The Road to Vermilion Lake









The Road to Vermilion Lake
by Vic Cavalli
Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Harvard Square Editions (July 10, 2017)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1941861407
  • ISBN-13: 978-1941861400

Description


The Road to Vermilion Lake is set in the sublime interior mountains of British Columbia. 


There a young blaster’s helper and industrial first-aid attendant (Thomas Neal Tems) meets an incredibly beautiful self-declared medieval woman (Johnny Nostal) and their electric love literally rocks the entire ecosystem.


Layering medieval, pioneer, and contemporary settings and fusing them within the context of depth psychology and the enduring submerged legacies of trauma, the novel affirms healing and the strength of love while also exploring the comic and yet potentially tragic relationship between the Canadian wilderness and the human desire to impose technological design and structure upon the few remaining pockets of untouched nature we have left.



My Thoughts


When I first started reading The Road to Vermilion Lake, the title made me smile and what lured me to this read was the ambiance. 


I simply could not put this book down and read it in one sitting.


In truth, we all have more in common than we realize. Back in the day, many of us, myself included, owned an 8 track quadraphonic that played 4 channels. And to this day, I will happily loop "The Rain Song" by Led Zeppelin, as I head off to Vermilion in my blue Mustang.  But that is enough about me. 


This novel is shaped internally and reads like an extended lyrical composition.


I truly appreciate that the author writes with a quality of beauty and intensity so that it heightens my senses and I feel I've shared the experiences. 


There are many things that speak to me. Among them are, attachments to land, mentions of feet buried in wet sand, camp stove smells, utopian landscapes, and the soothing arrangements of Gregorian chants. 


There is destruction, rebuilding, personal growth, and a look at relationship dynamics that transcends more than just moans of pleasure and teaches us not only that hope is highly influential but that we can choose to be reverently dedicated to one another. 


So, with this in mind, I believe it is a symbol of promise when his character states "my soul immediately returns to you".


I received this wonderful novel through the generosity of the author for an honest review.