Notes From Exile : On Being Acadian

Rating:
Summary: It's About Time!
Review: As a die-hard "acadienne" living in the middle of what used to be Acadie, the ignorance surrounding "le gran derangement" of 1755 never ceases to amaze me, and yet it should not. The objective of the British in 1755 was pure and simple genocide. Given that they managed to kill off nearly half of us and completely dispossess the balance of us of our beloved homeland, their campaign would appear to have been a raging success. But those that survived against such tremendous odds give credence to the old saying "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger." We are a true nation still. Msr. Doucet's work goes a long way toward explaining how and why we are reuniting as a people, sporting our colors" and making some major noise about the true and sordid history of "New Scotland".

Next year will mark the 400th anniversary of the first landing of the Acadiens on Isle St. Croix, just 20 miles up the road from where I currently live. That is where the Acadien Congress Mondial will be kicked off. It would behoove all Acadiens (please stop with the "Acadians" and the "Cajuns" already - give yourselves some self-respect and use your nation's true name; it's is not rocket science!) and anyone with an interest in the histories of displaced peoples to read this book.

Forget Longfellow! Everybody loves a good tragic romance. "Evangeline" was "pablum for the masses" and padding for the poet's pocket, not an attempt at accurate history. Msr. Doucet has finally removed the sugar-coating. Merci beaucoup, monsieur, for telling a story that should have been screamed on the pages of history books for the past 200 years. So read all about it and then show up at the party that starts near Calais, Maine next summer.

Rating:
Summary: History Hidden in a Personal Story
Review: On the surface, Notes from Exile gives a brief overview of the history of the Acadians of Maritime Canada and the difficulties they faced in trying to strike a neutral balance between France and England, resulting in their removal from Nova Scotia in 1755. But wrapped around this history is Doucet's own story as the child of an Acadian father and an English mother who was caught between their two very different worlds.

Doucet is a radio reporter and his sense of narrative is impeccable, but while he makes Notes from Exile an interesting read is the intertwining tales of Doucet's youth, the 1994 Acadian World Congress and the history of the Acadians. As frustrating as it sometimes can be, this blending of tales helps underscore how the events of 1755 remain relevant to Acadians nearly 250 years later.

Rating:
Summary: It's About Time!
Review: This past summer I was taking a Bicycle Vacation in Nova Scotia and as part of our trip we went to Grand Pre. Though I am a native New Englander, I had only a cursory idea about the Acadian diaspora in the l8th century and no awareness at all of the l994 reunion in New Brunswick. I was actually looking for another book to increase my knowledge and awareness about this subject, when I stumbled onto a copy of Clive's book. While it does finally run out of steam near it's conclusion, it is an fine work in and of itself. But for anyone who wants a sense of the modern Acadian movement it is invaluable. And if one is an exile of any sort--cultural, political, sexual--this provides amazing insight into what it means to be an exile of any type in the modern world.

Rating:
Summary: Vacation in Nova Scotia
Review: This past summer I was taking a Bicycle Vacation in Nova Scotia and as part of our trip we went to Grand Pre. Though I am a native New Englander, I had only a cursory idea about the Acadian diaspora in the l8th century and no awareness at all of the l994 reunion in New Brunswick. I was actually looking for another book to increase my knowledge and awareness about this subject, when I stumbled onto a copy of Clive's book. While it does finally run out of steam near it's conclusion, it is an fine work in and of itself. But for anyone who wants a sense of the modern Acadian movement it is invaluable. And if one is an exile of any sort--cultural, political, sexual--this provides amazing insight into what it means to be an exile of any type in the modern world.