The Curve of Time

Around a hundred years ago, a widowed woman and her five children spent 15 summers on a small boat cruising the coast of British Columbia. This memoir describes their adventures and places they visited with lots of details about biology, geology, and the history of the area. There is very little info about the family itself, which I found refreshing. If such a book was written today, the focus would be all on the author, and used for self-promotion.

It is so fascinating especially because the parts Blanchet traveled with her children are still very wild and were even more desolate at that time. There is a particular type of person who can thrive in such an environment. I always admired those who had the courage to explore the frontier, show more moreover with five young children in tow. This is not the old trope of a man against the wilderness; Blanchet and her children are a part of the landscape. She was such an extraordinary woman and it is remarkable how she raised her children with such passion for nature and exploration.

I particularly loved the descriptions of the people they met during their summers. It reminded me of a real-life Northern Exposure. A nostalgic look into another era, a lot more authentic and wholesome. A truly great book. show less

I was lucky enough to have grown up on Vancouver Island and had parents that took me and my siblings on many picnics, hikes and camping trips giving us all a love and curiosity about nature and this corner of the world. The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet is a memoir written by a widow, who with her four children spent the summers of the 1920’s on a 25 foot boat, exploring the coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest.

Acting as both “captain” and mother, she and her children enjoyed their summers of freedom. Although there were dangers from bad weather, rough water and wild animals there were also great rewards. They met some interesting people who chose to live away from the rest of mankind but were happy to act as hosts to show more this small family, they were also helped and guided by the commercial fishermen and the loggers who were working in the areas that they travelled. They spent their summers discovering beautiful beaches, secret coves, and deserted Indian villages. This type of vacation travel was unusual to say the least and the fact that she was a women caused many people to sit up and take notice.

The author’s love of nature and her family comes across on every page in this book. Her memoirs read like a chatty letter from a favoured aunt, light and informative, but any deep understanding of her motives and inner thoughts she keeps to herself. I found myself reading this book with a chart of the coastal waters at my side so I could visual the routes she took and the places she visited. The Curve of Time was a charming and enjoyable read but I couldn’t help feeling that if the author had been a little more forth coming and had fleshed out the characters a little more fully, this would be a true Canadian classic. show less

If you were widowed with five young children, of course you'd spend summers exploring the Inside Passage and the BC coast with them in a 25-foot boat. Bears, cougars, orcas, storms, reefs, rock slides, crazy woodsmen, and unreliable food and water—what better environment to raise a child? (And this in the '20s, when radio wasn't available there, let alone cell phones and GPS.)

There's not really any continuous story here, but every scene and event is so beautifully and unpretentiously told that you accept the family's reality as normal. There are only a half-dozen black-and-white photos in the book, but from Blanchet's writing I have a better idea of the beauty of the coast than I've had from living near it for 18 years.

I'm trying to show more think of further ways to praise this book, but I can't. Read it. show less

This was an utterly charming, poignant, and thrilling book by turns. I couldn't put it down, and wish to return to its lush inlets and snarled mountains someday soon.

Wow, what an amazing book, what an amazing woman! I enjoyed her descriptions and how she viewed aspects of the natural world.
It sounded like she created the summers that all kids would dream of. I am so curious about their lives and want to find out more. I did do a little research and plan to do more.

A beautifully observed memoir of years spent boating in the Pacific Northwest. The style is that of another era, but the author's celebration of wondrous places is timeless. If you boat in the Gulf Islands, Desolation Sound, or the Broughton Archipelago, you must read this book.

This is a truly pleasant read. A fascinating journey in a land somewhat familiar (although not really) in a time long ago. I came across this book quite by chance in a local independent book store. Such events as these are sadly increasingly rare - but on this occasion ... what a find! If you have any familiarity with BC or even if not, perhaps especially if not, then I suggest this is mandatory reading!