Thoreau-like Nature Living Told From a Woman's Point of View
Written: Mar 27 '01 (Updated Mar 28 '01)
Product Rating:
Pros: Fine nature-writing full of accurate and poetic forest descriptions. Makes you feel welcome.
Cons: Audience constantly wonders if her lifestyle and cabin are still being maintained and inhabited.
The Bottom Line: Woodswoman is for the outdoor-lover with a poetic heart. This novel is for romantic dreamers, those who believe in chasing their dreams.
martyfig's Full Review: Anne Labastille - Woodswoman
"From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats." Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Anne LaBastille must have been quite familiar with H.D. Thoreau's novel because she did just that by befriending raccoons, foxes, birds, mice, bats--all kinds of nature imaginable surrounding her remote hand-built cabin.
Anne's tale, told in first-person narrative, relates to us how she came about finding herself one day suddenly divorced, penniless and with no other place to go. She relates that she took what money she had and secured a portion of land in upper New York near the Canadian border in the northern section of Adirondack Park.
While lovingly told, a few crucial and aggravating details were left out toward the beginning of the book and never answered by the book's ending. Most importantly, the date that this purchase took place followed by her move to the land is not mentioned. Judging by the funky hat she wore in the black and white photographs scattered throughout the book, the best guess one can make is the early 1970's or late 1960's.
The issue of not providing a time-line is of concern to anyone curious about the rules that govern parks and private land in-holdings. It would have been tremendously helpful if she provided a specific time line and details about parks, forest preserves and private lands. The reader may wonder throughout the book, "How could she just up and build a cabin there in a park? Were there not certain rules, codes or permits needing to be purchased?"
When the reader patiently realizes that those questions will not be addressed in detail, it becomes a little tricky to concentrate only on the nature-writing alone.
However, covering the nature-writing is one of the book's stronger points. Personally, what is even more engaging are her anecdotes. She relates tales of rescuing far-away tourists from dangers of the land. In one particular tale she defines how it felt to be in a canoe and slowly breaking through ice that was nearly at its freezing point. Before she knew it, the ice started freezing up while she was almost stranded in the middle of an incredibly large lake. We must take into consideration, that at the time (whenever that was) she was the only inhabitant in an area of several miles. She could have been trapped in a thin canoe in the middle of nowhere or worse still found herself in a disabled boat as the sharp ice could have punctured her small vessel and left her in freezing water.
Not all anecdotes cover near-brushes with death. She becomes an Adirondack guide and tells us of her encounters, providing us with many pictures. She also relates stories of meeting hunters and trappers, and the occasional visitor. However, most of her time is completely solitary and in harmony with nature. It is interesting to hear of her describing the lone winter nights with no electricity, running water or gas-fed heat. Coping with even the most simple of tasks (for example, how to deal with water constantly freezing each night) is discussed as is how she initially built her small log cabin.
Her story covers each passing season, and readers feel as if they were there with her. It truly makes a wandering nature-loving soul dream of such a reality. This is the kind of novel that a reader can take camping or on an outdoor vacation destination. It is also suitable reading for school-age children.
She has a new book out as of 2000. Hopefully, in her new novel, she will relate to us the missing details from the first and let us know if she still can be found in the wilds of the Adirondacks in her humble cabin.
Note: this story embodies more of a Thoreau feel to it. This isn't a wilderness tale with glitz, glamor and wild grizzly bears gnashing their teeth. It doesn't take place in an environment with the gritty remote-feel of other similar tales of living in the wild. If the reader desires something along the lines of Jon Krakauer's, Into the Wild, then this isn't the book for you.
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