Journey

Best Book I ever read!

We were on vacation along the Alaska Highway in 2007 when my wife found a copy of "Journey" at a laundromat while doing laundry. She brought it back to our RV and I began reading it. Our next destination was Inuvik, NWT at the end of the Dempster Highway. It turned out that much of the journey in "Journey" was through this part of Canada so I immediately become captured by the story.

I am not an avid reader, but proof that I feel this is the best book I ever read is the fact that I read it a second time about a year or so later. It is the only book that I have ever completely read a second time and I am 67 yr. old.

First time for James Michener

This was my first James Michener read, and I enjoyed it alright. I will definately give another one of his books a go. Journey was a very easy and quick read, and gave the reader a quick adventure to the arctic circle.

A wonderful novel !

A short novel by Micheners' standard. A vivid, action packed novel that is easy to read and difficult to put down. Five men struggle in the Canadian wilderness while enroute to the Klondike gold fields in 1897. Grave misfortunes beset the party with devastating results due to arrogance, poor decisions, tradition, and failure to heed sound advise by knowledgable inhabitants of the Canadian frontier.

A fascinating trip into the creative process of a prolific and highly successful writer

It's 1897, and people from all over the world are heading for the Yukon gold fields. Most follow the grueling overland route from Alaska after arriving there by ship. Lord Evelyn Luton, though, wants to prove that it's possible to reach Dawson without straying out of Canada. The 32-year-old younger son of the Marquess of Deal gathers three fellow noblemen (including two members of his own family), plus a trusted Irish servant, and sets out for Canada at mid-summer. Although they're well prepared for their trip down the mighty, wandering Mackenzie River, unlike far too many others making the same perilously late start, they have no chance of reaching their goal without wintering along the way. This they do with remarkable success - the first year, anyway. After that it's another story entirely. What can it cost us humans to cling pigheadedly to our preconceptions, even when those around us know better and try to persuade us of our folly? What can blind loyalty cost those who follow such a leader? JOURNEY addresses these themes with some poignance, although it's hard for a modern reader to avoid wanting to shake Lord Luton silly. What I found most interesting and enjoyable wasn't the novel itself, though. I was intrigued by Michener's 'Reflections' at the book's end, in which the author describes how he conceived the characters of JOURNEY and first told their story as a chapter in his novel ALASKA. When his editors rightly pointed out that it didn't fit well there, and made an already long book longer still, he put the material away. Only to take it out and rework it, even adding scenes that he hadn't bothered to write when he thought it would form one chapter in the longer work, after the characters he'd created refused to leave him alone. 'Reflections' provides a fascinating trip into the creative process of a prolific and highly successful writer.

A Canadian Historical Treasure Disguised as Fiction

A treasure in Canadian History. The Canadian Gold Rush makes a fascinating study and the research and history tucked into this little volume of fiction compliment fiction writers like Jack London, non-fiction writers like Farley Mowatt, and poets like Robert Service. The rather amusing antipathy for anything American belabored by Lord Evelyn Luton might not have worked coming from a Canadian Author, but Mitchener pulls it off with a unique strange humour that is integral to the characters. The story itself is a brief 200+ pages. Cut from the final manuscript of the best-selling ¿Alaska¿, this small literary gem packs a punch. An added bonus for poetry lovers is the collection of poems at the end of the book, many of which will be familiar, some few readers will have seen before. Told in the context of the gold rush, even the most familiar are somehow new. Also, of special interest to writers is the story behind the story, including the editing decisions that led to this cut from a much larger work becoming a full book of its own. I was fortunate enough to stumble on a copy at a library sale. I truly hope they had multiple copies, for mine is an uncirculated hardcover at a price to make the author weep. For the entertainment value of a well spun tale set in the Canadian north, or for the wealth of history that is anything but dry and dusty, this book is a treasure.

A Great Novel

A wonderful novel. Mr Michener is a great story teller.

Cool Book

Journey is a story of the dangerous expedition to the gold fields during the Klondike gold rush in 1987. When Lord Evelyn Luton hears of the 'ton of gold,' he gathers four other members to join him on his journey. The team of five goes through many adventures and challenges to reach their goal,reaching the gold. Philip Henslow is the nephew of Luton. On the trip, he encounters and falls in love with a woman from North Dakota, Irina Kozlok. Philip's friend, Trevor Blythe is the poet of the team. He reads and recites poems during the winter and often write about his experience. The cousin of Luton was Harry Carpenter. He was skilled in wilderness survival, and the one that I thought had the most courage to stand up to Lord Luton. I thought the most important man on the trip was Timothy Fogarty. His skill of game catching became very crucial in the end. He was hardworking, and was always there if something had to be done. Finally, Lord Luton was the leader of the team. It was an interesting to see his character change throughout the story. In the beginning until the end, he was very arrogant. After the trip, he listened to other's ideas and was willing to change his mind. The part I liked most about this book was how a goal of obtaining gold transformed into a goal to survive. An expedition for money had converted into a strive to live in the Arctic areas.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.