Woodsburner

It is a delight to read a novel that doesn't assume I'm limited to a fifth grader's command of the English language.
Altho the inspiration for this story came from an entry in [[Thoreau]]'s [Journal], Pipkin skillfully interleaves the perspectives of a handfull of other people, each of whom views the fire as a personally fated event. And, like all crises, some meet the challenge, growing in inner strength, while others fail. As the blind woman (herself a symbol of Fate) soliloquizes "If the New World does not grant men the freedom to rise above the dark paths mapped by fate, then what is the point of coming here?"(p.350) Thoreau (as Pipkin has him say) sees it similarly: "These men have had a precious opportunity to act as men, and now show more they will return to their groveling lives. They will return to the ordained destruction of land and living things that pretends offense at accidental loss." (p. 342) show less

I wish I could give this book 6 stars, because it does so well the strange job of capturing that certain spirit that infuses much of my favorite American mid-19th century literature: A compelling mix of questing, Westward Expansion tempered by a sorrow for the loss of innocence of the New World, with an overlay of bizarre spiritual beliefs ranging from Puritanism to pantheism. I have a soft place in my heart for Henry David Thoreau, perhaps because he reminds me of the better angels of my own adolescent nature. I want to shake him and hug him at once. Yes, he did set fire to the woods. Yes, it was a stupid and tragic accident. But he did help stop the fire, and Pipkin imagines Thoreau taking such lessons from this episode as to have show more made Walden a direct beneficiary -- a piece of writing that might not have otherwise been possible. show less

What a skillful, accomplished, confident debut novel. In fact, had I not attended the book signing and presentation by the author, I would have never guessed it was the writer's first work - each character, even besides Henry David Thoreau, is so unique in this book. We always think of Thoreau as a serious philosopher, thinker. John Pipkin gives us a different Thoreau - a vulnerable young man whose opinions of the surrounding world were just forming. I loved the way John Pipkin puts life into his characters with his exquisite language style - I just loved his wording. I kept having this urgent feeling of wanting to quote him, to write down this or that sentence, just for the sheer beauty of it, and eventually I did write down a few show more things. Also, his style clearly rings of the authenticity of the period.

During the author's book signing and presentation at a local library, I admit, I was a little biased against Mr.Pipkin when somebody from the audience asked him whether he had often been to Walden Pond for inspiration to write this book, and John Pipkin said no... I remember thinking then: well, how could one not to... But then I read the book and was quite taken by his talent. I have only one small note of criticism: I found some ideas and ruminations a little repetitive at some points of the book (though, I am sure it had some hidden purpose), but for me, it hardly took anything from its value. show less

Historical Fiction is probably one of the harder genres for an author to succeed in, especially when it is not written as a sub-genre of Mystery, True Crime or Romance novels. Taking historical people and events and placing them within a fictional narrative can be a precarious balancing act; too much historical accuracy can weigh down a story, while taking too many liberties can unintentionally turn the whole thing into a farce. Tackling a historical literary figure can be even more daunting, as readers familiar with the author's works will no doubt possess their own vision of his or her personality.

With this in mind, John Pipkin took a perilous task in hand when he decided to pen a fictionalized account of Henry David Thoreau's show more accidental act of wildfire arson in Woodsburner: A Novel. His theory that Thoreau's unintentional decimation of 300 acres of woodland forest might have sparked the emotional and philosophical journey that would inspire much of his later works (most notably Walden) is intriguing. But Pipkin's interest isn't merely academic; Woodsburner strives to understand and examine the spiritual journey that would sprout from such a traumatic event, and on this level he succeeds.

The pace and tone of Woodsburner matches the style of its subject. Not a thrilling page-turner, it is instead casual and reflective, admiring the landscape (of both the Massachusetts wilderness and mid 1800s) the as it examines and dwells upon it. Switching the narrative between three other main (fictional) characters besides Thoreau as the fire spreads and builds gives the reader a perspective of perceptions and realities that aids in the illustration of Thoreau's personal journey, and helps to further explore the time period. In short, Pipkin handily succeeds in turning a historical footnote into a provoking and engaging novel.

Woodsburner has enough heart and soul for readers interested in the motivations and decisions characters make, flavor and detail for people looking for the historical perspective of the time period, and penetrating prose for those hungry for a more personal look at a famous literary figure. show less

On April 30, 1844, Henry David Thoreau accidentally set fire to the woods near Concord. From this little known historical occurrence, John Pipkin imagines the day of the fire, and the several characters it affects.

There's Oddmund Hus, hopelessly in love with his boss's wife; Eliot Calvert, failed playwright and bookseller who sells pornographic cards on the side to make a buck; Caleb Dowdy, dope smoking minister who thinks his father was too soft on people and preaches a gospel of hellfire and damnation. And of course, there's Henry David himself, the twenty-six year old working in his father's pencil factory and unsure what to do with the rest of his life.

If your first thought was, "Wow, that sounds like a miserable bunch," you'd be show more right. And they go on being miserable... and on, and on, and on throughout the day - told in third person present tense - and the past, which is slowly explored for these four and a few other characters in lesser detail. Whether anything changes in the fire, I leave you to discover if you dare. I wouldn't have finished the book myself if I didn't have to facilitate a book discussion. As it is, this book gets a full star for the writing, which was good enough that I sometimes just enjoyed the flow of a sentence, and half a star for the concept, which was an interesting one even if I hated everyone. show less

Only one year before the move to Walden Pond that would result in his literary masterpiece, Henry David Thoreau had a very different experience with the rustic environment near his Concord, Massachusetts home. In a careless attempt to start a cooking fire under unusually dry circumstances, Thoreau watched helplessly as a strong wind spread his small fire, and as almost 300 acres of the Concord Woods were destroyed. In fact, if not for the efforts of the townspeople, Concord itself might have burned to the ground.

John Pipkin looks at this surprising incident from Henry David Thoreau’s personal history through the eyes of Thoreau and several fictional characters in his strong debut novel, "Woods Burner. " In the process of creating a show more back-history for each of his main characters, Pipkin provides a revealing look at Massachusetts society of the 1840s and theorizes on how Thoreau’s mistake heavily influenced the rest of his life and career.

Pipkin uses three main characters other than Thoreau: Eliot Calvert, a bookstore owner who considers himself a budding playwright; Reverend Caleb Dowdy, a radical preacher who plans to build a new church in the Concord Woods; and Oddmund Hus, a simple Norwegian immigrant farmhand who works on one of the small farms surrounded by the woods.

Surprisingly enough, this novel of almost 370 pages takes place in just one real-time day, beginning shortly before Thoreau and his friend, Edward Sherman Hoar, make the fatal decision to turn some of their fresh catch into fish chowder, and ending not long after the locals finally manage to control the runaway fire. Pipkin uses the bulk of his novel to illustrate the 1840s lifestyle by creating detailed backgrounds for his three main characters, each of whom has an interesting story worthy of its own novel.

Circumstances bring Pipkin’s characters together in a way, and at a pace, that allows the reader to gain a clear picture of Massachusetts life of the period at several different societal levels. The novel also offers insight into how Thoreau’s budding environmental concerns were strengthened and focused by what happened to him and his friend in the Concord Woods that day – suggesting, perhaps, that tragedy oftentimes produces positive change. show less

Don't Let the Smoke Get in Your Eyes

Often I find myself reading a work of fiction based in a real life experience in the life of an individual or "the World" at large. This novel falls into both of those categories.

[Woodsburner: A Novel] authored by [[John Pipkin]] is based upon an incident in Henry David Thoreau's life, the accidental burning of many acres of forest close to the the village of Concord, MA, that was a result of a cooking fire leaping out of it's spot and catching the surrounding tender dry "fuel" on fire. He and a friend had been boating on the river close by and stopped to cook a chowder from the fresh fish that they had caught.

The author introduces many local characters into the mix in an imaginative way and draws show more the reader into the story through each person's point of view and their response to the threat of the fire reaching all the way from the woods to Concord itself. The narrative resulting contains philosophies of the era in which the characters live and even includes the seminal thoughts on the beginning of our focus on protecting the natural environment.

Worth reading for the characters tales alone and the mysticism and philosophy of Thoreau. I enjoyed becoming privy to the changes wrought by each character's fire fighting story. It, of course, brings out the best and the worst of our selves to be involved in disasters both natural and man made.

It is interesting to consider that this experience of the forest fire, led Mr. Thoreau to build his solitary cabin and spend the year or so living at Walden Pond and writing and philosophizing though he does not speak of the fire until many years later in his writing life.

Excellent writing. Interesting premise for a book. Not very exciting, more a subtle revealing once again,that the more things change the more they seem to stay the same. show less