One Foot in Two Canoes

Beverly Waters McBride
The Peppertree Press (2009)
ISBN 9781936051038
Reviewed by Marissa Libbit for Reader Views (01/10) 

 

“One Foot in Two Canoes” by Beverly Waters McBride is the fictional story of Dan, a Native American man who struggles with living by the ideals of his culture versus by the excess of the secret world in which he lives.  Dan works for high-powered, wealthy people doing secretive jobs and then returns to his home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan when he feels the need to settle himself with the calmness and clarity of his tribe.  He often seeks guidance from “Big Man,” a tribal leader. 
       
The premise of “One Foot in Two Canoes” is good.  The author notes on the back cover that, “There is a saying that it is possible for a Native American to travel down the smooth river of life with one foot in each of two canoes, one canoe representing tribal heritage and way of life, and the other ‘western’ thinking and living, committing fully to neither, as long as the river is smooth without rocks, challenges or bends.  But when adversity strikes …..a person must then jump into one philosophical canoe or the other, embracing their own culture or denying their heritage.”  Dan struggles to meet the challenges in his tribal community while still enjoying his high-paced life on the job. 
     
Unfortunately, beyond the understood premise, I have several problems with this book.  First, the characters are underdeveloped.  A host of people come in and out of Dan’s life with little more than surface information given about them.  Sometimes all the reader gets is a name and a few sentences, when maybe the need for that character’s presence wasn’t even necessary.  Even those we do meet more than once don’t ever feel developed to their full potential.  Second, Dan’s ‘secret job’ was very confusing to me.  What he actually does is vague throughout, and I questioned why his family never seemed to care what he was doing.  Third, there was an element of time confusion to me.  Near the end Dan reconnects with a lost love, yet in the last chapter he wants to return to Miami to visit another interest.  Does the author mean to imply that all of Dan’s “jobs” happened after his visit home, or does Dan come and go from home to his jobs, as I first suspected with the back and forth chapters?
     
The author’s intent is good, as is her story idea in “One Foot in Two Canoes.”  I just feel that more clarity of character, plot, and time would be helpful.

Make comment on weblog

FTC Disclosure