The Meadow

Review, Amazon, James Galvin, The Meadow. June 17, 2018I just returned from 3 delightful days once again on my sister and brother-in-law's land not much more than a rifle shot from author James Galvin's property and near the primary setting for The Meadow. As other readers have figured out and appreciated, the narrative moves not linearly but topically, hip-hopping through the generations and decades. Using that organizational style, Galvin reminds me of the declaration at the opening of the family history of the Darwin clan in Cambridge: Period Piece, by Gwen Raverat. In the beginning she declares the writing and her chapters to be more like spokes of a wheel, and that the book could be dipped into at any point.James Galvin has achieved something similar, I find, because as I bump by Jeep or Razer over the dirt roads and sage-lump meadows of the area, I remember with pleasure and insight lots of memorable bits and gobbits from the book. The author may be being kind and a little romantic about the struggles and virtues of his families, but he likewise is kind to the reader not to play the pathos-pulling, tension-building games and emotional tricks of some profit-driven fiction and drama. In a good way Galvin "shoots the sheriff on (nearly) the first page," for example, with the story of the suicide of Clara with the graphic declaration she blew her brains all over her cabin bedroom. But the rest of the book unpacks Clara's whimsical creativity and her life's impact on the family. Galvin achieves some of his "poetry" and homey feel in non-fiction by deft use of metaphors, opposites, and universally recognizable homey images. How can we not like and remember proverbial-sounding phrases such as "He never quit (working) from last star to first, proving that the price of independence is slavery." Or what about the verbal painting of the coyote who "pops into the air like he's been stung and pounces"? Or consider Lyle "was born in a house made of dirt. Kind of like a grave with a roof on it." Accessible prose with up-close, personal profiling of real people, but with epic scope.I'm curious about and haven't fully unpacked the segments about the visible but mythically disappearing abandoned cabin into the river that floods and eventually creates Eaton Reservoir. This time of year (early June), that reservoir is at its beautiful fullness like outlined on the topographic maps of the area. Here's a tidbit of follow up others may know but that I was happy to discover on my own too. App Worster, smart about the need for and benefits of water preservation, in his day, hoped to turn part of his land into a reservoir and make enough profit to preserve some of his own land in lean times. He locked horns with and lost ownership of his vision to a politician, Mark Eaton, who outmaneuvered him and got the land cheaply, building and naming the reservoir for himself.But sometimes history and the truth have a little last chuckle: If you go today to the USGS topo maps online, in the standard sizing, you simply see "Eaton Reservoir" on the lake. If you finger-expand to show more altitude lines and features, toward the top there also appears the name "Worster Reservoir." How fun is that!From the Meadow area back to our home takes about 3 hours. As I drive the 30+ miles over sometimes very rutty 80C road--what my husband calls my family's cabin having a 30-mile-long dirt driveway--I can't help but recall the Herculean toughness Galvin profiles of an area resident named Louise. "They (some robbers) shot her twice in the face and threw her body in the root cellar. Two days later she crawled out and drove herself to town." Later in life, that same Louise drove through a blizzard from her remote land to help snowbound people in town. When she then forgot to put her Jeep in park, she managed to roll over her own leg, breaking it. Only the next morning did she think to call a doctor for herself. Stories of pioneer survival spirit, like going remote camping or experiencing war, hurricanes, or extreme duress, can uplift and encourage; and that's been my takeaway from this book. I recommend reading it in slow chunks, not in a hurry to master or finish it, but relish it and remember your own favorite parts.

Real people living in a real place and time put into a series of vignettes and, yes, almost a story and told in poetic form. I've not been to Wyoming or Colorado or even nearby, outside of books and movies, but I have known similar characters from my own Appalachians and the beauty of this book is that it captures simple folks in their essence with no apologies necessary. The writing is a thing of beauty and I went back often just for the pleasure of a re-read. Some readers may find it hard to follow at times as the author jumps from character and back again (I often did too), but the whole is worthy of the parts and the parts do add up to a tale of lives lived in a harsh setting. What a keen observer is Mr. Galvin...I could have read more about his meadow. I do wish a detailed map of the area had been included, as I am a reader who likes to refer frequently to the exact area I am reading about...yes, I always knew where I was as Mr. Galvin's prose is enough to place the reader solidly in his meadow, but I do at times like to fixate my eyes on specific spots as mentioned in his narrative.

Excellent story of the people and history where my Dad, and then my brother and I spent most of our childhood at. The people named in this book I did not recognize, and my Dad is long past to refer too. Regardless this is a wonderful read: Boulder ridge, sheep Creek, Tie Siding, Chimney Rock cattle association cattle Roundup and the log cabin was a big part of our childhood memories. Cherokee park, Red Feather lakes, Chambers lake and much more. I was a little surprised there was no mention of pumpkin vine road. The one thing all who read this must understand is how the wind affects all life. I did not accept it, I hated it, I fought it, loathed it. This is wind hell, in the most beautiful place on Earth. I try to only remember the beauty, not the wind. This book is true, raw, beautiful, and brings back all the memories including the wind, and why I left. Brought years to my eyes.

The author weaves seemingly unrelated vignettes into a beautiful haunting tapestry depicting the hardships and resilience of the few hardy souls who settled a remote area high in the front range of the Colorado Rockies.

Readers should not blame their inability to follow this story on the writing. Most will absorb it with eager thoughtfulness. Writing is a creative gift. This book is beautifully written, and the quiet lost lives of those living around the meadow are beautifully expressed in word pictures. If you're the type who is addicted to Louis LaMour novels (which are wonderful in their own right), then you will not find this book the same at all. It is a different writer, a different creation, a different time. The lives of the people in this story haunt me, as they are the people who no one notices, living within the violent beauty of the Rockies. The mountains and meadows remain - the lives that are lived in their valleys are swallowed up and unnoticed, forgotten. This prose, these words, are the only pictures of lives lived in silent strength and solitude, where only God looked down and apreciated their hearts. A flower blooms in the cleft of a rock wall under an overhang near a creek, God puts it their for no one to see but for his own pleasure. That wildflower is the life of Lyle, or Ray, or Frank. We are so fortunate to be given a glimpse, a glance, a peek, at the pleasures of the Creator.

May be a book I enjoyed more, but this would be the book that comes to mind if someone asked what my favorite book is. Jayber Crow by Wendell Barry is a close second, but I haven't read that book twice.

I bought this book as I think it was mentioned in an interview by Alexandra Fuller. I was looking for something different to read, as a London boy/man what do I know of American farmers scraping a living in Colorado and Wyoming?. The writing is poetry, the characters spring out of the pages and engulf you. I like the format of the book, each narrative only 2/3 pages long so you can sit back and think about what you have just read. In a way it's a philosophical work. They suffered trying to make a living in that hostile environment as we do in our 'civilised' daily same day trudge to work. They were 'alive', I know which one I'd chose. Read it.

One of the best fishing authors ever

Llegó en muy buen estado y en el tiempo indicado.Me gusta mucho cómo escribe James Galvin, aunque el libro trata básicamente de un prado en Colorado y las historias de las personas que viven ahí, los personajes me parecen muy bien escritos y con mucha profundidad. Además que la naturaleza está presente en todo momento y en todas sus formas.Fav fav fav.