Family Saga

There’s no real reason for Angus MacGrath, a Nova Scotia coastal shipping captain, to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1916. Canada has no conscription; Angus, a onetime seminarian, has a wife and teenage boy; he’s an artist, so the natural beauty of his home matters to him; and there’s no pressure to join up. In fact, his father, Duncan, is a pacifist, so Angus should be primed to sit out the war.

Yet Angus’s brother-in-law, his closest friend, has been missing in action in France, and Angus wishes to search for him. An officer Angus knows assures him that his mapmaking skills will secure him a desk job in London, from which he figures to make inquiries. Nobody’s happy. Duncan’s furious, and Hettie Ellen, Angus’s withdrawn wife, gives merely tacit approval, hardly a rousing endorsement. Their son, Simon, who craves closeness from his father, tries to keep a stiff upper lip.

Turns out there’s no room in the cartography department—who could have guessed?—and Angus is made a lieutenant of infantry, a job for which he’s unprepared. However, to his surprise, he becomes a capable field leader, befriends his brother officers despite his natural aloofness, and gains the respect of his men. Gradually, his search for his brother-in-law takes on epic proportions.

Meanwhile, back in Nova Scotia, Simon tries to assert his independence, especially from his tyrannical grandfather, Duncan. Simon keeps a scrapbook of newspaper articles on the war and casts his father as a hero. He also befriends his favorite teacher, a German-born polymath, testament to the tolerance he’s learned at home and his ability to think for himself. Ominously, Simon’s friends and neighbors show neither quality.

The Cartographer of No Man’s Land is a lovely novel, the more remarkable for being Duffy’s first; and as a historian of the First World War and a reader familiar with its fiction, I can attest to its authenticity. Duffy has researched her ground meticulously, but spending years in libraries and archives doesn’t guarantee a gripping narrative. Still, I defy anyone to find a dull, wasted page in this extraordinary tale. And much as I salute the author’s impressive grasp of detail, it’s how she deploys her knowledge that counts. Moreover, her seductive prose takes you by the hand and shows you what she wants you to see

Duffy effortlessly captures the camaraderie of men at war, the search for meaning amid the violence, the tension and release of battle. Even readers who shy away from such stories may find much to keep them glued to this one. For those interested, Duffy has re-created the Battle of Vimy Ridge in Arras, a source of such national pride in Canada that she feared to tackle it, she writes. However, her authorial bravery pays off, and the novel must rank among the best from recent years about the First World War.

Oddly, though, her home-front narrative feels somewhat less compelling. It belongs, because Duffy links the parallel journeys of father and son, as each strives to understand who he is. But Duffy’s soldiers steal the show, hands down. Hettie Ellen's inner life never comes through (perhaps Angus might agree), and none of the women leave an echo behind them, except one in a cameo role. They’re not stick figures, by any means, just less full than the fighters. The home-front men do better than the women, but few have much scope, and though the Canada story has its moments, it doesn't reach as high.

Nevertheless, The Cartographer of No Man’s Land is a very fine novel and an excellent addition to First World War literature. ( )

What a great book to finish the year with. Angus McGrath, a Nova Scotian boat skipper, enlists to fight in WWI when his wife's brother goes missing at the front. Angus is also an artist so he hopes to work as a cartographer away from the front, but is instead sent to fight. His wife Hettie and son Simon Peter are left at home, along with his pacifist father Duncan.
The book alternates between events at the front and those back in Nova Scotia. The author writes vivid descriptions and evocative characters as the war changes their way of life. Angus must deal with the deaths of his men, the cold and despair at the front as well as the courage of men driven to kill or be killed. Simon Peter misses his father but is growing up as he deals with his irascible grandfather, his mother's growing independence, and his German teacher who is suspected of spying.
I really enjoyed the book, rating it a solid 4 stars until the end. I loved the ending which is probably a bit of a cliffhanger for some readers but felt like a perfect conclusion for me. ( )

Since The Cartographer of No Man’s Land is set throughout the year of 1917, in France and in Chester Nova Scotia, just a few miles outside Halifax, I expected the Halifax Explosion to play some part in the story. I was disappointed that it rated only a passing reference near the end of the book.

Okay story. ( )

I won a copy of The Cartographer on No Man’s Land back in the early Fall 2014 from Shelf Awareness. Immediately, I read the first couple of chapters. As I read, I knew that this was a book that I want to save until holiday vacation time. The beauty and depth of those first chapters made me aware that this was not a novel to be rushed through---although at times it was tough---but to be savored and enjoyed. This debut novel is all those things…and more

It’s 1917. World War I is raging across Europe, especially in the trenches in France. Back in Nova Scotia, Angus McGrath sails the coasts fishing and hauling as his father has done before. Ebbin, his brother-in-law, joined up and hasn’t been heard from in months. His wife, Hettie, is beside herself with grief.

Angus enlists, going in search of Ebbin. He has been assured that he will not be in the thick of battle, but that he will be behind the lines, probably based in London as a cartographer. This surprises Angus as no one has ever thought his drawings were good.

Seems the Canadian recruiters are much like the American recruiters. They’ll promise young people anything to get them to sign on the dotted line. Needless to say, Angus winds up in the trenches, where replacement officers are needed.

Readers will get a true sense of war from this story. The landscape is decimated and dangerous by bomb craters, divided by the trenches and barbwire. The towns and farms are deserted. Forests are charred. Artillery shells burst around and over the soldiers. Clouds of gas roil obstruct the ghastly view.

Oscillating between Angus’s point of view and what’s happening back home, readers can almost get a true sense of the war and its toll on the families.

Although Duffy is a journalist, this haunting, debut novel is beautifully written and seductive as it pulls readers further and further into the story. I would give The Cartographer of No Man’s Land six stars if I could. ( )