The Cartographer of No Man's Land: A Novel

Beautifully written, timeless tale

Disclaimer: I am a friend of the author and read an early, incomplete draft of the first few chapters, but did not read the completed novel until a few days ago.

This is a beautifully told, well-researched story that put me alongside, sometimes in the heads of, the characters. I'm not sure where to place the novel as the story could be assigned to several genres, but for me, "The Cartographer of No Man's Land" is a drama about Angus McGrath, a young fisherman whose life in a quiet village in Nova Scotia is diminished by his disapproving father and distant wife. He draws and paints but no one, including he himself, sees any talent in his work. Even his poorly-built fishing boat lacks the grace in life he seeks and senses just beyond his grasp. Only the ocean and the stars give him peace. Only his young son, Simon Peter, and his best friend and brother-in-law, Ebbin, make him laugh and give him joy.

World War I is raging in Europe. The United States has yet to enter the war, but Canadian troops are in the thick of it. Canadian men everywhere are enlisting in patriotic fervor, anxious not to be left out. Ebbin enlists and shortly after entering battle, is reported MIA. Angus, torn between his wife's grief for her missing brother and his father's anti-war pacifism, reluctantly considers the risks of enlisting. He is assured by the recruiter of a safe job behind the lines in London as a cartographer due to his navigation and artistic skills, so he enlists as a way to make things right at home and try to help locate Ebbin. Once in London, though, he is sent to the front in Belgium where replacement officers are needed. Angus enters a world scarred by bomb craters, trenches and barbwire. The air is made lethal by artillery shells screaming from the sky and clouds of poison gas creeping silently along the ground. Men are forced to wait, then suddenly expected to fight. Death is on everyone's mind. Even the mud can pull a man down and drown him like quicksand. Angus's desire to see his son again, his determination to find Ebbin, and his respect and love for the men fighting with him give him the strength to overcome his fear, to grow, to fight and to survive.

I agree with others who praise the author for the her description of village life in Nova Scotia, complex family dynamics, the techniques and aesthetics of sailing and fishing, the class-driven British military bureaucracy of WWI, and the emotional and physical trauma of combat. But what struck me the most was the story's nuanced tale of Angus's journey: how he transformed from an ordinary person to an exceptional soldier and what was left of him when his war ended, how he survived only to bring the war home with him, and how the respect and love of others helped bring him, if not all the way, then at least closer to home.

I was so engrossed in the story, particularly the homecoming, that the ending snuck up on me. When the shock of it settled, it turned into a satisfaction that made me smile at the peace I shared with Angus.

This is a entertaining novel that, at its core, provides a powerful and timeless story about the sacrifice others make and the power the rest of us have to help them heal. I highly recommend it.