‘f

arley

Wednesday, November 3, 1993 ~ North Shore News - 24

Master storyteller relives childhood days in new autobiography

Born Naked, by Farley Mowat,
Key Porter Books, 256 pp., hard-
cover. -

Barbara Black
BOOK REVIEW

T SEEMS appropriate in
the aftermath of the elec-
a tion to review a book by
_an author who is arch-Cana-
_ dian — oops, make that
_English-Canadian.
Farley Mowat is the author of an
‘astonishing 32 books, many of
them read by Canadian
schoolchildren and adults alike.
He is both a natural-born story-
’ teller with a readable style and a
. man passionate about the natural
world., i, ;
Born Naked is Mowat’s account
of his childhood from concep-
_ tion-in-a-canoe to 15 years of age.
Although an only child, Mowat
seems to have made up for the
resultant lack of company by
populating his home with various
birds, reptiles and mammals, dead,
alive and in varying states of
. ‘putrefaction, ;
It appears his parents neither
- overindulged nor neglected him
and he enjoyed a childhood full of
adventure and wonder, much like
that found in his books, some of
which are based on his own life.
Mowat seems to have borrowed
' character traits fronv both his fa-
ther, Angus, and grandfather, Gill.
.. Gill he describes as “‘a soft cen-
tred ... chap who loved
. snowshoeing, sailing, writing poet-
ry, and contemplating nature.”
Angus, on the other hand,
seemed to successfully combine
both outdoor and intellectual pur-
suits in his characteristic bom-
bastic way. -
+ From his grandfather Mowat in-
herits a love of nature, from his fa-
ther, the fortitude and single-
mindedness to pursue this passion.

Mowat writes of his father: ‘‘t
learned that when it came to
engaging in sheer, pig-headed
histrionics, Angus had few rivals.

Helen, Mowat's mother, is
mostly defined against the
backdrop of these charming al-
though unnerving qualities of

”

‘ Angus. Mowat describes his

mother as the ‘‘most long-suffer-
igg of women.”
The happy threesome lived first

-in a decaying house nicknamed

The Fortress, “its shining shingles
falling away like scales from a
scrofulous old dragon,” while
Angus attempted a career at bee-
keeping.

Next came the Swamp House,
“because it stank pervasively of
rotten wood.”

{t was at this time that Angus
found his niche as a librarian in
Trent, Ontario.

You can only cast one vote in the upcoming municipal
council and school board elections on November 20th,
but you can express yourself every day by dialing
the North Shore News’ “Your Call” line.

Slam or stroke. Pound or praise.
Tell us what matters to you and why.
Make “Your call” at 983-2208 and the following
Friday we'll publish your comments.

Finally the family enjoyed meals
more luxurious than the previous
years’ porridge, soda biscuits and

joney (from the short-lived bee-
keeping venture). .

Tne family then moved to two

‘upstairs rooms in a house, The

landlady was not amused, howev-
er, at Angus’ late-night, drunken
attempt to enter the house via the
storm window. oo .

When his effort back-fired,
waking the household with a
crash, that lodging was no longer
available.

Mowat trampled around the
countryside with his father,
delivering library books to farms
and observing the !ocal wildlife.

He never cared much for schoo!
and tended to have rather eccen-
tric playmates.

One such his mother referred to
as the Marsh Boy, whose favorite

44 He never cared
much for school and
tended to have rather

eccentric playmates. 99

snack was raw frog legs.
But despite any dislike for
school, Mowat was, like his

arents, a bookworm, his tastes
‘ar-ranging and advanced for his
age.

He says, ‘When | was seven |
worked my way through a big,
lavishly illustrated volume of
Gargantua and Pantagruel, and
though |... did not understand
much of the text, | certainly ap-
preciated the marginal drawings of
grotesque human beings engaging
in things dear to the imagery o
small boys."

One alligator, several cats and a

“squirrel later, in 1933, Angus gota

job as chief librarian in Saskatoon
and the young Mowat was thrown
into the wide open prairie where
he would begin actively pursuing
his interest in ornithology.

This was the time of the drought

-and Depression, but none of the

gloom seems to have poisoned
Mowat'’s memories of his life
there. :

Not given to abandoning his
nautical ways, Angus set about
building a ship’s cabin which he
mounted on four wheels to pull
behind the car on their “voyage’’
to the dust bowl Prairies.

The family stayed in tourist parks
which were often populated with
migrants, poorly dressed and
undernourished.

Mowat's career as a naturalist
takes off in Saskatchewan, where
he engages in-bird banding, nest
hunting and even writes a nature
column for the local paper.

It is with great sadness that he -
leaves the place as a teenager to
move back again to Ontario,

And it is with great anticipation
that one awaits subsequent
chapters of this gentle Canadian’s
life and adventures. .

EeVeoEoNofol |

ON NOW UNTEL NOV. 45 |

MON. - FRI. 10 -8
SAT. 10 - 6

To introduce our
new Fall Menus

Peppi’s is offering:

Great Pastas!

Fettucine Alfredo ,
Fettucine Garmeretti
Penne Alle Salciccia
Penne Primavera
Linguine Alle Vongole
Linguine Marinara
Spaghetti Carbonara
Spaghetti Alle Bolognese
Vegetable Agnolotti

All at one low price!

meme e men nn mmm nn enn ene nnn nn nnn nn ee

(From Peppi's Pasta Selections
Dinner Menu only)’. :

Until Nov. 30th ©
Not valid on Saturday
eZ

PEPPPS
an Dumdesene iach

Right on the water
25th St., West Vancouver

922-1414

‘(Please present this coupon), ;

a a ene a 0 00 00 a cm a ae a ee ee ee nn ee a a ee