New Found Land by Allan Wolf
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204860.New_Found_Land
http://www.allanwolf.com/books/lewis_clark/
I had noticed the book before. Sitting on the library shelf, right at the level of my eye, there nearly every time I would visit. The cover sported an aged appearance with the title in a simple font- New Found Land: Lewis and Clark's Voyage of Discovery. Many times I had passed the book by, picking it up once or twice then replacing it on the shelf. Historical fiction is not my type. One day, however, I checked out the book. I had been learning about Lewis and Clark in school and decided I would try to read the lengthy novel. I am glad I did.
New Found Land, written so uniquely by Allan Wolf retells the story of the Corps of Discovery from the point of view of many Corps members including Lewis's Newfoundland dog, Seaman. While the dog Seaman, or Oolum as he is called in the book, narrates using the traditional style of writing, the many other personalities use a poetic style of speech. The author skillfully weaves the character's real life quotes into the poetry, in addition to including several journal entries-complete with the famous misspellings. New Found Land is written in long sections rather than chapters. The novel is still manageable, though, as no character ever narrates more than three pages at a time. In the end of the story, Allan Wolf dedicates a section to a nonfiction "epilogue" of sorts, showing statistical data and explaining what became of the characters he adopted for his novel.
By the time I finished New Found Land, I felt I knew the members of the Corps of Discovery as individuals who sustained hardships and joys to reach their goal, rather than drawling voices read by actors in documentaries. Allan Wolf successfully brings life to some of the less famous members of the Corps, as well as some of those more frequently mentioned. It is also interesting to read multiple opinions on subjects, rather than just that of the main character. Speaking of main character, there is no hero in this novel. Each character plays an equal role in the adventure, with their own victories and defeats. In addition to expressing the character's personality well, Allan Wolf also masterfully voices each character, giving them accents and realistic speech. No one has perfect grammar, as is common with many modern heroes.
Next time you see a book you are constantly drawn to, but keep ignoring, read it. Just try. Maybe you will like it, maybe not. When I picked out New Found Land, I said to myself, "I won't read it all, maybe just the first few chapters." By the time the book was due to be returned two weeks later, I had finished more than just a few pages- all 500 to be exact. Any one who is looking for a novel about Lewis and Clark, but not ready to read their actual journals yet, should give New Found Land a try. Whether you finish it or not, New Found Land will broaden your views and opinions on the voyage of the Corps of Discovery.
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