Reviews for Big Why

The average rating for Big Why based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-11-24 00:00:00 Michael Molnar I read this book because my grandmother, Rose Foley, was friends with both Rockwell Kent and Bob Bartlett. She is actually in the book, although the only accurate thing about her is that she was known for her singing. The clash of cultures-- New York versus small port in Newfoundland,is accurate. I have w letter from Rockwell Kent decades later to my grandmother in which he excoriates those infamous Newfoundlanders who ostracized him. My grandmother said he just got people riled up. The author, who never knew about this period, despite being a native Newfoundlwnder, wrote an entertaining book.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-02-23 00:00:00 Elaine Buff This book by Michael Winter is a very different sort of historical fiction. It recalls a specific time in the life of the American artist Rockwell Kent when he goes to Brigus Newfoundland just before the beginning of the First World War. A lot of the book is spent exploring Rockwell's inner thoughts as they especially relate to whether in life we got to be who we are, and if not, why--that is the big why. His descriptions of those early fishermen and sealers is riveting. In one incident, when a long overdue boat finally came into harbour, he describes the crew carrying a frozen seal "but the seal was not a seal. It was the pelt of a seal, and inside the pelt was a frozen man." Hearing about the Newfoundland of these early years and listening to the thoughts that Kent struggles with in his relationships with the community of Brigus as well as his personal ones keeps this book humming along.