In the eyes of the British Crown at the time, the island of Newfoundland wasn't considered a proper colony, but a sort of floating fishing station and training ground for naval recruits, a country that existed only during the summer months. Most of the planters and fishermen returned to England for the winter, as did the governor himself.River Thieves is a fictional imagining of a real historic time that author Michael Crummey populated with real people (those on the side whose stories have survived anyway) and it reads like a history lesson, an adventure tale, and a finely wrought piece of ironic literature -- no matter how well-intentioned the players involved, the reader can see the noose tightening and the inevitability of a tragic outcome. I was fighting against myself reading this book: wanting to keep reading to see what would happen and desperately wanting to put this book down and turn my mind to something else.
In the early 1800s -- with Newfoundland sparsely populated outside of St. John's and the indigenous Beothuk driven into the inhospitable interior of the island -- Governor Duckworth and his representative, British naval officer James Buchan, were determined to establish a friendly relationship with the "Red Indians" (so named for the ochre that they rubbed onto their bodies and belongings). Buchan travelled to the northeast shore -- where there resided colonists who had had sightings of the Beothuk -- and he encouraged several of these men to join his expedition to make contact. Buchan's ultimate goal was to convince one of the Natives to return with him, learn English, and become an interpreter between the two peoples; even if "convincing" meant "kidnapping". The expedition goes wrong and Governor Duckworth calls an end to the efforts.
A decade later, after more skirmishes between the Beothuk and the settlers, Buchan returns under the orders of a new governor, and this time, he learns of the hidden histories of attacks and reprisals, crimes and outrages, prejudices and outright murder. As Buchan once again leads a group into the frozen wilds of the interior, it's unclear whether or not there are any Beothuk left to contact. Humanising this grand sweep of events, River Thieves is fleshed out with a fascinating array of characters, each with their own private histories, expertly unveiled. As the reader learns of each character's hidden motivations, it becomes easier to spot the villains, but no easier to prevent the Beothuk's fate.
We have taken the tragedy of an entire race of people, Mr. Peyton, and cheapened it with our own sordid little melodrama.I was fascinated by this concept: I have no idea if Duckworth and Buchan's intentions were really this altruistic -- find a way to communicate with the Beothuk, even if it means taking and educating one of them against his will -- but without a method of communicating, the cycle of misunderstandings, theft, reprisal, ambushes, and "recompense" would never end, and ultimately, it didn't matter who started the cycle: it was inevitable who would come out on top. But were the British overlords really more compassionate towards the Beothuk than they were everywhere else on the continent? As Crummey outlines his research at the end, I'll have to take his word for it unless I decide to go to original sources myself.
Crummey expertly captured the minutia of the era -- in both the domestic and political spheres -- with an especial focus on the work of the men; the fishing, trapping, hunting, and dressing of meat and furs. He also has a real talent for writing women characters and the lives and labours of both Cassie and Annie Boss were totally believable. The history of this time was very interesting with the British government's stance on Newfoundland being influenced by the recent Revolutionary War in America, the shifting relationship with the French during and after the Napoleonic wars, and the hierarchy of prejudices among the colonists themselves: the British brought with them their firm class system with which to judge each other, but they all looked down their noses at Irish Catholics and Natives, while the Mi'kmaq who settled on Newfoundland with the French felt superior to the Beothuk (and as for Buchan, every time he was confronted with English atrocities, he was pleased to point out that he was Scottish).
Capturing a long gone time and place with a prose style that is as spare and lovely as Newfoundland itself, Crummey's first novel is an engaging and worthwhile read.
The sun had fallen below the ceiling of grey cloud, illuminating the enormous stretch of ice, and the snow on the branches of spruce terraced on the valley's hills burned gold all around them. It was like walking into a cathedral lit with candles and the group stood there exhausted and breathing heavily, leaning on walking sticks and bent forward to balance the weight of their packs, all with the worn look of awe of a group of pilgrims.
