Promised Lands: Growing Up Absurd in the 50's and 60's by Douglas Williams

Douglas Williams begins his memoir somewhere in the middle, describing life as a hippie at a time when so many young people slung on their backpacks and took off for the quest to live life wild and free, travelling through Europe mostly, some dipping into Africa and Asia as well. He has described the scene of the counter-culture life of the '60s well, both good and bad. It may be symbolic that he next reverts to his childhood memories in the second part of the book.

Living rural near a small town in post-war Canada, his parents immigrants, life was loosely structured but strongly disciplined. The author bares his heart and soul in this memoir. We see a slice of life in what could be referred to as a border town on Lake Erie through the eyes of a child, then through his teen-age years. His honesty is "no holds barred" about himself and the lack of adjustment to the times in a small town.

His father's death when Doug was 7 profoundly affected him in numerous ways. The most consistent theme in his life appears to be his creativity, whether it be in ill-chosen exploits with school friends, or the creativity that comes through during the 1960s, it remains central to his character. By the time the '60s are in full swing, he lacks a close family relationship and is ready for his journey abroad.

As he tours several countries, intimate encounters, and whatever drugs come along, his descriptive writing gives the reader one man's record of a unique and surprising decade. He makes fairly lasting friendships regardless of the nature of his meanderings through time and place. This decade is forever etched in the minds of anyone who lived through it, whether in the counter-culture or away from it, it was a stupifying time filled with change. A time of living music speaking to a new generation.

This book reflects the changes in the traditional mores, beliefs, politics, drugs and sex, a book for those who will remember the distrust, unrest, the revolt on rigid morals, religion, war and corporate greed driving political agendas, and as such is definitely an adult book. The book is true to itself -- Doug Williams kept a journal which is probably why he was able to write so comprehensively on his subject. We learn that among the spaced out, starving, and sharing, there is also humour. Travelling with friends in a malodorous, airless, traditional old VW van is often hilarious. In keeping with his creative side, he touches on his occasional forays into the film industry while in Europe,  a stint at a film school in London, England, discussing with the reader his thoughts on movie-makers and their impact on him. Among those movie contacts he mentions are Truffault, Kubrick, and Hitchcock, as a few.

For readers who were not around during what really begins in the 1950s through into the '70s, this book is an eye-opening trip, both in hippiedom and in the aftermath of WWII, segueing into the fear and adulterated suspicion of the Cold War and on through the biased Viet Nam war. This book deals primarily with those fast-changing decades.What he writes in this memoir is baldly honest. What you read is what he is.

As a descriptive and thought-provoking author, I suspect we haven't heard the last of Douglas Williams. But whether his next book will be about the industry of film making, the National Film Board, TV directing, producing and writing, or more travels, we will have to wait and see. Regardless, I'm sure it will be interesting.

Run Into Trouble by Alan Cook

Reviewed from ebook version

This book starts off with a bang, a car crash that is an obvious deliberate hit sending the car flying and landing in a field. Quick action is needed for the driver and Drake to escape before the car blows up, but both are groggy. The car is seriously damaged with doors jammed. Drake suddenly notices that the driver is now next to him in the back seat, semi-conscious and must get him out. The only way out is the broken rear window. Pushing the driver out head-first with great effort, he gets the driver fully through when he rolls off the truncated trunk, followed by Drake. With supreme effort Drake drags the driver away, narrowly escaping the fireball as the car blew up, just on the edge of safety where they feel the heat but are not endangered more.

Strangely, as memory reinstates itself, he recalls the driver of the truck suddenly hesitated, backed off just at impact so the crash was not as hard as it would have been, as though it was not meant to kill anyone. What a start to a book about a marathon, a foot race Drake is scheduled to start running the next day! And as we will soon learn, the sponsor will insist he run this race, even providing chiropractic sessions. Obviously, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Who would be looking for Drake at this late date of 1969? Though his past was covert, it was a long time ago and he can't make any sense of who might want him dead. The marathon is invitation only, and as he meets with the sponsors from Giganticorp, he learns that the driver's expenses will be taken care of and Drake himself has already been patched up as much as possible with a very colourful face and broken nose. It is at this point he learns that his old partner Melody Jefferson from his undercover agent days is his running partner. Suspicion looms as he thinks about the possible reasons for this. Who would even know about that partnership? Why is it so important that Giganticorp insists on Drake running the marathon in his condition? The whole idea is crazy and someone obviously knows too much confidential information!

I found Alan Cook's technique for each chapter very interesting as a background for the race. Each chapter is another day in the race and begins with the marathon runners, competing in pairs, given very descriptive daily directions for the route. As a Canadian recognizing some of the routes from driving vacations in California in 1959 and 1961, I really enjoyed these tantalizing chapter settings. Soon the iceberg goes deeper when a sudden attack from the ocean onto the beach results in one runner dead, one injured and several homes destroyed.

The daily route and the pacing of the runners provides interest and background to the story, but at what price? Outside threats are keeping Drake and Melody in the race. There seems to be a political agenda to this oddly fast-paced yet sometimes calm story, but is that what it really is? This book was definitely different in its storyline and layout, with as many hills and troughs as throughout the run of the marathon. Thwarted romance, misguided alliances, and a deliberate political red-herring makes for a well-written attention-getting novel, leading right up to a unique ending to one man's tyranny. Alan Cook is a diverse author and has written several novels, two of them winning the American Author's Association Silver Quill Award and chosen as Best Pacific West Book by Reader Views.

Houses, a Novel by Cynthia Rogers Parks

Reviewed for Review the Book
Publisher Leigh Walker Books

This simply titled book was a pleasant surprise to me. It is written as a memoir and I had to keep reminding myself that this is a novel, not Cynthia Rogers Park's memoir, although I'm sure there is a great deal of herself in the book. "Houses" is the memoir of Lacey Winter. It is also a snapshot of historic moments of the U.S. through the 1950s, 60's, 70's and on toward the millennium; the growth of changes after WWII, through the Viet Nam era, the deaths of President John F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. A time she measures by the houses she lived in.

Everyone has a method of recording the events in their lives. To me, it is generally the ages of my children, but after reading this memorable book, I find I identify with Lacey's memories of time, attached to which house she was living in. It seemed only right that she would eventually work in real estate. Lacey's story begins as a child living with her Grandmother and her younger sister with very rare visits from her father. Her mother died in an accident and he is "looking for a new mother". From this point on, Lacey seems to spend her life moving from house to house, sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes bad. Sometimes the houses are "happy" and sometimes they are not. All houses take on a personality that she tries to imprint herself on, but many times the houses imprint her. Sometimes she is upgrading, sometimes downgrading, according to her life and the turns of national economy.

In the real time period of this book, life sped up so fast, it was hard to know what would be thrown at you next. Segregation was still in effect, women were on the edge of being recognized, but these and wars, and yes, even the hippie movement all meant huge changes in the country. And for every change, another house, another hopeful start. I feel that the author has done a very good, tightly written novel of so many opposing factors, keeping the theme of houses commensurate with life. For many of us our home or lack of home, even shared home was our life. This would be a good book club read deserving discussion, as well as for individual readers who grew up in this era. I found the book to have a very intriguing style and a believable storyline. I liked the book very much. It covers a lot of ground and demonstrates a definite slice of life in the last half of the twentieth century, making it real.