent neighbour suspected of possessing supernatural powers.
Distinctively Canadian, yet universal in appeal, the stories in The Uncharted Heart are about what it is to be human.
"The Uncharted Heart" (the genesis of which lies in a true story) tells of a government surveyor's magical encounter with a French woman of native heritage who has survived alone in the bush after the sudden death of her trapper husband and children. "The Ice Woman"is the tale of an Ojibway nebaunaube — a lake mermaid — discovered encased in a block of ice by a fur trader at the edge of a lake during the spring thaw. In "Paper Son," a Chinese houseboy to a small-town doctor and his sick wife alleviates her pain by making opium from the poppies in her garden. In "Traplines," a trapper's wife uses her wits to defend herself and her child from the advances of a violent neighbour suspected of possessing supernatural powers.
Distinctively Canadian, yet universal in appeal, the stories in The Uncharted Heart are about what it is to be human.
The Uncharted Heart Reviews
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as part of best american short stories 1999
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A wonderful collection of short stories, set in remote Northern Ontario at the turn of the 20th century. The characters - mappers, miners, trappers, and women who find themselves facing extraordinary hardships - face the challenges of isolation and extreme weather. There are spirits and other malevolent forces in the forests, mines and rivers, and these forces work both for and against their human counterparts. There is humour, and some surprising conclusions to these stories, but always a deep sympathy for the protagonists, and a sense of satisfaction when justice is delivered. Highly recommended.
