Young Adult Fiction — Review

The Crazy Man

by Pamela Porter, Groundwood Books, 2005
ISBN 0-88899-695-0, $9.95, 216 pp, ages 9 – 15
www.groundwoodbooks.com

The Crazy Man was awarded the 2005 Governor General’s Literary Award for Children’s Text, and rightly so. It is beautifully written, and although classified as a novel, the sentences are formatted as free verse, telling the simple story of a life altering incident in one family’s history in such a compelling manner that I didn’t put it down until the last page was read. The incident takes place on a Saskatchewan farm in 1965. Emaline, riding on the back of her father’s tractor, jumps down to divert her dog away from the machinery because he is too busy chasing a hare to pay attention to his own safety. Her foot is almost severed as she jumps down, and in despair, her father shoots the dog and walks away from the farm and the family. Emaline’s mother is left to cope with an injured child and the farm. Much to the horror of the neighbours, she hires Angus, a patient from a nearby mental hospital, to seed the fields. Angus proves to be a gentle man and excellent farmer, and he stays on, becoming more and more a part of the family as trust grows among them. Emaline observes, but does not understand, the prejudice of the community, and as she slowly brings Angus into her life, she also begins to accept her father’s absence. The story is seen through Emaline’s eyes and told in Emaline’s voice, with a touch of wry humour and the honest observations of a child unspoiled by preconceived attitudes. Try this book with reluctant teen readers—it is such an easy read that they will quickly become engrossed, and like me, will want to continue reading to the end.

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