This book was great! It tells the story of two young men from Montreal, one a French Catholic from the upper classes and the other a working-class Jew in the 1930s. The author portrays the history of that time so well, with especially well-drawn and complex characters. Both men end up in Spain, one to fight against Franco; the other to report back stories favourable to Franco's, and the church's goals.

In this story, we get a sense of Canadian history, including the great depression and the early days of organized labour. We also get a moving story about love, loyalty and standing up for what we believe in.

I've never heard of this author before, but will definitely be looking for more of his books. The writing is so strong...crisp, beautiful, engaging. ( )

While this is a novel, it reads like a biography. Full of history about a period of Canadian History that is not always covered in history classes, it gives the reader an idea of what it was like to live in Montreal in the 1930's with poverty, racism and nationalism dominating the lives of the people. The French Catholic Church receives much criticism for its support of the ruling class and its antisemitism and anti-unionism.

For an understanding of the Spanish Civil War and why young men from Canada and other democracies went there to fight for or against Fascism, West presents some of the reasons through the views of his characters. He also does the same for the reasons so many men traveled back and forth across Canada on the freight trains during the Depression years. If you have no idea what the life of a hobo was like in that time period, this novel would be a good place to start. ( )