Barkskins by Annie Proulx

So this book was given to me by my French advisor as a gift before my graduation, and I was so excited to start it that I added it to my TBR before using my jar to pick the others. Now while I was excited about this book and wanted to read it...I had no idea that while reading it I would also be hit with one of the biggest reading slumps I've felt in a long time.

I'm going to talk about this book timeline by timeline because I think that will be easier for me. Also I'll red out the text before some spoilers, but others I won't because they're not that big of a spoiler. This is going to be long, but this is probably one of the longest books I've read in a long time, and the longest book I've read that I've reviewed so I will try my best to cut down anything.

1: forêt, hache, famille (1693-1716)

     -René Sel
I really liked René's story and his character. I felt like he was just man trying to have a better life, and Trèpagny was a mean and cruel man who used him (which I'm sure was done a lot in this time periods by seigneurs). While the forced marriage wasn't great, I think by the end of it he and Mari did actually love each other, and I was so sad with how his story ended. I was screaming for justice honestly. WHAT DID HE DO WRONG TO DESERVE A FATE LIKE THAT!?
*add in the whole 'thought of brother while loving on Mari the first time?

2: "...helplessly they stare at his tracks" (1693-1727)

     -Charles Duquet/Duke
Everyone, I am SO GLAD Duquet found the fate that he did. While yes, you did have to be a little ruthless back in the day, he took it too far and was way too conniving and cruel for me to like. It was almost the perfect villain save the sharp cheekbones and deep chuckle. Didn't even love his wife, stole from people who helped him learn and survive in the New France wilderness. Glad he got a good ol' dose of karma at the end. That last sentence was *chef's kiss* delectable.

3: all these woods once ours (1724-1767)

     -René & Mari's kids
Honestly, I felt so bad for all the Sel children because they had both their parents (I know Mari's older children weren't René's but he treated them nicely), both of them taken away, one from a sickness and one from being *spoiler alert* MURDERED AND SCALPED! And then Renardette comes in again to screw them out of their home, have to travel to a new land they only knew from stories their mother told. I really did feel bad for them and wanted them to stay in their home, because after leaving there things just went...to s***. Almost feels like my life a bit with how they can't catch a break.

4: the severed snake (1756-1766)

     - Duquet children
It didn't come as a shock to me that I liked Duquet's children better than him, but I still don't really...like most of his children. I liked Bernard, and that's because of Birgit (and that's also all I can say about that unless I spoil a real big shocker). I do think his son's cared more about the relationships they made with the people around them instead of just going for the pursuit of money, but they still did everything for the sake of money. Also...I almost relate to Outger in a sense. I can't put my finger on it but I feel a strange connection to this man. Maybe it's because I'm locked in my house and he just didn't leave his until the end. Guess I'm Outger/Etdidu Duquet.

5: in the lumber camps (1754-1804)

     - Kuntaw (Achille's son) and his grandchildren
I felt bad for this family. Tommy having had a somewhat difficult childhood with his mother and then not having much luck after he found his father. But at least Tommy's kids (Kuntaw's grandchildren) had a better childhood with their grandparents and uncles & aunt. I wonder what it would be like to grow up with your aunt or niece. My mother did that with a few of her relatives. I thought it was interesting to follow the life in the cutting camps and seeing the danger in them a bit more. But it was also interesting to see how Beatrix tried to bring the Mi'kmaq culture into the family's life even though there was a lot of whiteman influence.

One thing that I really got struck with while reading this was *sorry another spoiler but it's because it's important to me* ...was the death of Beatrix. She had cancer, in the stomach. And she liked horses. So did my best friend Ashley (I called her my Mama Duck because I followed her around places I didn't know). Ashley died in 2016 due to her cancer, and I wish I had more time, and spent more time with her in those last months. Sometimes I regret having gone to college so far away because I wasn't able to see her.

6: "fortune's a right whore" (1808-1826)

     - James Duke (great-grandson of Duquet)
This storyline was interesting to me. James was basically sent away because his mom died in childbirth (a common thing during that period of time) and the father apparently felt bad about it when he died and left him everything. So he went home and then fell in love with the woman he met on the trip home. Even though he thought it was amazing that she cared about his family buisness and all he had to say, I didn't trust her because she seemed shady and abusive. But James was in love with a married woman and needed to find a way to be with her. It was almost too easy for him to get rid of the husband too, to bad he *umm...spoiler* KILLED THE WRONG MAN. But love(?) found its way in the end. Didn't like Posey's father AT ALL and was glad he wasn't allowed near their daughter.

7: broken sticks (1825-1870)

     - Jinot Sel (Tommy's son & Kuntaw's grandson)
I liked following Jinot and his life. I think it was interesting to also see him recovering from his injury with Sillyboy and to then see him go into a life working for an ax company. I was a little worried with how much his boss liked him and why he was always taken along with him. And my worries were answered when he was made to come along to New Zealand. I was sad about it.

8: glory days (1836-1870)

     -family of James Duke
Now during this I liked Lavinia. She knew what she wanted and didn't stop until she got it and more. I also did like the Breitsprecher cousins and how much they liked to save trees. I was shocked how after some years the families joined in marriage but...there was money on both sides as well so *shrug*. I did give an eye-roll to naming the child Charles but that's also because I didn't like his character haha.

9: the shadow in the cup (1844-1960s)

     -Aaron Sel after father dies, as well as later generations
     -HAS A CHAPTER TITLED BARKSKINS
Aaron tried to live with his Mi'kmaw family but didn't fully feel like he belonged, then went on a strange ship voyage. On his return he finds that his family loves his and welcomes him with open arms and they all work together to help other Mi'kmaw and live together on reserves since the whiteman had taken most of their lands. Kuntaw makes a great reference to how he 'tried to be a whiteman, but his Mi'kmaw oil (whiteman was water) came up to the top'. They had to take up axes again and some even traveled into the west. Lost limbs and lives both at home and abroad.

Descendent of both Duke and Sel families is Lobert who has a child called Egga, who is abused at a boarding-esque school and runs away. He does not return on St. Anne's day each year like other Sel family members.

my thoughts:

10: sliding into darkness (1886-2013)

     - Begins with the children of Dieter and ends with the grandchildren of Lobert, so a mix of both families
Duke company going bankrupt after runaway employees (I did kind of laughed at this), and the anger caused Lavinia to go back on her word and cut more trees to the distress of New Zealanders and Dieter. Their son Charley dreams of the preservation of trees even more than Dieter and after a very bad...incident *an assault* he is moved to the tropics where he studies the trees and writes it all down on notebooks later used to destroy those trees after his death. The family started to research the history of the company and relearns the search of the heir and freaks, however then sells the company except for the Seedling Business which does well.

Egga had tried to keep his Mi'kmaw heritage away from his children because of his past but they begged him to spill. Had two strong-willed daughters, one of who goes into the eco-world and becomes well known. Cousins Felix and Jeanne join her and a small team to replant, research, and monitor new trees and try to begin growing the mystic forests once again. Though Egga's daughter, Sapatisia didn't know if they could ever save it.

my thoughts:


So the basic plot of this story was about two barkskins (woodcutters) Rene and Charles and following their two families the Sels - who more or less cared for the forest and family all together and had many troubles and trials all through life, and the Duquets/Dukes - who as a whole only cared about the business and money and thought clearing the forests than preserving it as well. Though the family lines did cross at one point and I really would have liked to see the Sel family come in and take over the company at one point. I think it would have been fun!


I give Barkskins 4 stars because I really liked the story, the Franco aspects, and the Sel family. However I really just disliked the Duke family and I think it's because they were more vain and stuff but I applaud Annie for writing them in a way that I can dislike them the same way I dislike real life people like them.

It's also turning into a TV series that is premiering today (May 25th) so now I have a new show to watch now!

Are you excited about the TV series on Nat Geo? Or have you read this book too? I'd love to talk all about it because I surprisingly really liked this.

Sorry this was so long I tried to cut it down I promise, I just had a lot to say and wanted to get the book out. If you've made it this far I applaud you and thank you as well. 

À bientôt!

Photo/Gif creds: my photo of book, Barkskins logo,

Une promenade à travers l'histoire - My French Capstone Event

So, as many of you know, I have a French major. A big part of this program, and the major itself, is the French Capstone, a large research course taken by all French students as the last class before they finish the program. The capstone may be different in other universities, but for mine, it's this.

You, as a student, can chose any topic or subject to base your capstone on. You can do a paper, a presentation, and video project (almost did one of these but didn't have a good enough topic in mind), or even make an event. This is what I decided to do.

Making a public event is not something that I've ever done before as well, so I thought it would be a great experience to attempt this as well during my capstone. Really testing my skills and knowledge of how to plan events and create something many people can enjoy.

For my topic, I wanted to focus on Franco-Americans and their history. I have always been interested in this topic since I took a diversity of Franco-Communities class my sophomore year of college. I was so interested in the different aspects of the history and culture of Franco-Americans/French-Canadians and I wanted to know more.

So I looked for books, my advisor sent me the same articles that I read in that class, and I started to do my research and event planning. I read a mix of six different books, and about five articles, all which gave me great information and facts about the history and culture (and even the discrimination) of Franco-Americans. Then, when it got time to create the posters and chose my topics, I had a lot of work to do. There were so many aspects and facts that I wanted to feature. But I couldn't have them all.

I decided on having three large posters on Acadia and the Great Upheaval, Franco-American press and other writings, and lastly Franco-American names and their changes. For me, these were the most interesting topics surrounding them that I wanted to showcase. I did have a small paper about the discrimination of Franco-Americans, but I feel that so many parts of history mostly touch upon that aspect of history and I wanted to more show the better areas of their history. I was present at the event as well, for anyone who had any questions that I could answer, whether about the posters or another question off the top of their head. (I can answer some of these questions in the comments as well if you'd like). Here are my posters.

Franco-American names

Discrimination of Franco-Americans

Acadia and Acadian history

Franco-American press and writings

I also wanted to have two different aspects of Franco-Americans at the event. So I made a playlist of music by Franco-Americans (and some Quebecois songs because they are similar and connected in my opinion) and traditional food. For food I has Mulled Cider, Tourtière (pork pie), and Grand-Père dans le sirop (maple syrup dumplings) with ice cream. It was all so good! I think I'm going to make those dumplings when I get home over the summer because it was one of the best things I've ever tasted, if I'm being honest.

The Event

I held the event on the 29th of April, and I was surprised by actually how many people came and were interested in the subject and asked me questions! I felt so good to have my information and research pay off with people asking me so many questions and want more information on Franco-Americans. It was worth it, to myself and my education.

I had two different classes come by and take notes on my information, and most of the food was gone by the end when it was time to pack up the posters. I had so many people who came up to me and asked so many questions, and wanted to know even more than the information that I had hanging up. There was so much planning and research that went into this event, and then it was all over after three hours. It's jarring.

Presentations

me at student showcase

I presented about my Capstone event two separate times, and it was great to talk even more about my event and the outcome of it as well.

Student Showcase of Research & Engagement: This is an event that students can submit their projects and research reports and showcase them to members of the community. It was required for me to also have my capstone there and I thought it was fun to do it!

Celebration of French Achievement: This was a mix of awarding the students who won the Euclide Gilbert French Video award from the Franco-American Center of NH, and for all the French majors to show and their capstone research. I hadn't seen my classmates projects before this and I was excited to see them! They all did really great jobs.

You can watch the video that I made talking about the event (in similar and different detail) and see some of the event in video here on my YouTube channel. And don't be afraid to ask me any questions about my project and research! I'm very willing to answer questions and more of this topic.

À bientôt!

Photo/GIF creds: posters by me, Jordan's photo of me at SSR&E,

The Fault of Our Institutions

I am taking a French Revolution & Napoleonic Era history class at my university because I love the French Revolution (and I'm a stan of Marie Antoinette let's be real here), and while reading for homework one day, I came across a quote in one of my books that I feel is very fitting for all time periods, especially this one.

"Woman is born with as many capacities as man. If she has not demonstrated it until now, it is not the fault of Nature but of our former institutions." - Georges Couthon, wheelchair-bound Jacobin from the Committee of Public Safety.

I read this quote and instantly thought about the world that we are currently living in. What kind of world did they live in back in the 1790s that someone would say this about women? To me, it was a good one. Even in the French Revolution period, women were a high priority. They had control of some things and they were getting rights. That's more than can be said for America and our history with women's rights.

What I am getting from this quote is that, no matter what, women are equal. And that if we are not able to show ourselves, it's because of the barriers that society (mainly men) have put up in front of us, and we can only show ourselves when we are able to bring ourselves over that barrier.

To me it is crazy to think that during a time period way before ours, they were thinking of women as their own persons, and not just a thing, or a wife/mother figure. They were so powerful during the revolution that some of them were arrested for their efforts. A whole group of women stormed the Versailles palace demanding the price of bread be brought down and the royal family move back to Paris. Imagine something like that happening today...I just did and in my head it was lovely.

If they could point this barrier in the 1790s, then we can see it now, and it's only ignorance that you don't want to face it. I say we need to take a large hammer to those barriers and walls. Grab your hammers (fake ones please don't hurt someone else) and let's break down those walls! VIVE LES FEMMES!

What do you think of the quote? Do you think we could learn something from Couthon in today's age? Do you think that this quote is just far fetched and Couthon did know what he was talking about? Let's discuss it in the comments.

À bientôt!

Quote cred: Peter McPhee, Liberty or Death. (New Haven and London, 2016). Page 208
Photo/Gif creds: Couthon, sledgehammer,

Review: Franco-American Life & Culture in Manchester, New Hampshire: Vivre La Difference

Franco-American Life & Culture in Manchester, New Hampshire: Vivre La Difference by Robert B. Perreault
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well if I wasn't interested in my Franco heritage...I sure am now.

This book, though it had nothing to do with me, opened up my eyes and mind to a world, that is not so far gone. Many of the events and persons mentioned in this book happened from the 1700s to the 1980s. I know that I have a Franco side from my Paternal grandparents, and I know what to know more. I want to go to that ACA/Lambert/Franco-Collection Library and try to track my ancestors back to when we started on this Earth.

Also, having lived in Manchester (mainly the West Side) I was able to picture all the streets he talked about. I have lived on both the East and West sides, I went to Manchester High School West (which the author's son is mentioned having attended). This, I feel, connects me deeper to the story than I thought it would have. The photo on the front cover, I know that street, I recognize those buildings. Granted the bridge is not the same, but I've been there it seems. I've walked and drove across that bridge that separates the East and West sides of Manchester. I know personally most areas in the photo from Rock Rimmon on the right, to the original St. Mary's Bank on the left.

This book has brought out a side of me that I didn't know was in me. A side that wants to further my French heritage as I never have. Who wants to learn all I can about my ancestors and their journeys here and elsewhere. And I think I'll start that journey today.

View all my reviews