Emaline, a young girl growing up in Saskatchewan in the 1960s suffers a devastating farm accident that leaves her crippled. Emaline's father takes off soon after the accident, blaming himself and wishing to escape a cursed life that he never chose. Emaline and her mother are left on their own with crops to plant. So Emaline's mother hires a red-haired giant named Angus from the psychiatric hospital down the road.
Despite Angus' gentle nature and careful respect for those around him, the neighbours and townspeople view him with distrust and trepidation. Even Emaline is afraid of him, at first. But there are changes in store for Emaline as she grows to know this "crazy man," tries to convince her father to come home and struggles to overcome physical and emotional hurts.
Characters
Each person in Porter's novel has been brought to life with care and attention. Their actions and their words manage to create three-dimensional characters that will captivate readers. Emaline, the protagonist of the novel, narrates the story in the clear voice of a growing young girl who sees the world with fascination. She begins to discover new ways of seeing the world, and to unlock hidden talents within herself. She also struggles to find a way to affect change in those around her, and learns that each person must make their own choices.
Free Verse
Porter has taken a daring step in writing her entire novel in free verse. This style is unusual for novels, particularly children's novels, as it is considered by many to be off-putting for readers, who don't want to read an entire book in such poetic format. In actuality, The Crazy Man employs flowing and simple language that makes for very easy and fluid reading. Readers are quickly immersed in the world and words of the novel, and the unusual free verse format causes no distraction from the story.
Children will adore the effortlessness of reading this book. At the same time, Porter's skill at choosing just the right words provides a rich and powerful look at the world that will keep adult readers equally entranced.
Porter's Talent With Language
The beauty of Porter's language paints a stunning picture of the prairies and the people who live on them. Her free verse is smooth, full of motion and colour. The simple language matches the simple beauty of the landscape and of the farm community, while the actual words tell a story of complexity and difficult times.
The Crazy Man, by Pamela Porter, was published in 2005 by Groundwood Books. ISBN 0888996950.
Natalia Heilke - Natalia Heilke is in her final term of a creative writing degree at the University of Victoria. Her focus is on short fiction, but she ...
