Far Creek Road by Lesley Krueger | The Miramichi Reader

The first thought I had about Far Creek Road by Lesley Krueger was that it was made so perfectly for me, an adult who had fallen in love with Judy Blume novels as a kid and teen. That’s what Far Creek Road reminded me of: tender, relatable stories about kids who lived normal lives and had millions of questions and big imaginations. By the time I read Blume’s novels, they were set in the past – a part I was removed from, but one not so far away that I couldn’t ask my parents about the references to things we did not have or do anymore. Far Creek Road, set in 1960s North Vancouver, reminded me of this. It’s an accessible past, but one that predates me. And so I was immediately fond of this book, which is told from the viewpoint of Tink (real name: Mary Alice), a precocious youngest child, who arrived in her family well after her siblings were born. She lives a bit like an only child because of this, in a comfortable neighbourhood where most of the fathers work and the mothers are housewives. There’s occasional neighbourhood drama, but largely it’s Tink’s world to run around in, asking questions, having adventures, and playing games.

“I was sucked into this novel right away.”

Krueger sets the stage with a happy, comfortable, conventional childhood story while planting the seeds for a darker turn by the end. The worries and persecution in the adult world slowly begin to leak into Tink’s life, a Canadian version of McCarthyism targeting her best friend Norman’s parents and resulting in bullying and shunning of both her and Norman at school. Tink is still a kid, but she gleans enough to give us a strong understanding of the secrets and deceptions the episode reveals in the neighbourhood – and the ultimate strange, unsettling conclusion to the whole situation.

Far Creek Road is a wonderfully written novel, with full and rich characters, a delightful narrator, and very much the adult version of those Judy Blume stories we loved as kids. I was sucked into this novel right away, and Krueger’s ability to immerse me inside of Tink’s mind was impressive. The background politics are skillfully written in the way so many of us experienced the world as kids: these things were happening and leaked into our lives in ways we didn’t entirely understand. It was a treat to be able to kick off my reading year with Far Creek Road out of the gate.

Lesley Krueger is an award-winning novelist and filmmaker. Her latest novel, Far Creek Road, was released in the fall of 2023 by ECW Press. Born in Vancouver, Canada, Lesley Krueger has lived in Boston, Mass., London, England, Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City. She now makes her home in Toronto with her husband and elderly cat.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ ECW Press (Oct. 24 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1770416374
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1770416376

Alison Manley

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Alison Manley has ricocheted between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia for most of her life. Now in Halifax, Nova Scotia, she is the Cataloguing and Metadata Librarian at Saint Mary's University. Her past life includes a long stint as a hospital librarian on the banks of the mighty Miramichi River. She has an honours BA in political science and English from St. Francis Xavier University, and a Master of Library and Information Studies from Dalhousie University. While she's adamant that her love of reading has nothing to do with her work, her ability to consume large amounts of information very quickly sure is helpful. She is often identified by her very red lipstick, and lives with her partner Brett and cat, Toasted Marshmallow.