Reviews for Escape: In Search of the Natural Soul of Canada

The average rating for Escape: In Search of the Natural Soul of Canada based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-02-13 00:00:00 Peter Crawford I was in charge of the book club this month in the position I'm filling in at the library, so this was a book that I felt obligated to read - definitely not my preferred genre! In fact, it was hard to really get into it, partly because of that reason, and partly because I've been busy. So I was thankful yesterday for an ice day (work closed!) so I could sit and power through all but the 30 pages I had already read. (And then it turned out that I was only one of two who had actually read the whole thing, so all my stressing was for naught.) This was... okay. Again, not my usual choice for reading, so it was kind of hard for me to get into. I did really enjoy the chapters that were more personal stories: about looking for the lost lake, about wintering at the cottage. Those chapters made me want to go to a cottage, swim in a lake, even go for a hike. (I am not an outdoors person. I hate bugs, I hate the sun, I like my bed and my electronics. But still, Roy MacGregor really paints the cottage as a utopia.) But on the other hand, the "escape" chapters, all about history of cottaging and whatnot, bored me to tears. I skimmed most of those chapters, because that was definitely not what I was interested in reading.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-05-29 00:00:00 Benjamin Guyer The most interesting part of the copy of this book that I bought isn't anything contained within the actual text, but rather an email that was laid-in and written from the author to the cover designer, talking about how happy he was with the experience. Don't believe me? See it for yourself: As for the material itself, I have to agree with the assessment of other reviewers. MacGregor has done some great work in the past with historical subjects, but that's a bit of a letdown here. Really dry stuff. It's far more engaging to read his memories of the cottage. That's what I related with, being someone who's been up north multiple times and loves the cottage. Worth a read if you find it on sale.