Victor Butler (1896–1981)

This is a fine, if short, memoir of one man's life in rural Newfoundland during the Great Depression. Though the book was released many years ago and its author has certainly passed on, his simple writing still evokes a hard, weather-beaten, tough life that most people, even those who lived through the Depression in more fortunate places in the world, could not have imagined. It paints a detailed but not overwrought picture of life during tough times, in a place that's tough to live in in the best of times. I'm glad I spent the day or so it took to read this slim volume, because its descriptions--of the weather, the landscape, the sea, and most of all, the people--will stay with me for a long time.… (meer)