Journey

Rating:
Summary: High expectations fell short in the end
Review: Although this was the first and only Michener novel I have read, I think it was a poor choice. My expectations going into reading were quite high, but by the end of this novel I was very disappointed. The story was decent, however the plot was very thin. I had alot of trouble relating to the characters. I could not figure out if Luton was just a snob, or a real caring person that was afraid to show his emotions. The deaths were very predictable, and to be quite frank the ending just sucked! What a let down, Luton just leaves the same day he gets to Dawson like he is supposed to be some kind of hero or something. Luton just made me angry the whole story especially the way he treated Fogerty, at the end I am very surprised he paid for his telegram. Definitely not the greatest book in the world.

Rating:
Summary: incredible disappointment
Review: First I want to say that I am a big fan of Mr. Michener. "Mexico" may be my all time favorite book. So you can imagine my disappointment at finding a book that had so much potential that went absolutely no where. What a basis for a story. A small group of adventurous, proud Englishmen; the harsh and lonely Canadian wilderness; and gold fever. Unfortunately the gold was never a topic. The Canadian wilderness with its extreme weather, beautiful landscapes, and abundant wildlife, was only passively mentioned in very small detail. And as for the characters- the only ones you really liked died, with very little discussion ( this did not bother me because I know reality has to play into a book of this sort). And the one character you truly begin to despise lives long enough to cause one of the worst endings to novel I have ever read. One mans pride- excuse me, stupidity- killed the most admirable characters in the novel, then went home as soon as he accomplished the task. I have never been so frustrated in my life with a book.

Rating:
Summary: incredible disappointment
Review: First I want to say that I am a big fan of Mr. Michener. "Mexico" may be my all time favorite book. So you can imagine my disappointment at finding a book that had so much potential that went absolutely no where. What a basis for a story. A small group of adventurous, proud Englishmen; the harsh and lonely Canadian wilderness; and gold fever. Unfortunately the gold was never a topic. The Canadian wilderness with its extreme weather, beautiful landscapes, and abundant wildlife, was only passively mentioned in very small detail. And as for the characters- the only ones you really liked died, with very little discussion ( this did not bother me because I know reality has to play into a book of this sort). And the one character you truly begin to despise lives long enough to cause one of the worst endings to novel I have ever read. One mans pride- excuse me, stupidity- killed the most admirable characters in the novel, then went home as soon as he accomplished the task. I have never been so frustrated in my life with a book.

Rating:
Summary: Great story, though an unengaging protagonist
Review: I had read Michener's "Hawaii" and found that enjoyable though somewhat drawn out. I had trouble starting "Chesapeake" and "Centennial," two books with apparently slow introductions that I shelved for later perusal. Journey was the best of all the Michenor books I've explored, with an engaging adventure story and great wilderness background.

The tale is set in the period of the Yukon Gold Rush from 1897 to 1899 and follows the endeavors of five men; four Englishmen and their Irish servant, to reach the gold fields of Canada through a British-only route. The leader of the group, Lord Luton, is bound and determined not to venture through the United States due to his priggish snobbery and stubbornness, a misguided decision which proves to be painfully costly. The descriptions of Canadian life, its wonders and dangers are vivid and enthalling. The pitfalls of the expedition had me turning the pages rather enthusiastically, and some of the characters were quite likeable.

However, I had some real problems with the protagonist of the story, Lord Luton. I disliked him so intensely that it served as a detriment to the book. Michener did a splendid job depicting this thoroughly unlikeable man in the context of the English lord with cherished rules and customs (no matter how ridiculous) but I still found him so insufferable that I found myself hoping the character would be removed from the story, and the tale would focus upon the remaining survivors. Certainly he had some good qualities such as bravery, a good work ethic, and concern for his fellow travelers, but the negative aspects of his character overwhelmed the positive. I despised the way he (and the book) referred to the Irish servant, Fogerty, the best of the bunch, as "his gilly."

Throughout the tale Luton apparently learned nothing about the foolishness of his decisions and actions, nor does he reform any of his mannerisms into more reasonable modes of behavior. The sacrifices made on the journey are ever more poignant because the person responsible for them never even finds remorse for his actions.

Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Read
Review: I have read many of Michener's books and when he was alive he was a very famous and beloved author. He made his name writing the epic 1000 page regional story that could weave centuries of history to create a masterpiece about one region or group of people.

Here he breaks the mold and writes a short book just around 250 pages long and it is esentially one story, not the weave that we were accustomed to receiving from him. When I bought the book I was at first a little suprised that it did break the formula but having said that the book is not bad and I was held by the story. Quick light read and fairly entertaining. Three or four stars.

Solid job but not the epic.

Jack in Toronto

Rating:
Summary: It is worth it.
Review: I have read several James A. Michener books. For a book that is very short for Michener's usual fair, this is very good. Why? For this one, Michener sticks to one plot. No, you don't have his usual descriptive settings or his lengthy battle of some animal trying to survive. This book just tells the story. A very good story. The plot involves five men from Britain who go to Canada to get to the gold rush in 1897. There real mission is to get there by traveling only on British territory. No one has ever done that. As any one knows, traveling in Canada over mountains is not that easy. These five men will soon discover that the idea of adventure for the sake of honor may be a high price to pay. One of the reviews I saw for this book listed on Amazon, didn't like the idea of killing off some of the characters. One wrote that this book was depressing because of that. James A. Michener doesn't write anything without history backing him up. Killing off some of the characters proves how hard this journey really was. And, I am sure that some men did see this as an adventure not a suicidal journey. Some men just don't see the big picture. If you have never read a James A. Michener book, this could be a good one to start with. But, you have not read anything until you've read a Michener epic. Try Texas, Hawaii or Caribbean.

Rating:
Summary: It is worth it.
Review: I think James Michener has a good story going here. I was impressed by some of the irony and allusion, especially Luton's stubbornness when it came to Americans, as well as taking advice from anyone after he'd already made up his mind. I think more detail and suspense could have been added, but that's strictly reader preference. The deaths of some of the characters left me feeling a bit lost as well. It was as if their death kind of snuck up on you and then wasn't talked about after about a page or so. However, the overall storyline pleased me very much. I think it personified cultural stubbornness as well as gold rushes in general. I nearly laughed out loud when reading about some of the inexperienced travelers that were trying to make their way through the Arctic (i.e. the man with the modified tractor). I was also very satisfied by the ending. It was unexpected, but complete and understandable. Also, I liked the fact that Luton stated from the beginning that he wasn't after gold and by the end he hadn't changed his mind at all. After all, the title of the book, Journey, certainly implies that the adventure and travel is the fun part of the book, not a quest for gold or a search for pride. Overall, I liked the book and thought it was a very entertaining read and believe it deserves four stars.

Rating:
Summary: Deeply unsatisfying
Review: It is with regret that I write this. I have enjoyed his historical sagas, formulaic though they be. But this book had him writing off his form. Slimmed down, it would have made a natural chapter in his "Alaska", though this is of course set in Canada proper.

The problem with this book is the sheer cardboard quality of the characters. Take the survivors of the trek: The British Lord and the Irishman Fogarty. We never seem to get into the latter's mind. He is always the tolerant, self effacing, humble [emphasis] man. Deferential to his superiors. He knows his place. To put this into some perspective for American readers, suppose Fogarty was Negro and the rest of the initial group was 4 white Americans. Some would then call his character shameless and clumsy racial stereotyping. Now replace Negro with Irish.

Now take the Lord. Upperclass prig to a fault. Though he is shown as fearless and hardworking and, by his standards, fair. Of course, he regards everyone except people of his social strata as, more or less, inferior. Very cardboard. Hard to find nuances or complexity in his persona.

Granted, for both these characters, there must have been actual people in that era with just those attributes. But it really made tedious reading, leavened only by Michener's good descriptions of the surroundings.

If this book had been much reduced and put into a chapter in one of Michener's sagas, then at least the reader could look forward to another chapter. Alas, not here.

Rating:
Summary: Great story, though an unengaging protagonist
Review: Let's call a cat a cat. It is a weak Michener. If it is the first you read, it will probably your last. Michener, in the afterword, tells us that The Journey was originally in his book Alaska but was cut by the editor. He then took that section and made a book.

The premises are good. A party of adventurers, including a snob British Lord, a poet, a retired Colonel and a cunning Irishman go on a journey to the Yukon River during the gold rush. This is too little to make a book.

There is some good characters interraction, some good moments but they are drowned in the long repetitive parts of the journey, to the point where you keep thinking something will happen and...

If you want a good Michener, look at my review of the Covenant or Poland, forget The Journey

Rating:
Summary: Major Disappointment!
Review: Michener usually does excellent research and gives a great taste of an area/time. 'Journey' was a complete disaster in this area - there's a decent description of the train (the TRAIN?), nothing describing Montreal, almost nothing Edmonton or any of the stops en route, and zero description of the Klondike or Dawson. There's no 'story' of the prospectors or other travellers (save a few paragraphs on Irina). The Edmonton description prepared me for bleak descriptions of a 90% death rate, or a trail littered with frozen bodies - but nothing.

OK - so Michener didn't do a book I was expecting on history or a travelogue or a technical description of anything. It was a character study of the 5 men. Well, the character development was truly shallow and incomplete. None of the characters seemed believable - they were cardboard stereotypes. The "hero" led his very well-financed group of hardy men into a deadly course that every single expert advised against. He contemplating KILLING Irina because he thought her presence would make the over-winter camping harder? WOW! It's hard to imagine that the others would offer virtually no arguements when their lives are litterally in the balance. How can anyone believe they would suffer 8 months in a tiny len-to cabin when there's a fort 50 miles away, 1 more day on the boat or 3 days walking after the freeze?

I enjoy adventure stories. I like tales of hardship. The book maintained my interest (I was expecting something interesting once they reached Dawson - Alas!). So it gets 2 stars. But had I not read MUCH better books by Michener I would never glance at a 2nd one if I had to decide based on "Journey."