Reviews for Notes from Exile: On Being Acadian

The average rating for Notes from Exile: On Being Acadian based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-04-23 00:00:00 Francis Lam What an astounding book! I picked it up because I didn't really know much beyond Evangeline about the Acadian experience. It reminded me of An Inconvenient Indian in the way it looks at history and the repercussions on people and nations. If the Acadians hadn't been exiled, if Louise Riel hadn't been reviled and executed, what a different kind of country Canada could have been. "In August 1755 ... the British navy and a force of two thousand New England militia began the deportation of the Acadian people from what is now Atlantic Canada." This is the year burned into memory for everyone of Acadian descent. What amazed me was learning who Acadians actually were. They were descendants of of the first Europeans to settle in North America, the first to have a New World name. They created a rich, rewarding society tied to the land. They farmed, they befriended local natives and perhaps most importantly they refused to bear arms. I learned so much here. Clive Doucet brilliantly explores his mixed heritage ... for his father was Acadian, while his mother was British. They met during World War II. He lovingly describes both sides of his family and their values which influenced his own. He also looks at how changing times affect values and leads us to the spectacular 1994 reunion of a quarter of a million Acadian people from all over the world. It happened in New Brunswick and I wish I could have been there.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-06-26 00:00:00 Josh de Grussa Good insight on Acadian history