Davies, Carys. West. New York: Scribner 2018. Print.
From what she could see he had two guns, a hatchet, a knife, his rolled blanket, the big tin chest, various bags and bundles, one of which, she supposed, contained her mother's things.
Description:
Such is also the case for Cy Bellman in Carys Davies' quiet, spare novel, West. Bellman is a widower living on his broken down farm in Pennsylvania in 1815, raising mules along side his 10-year-old daughter, Bess. After seeing an article in a newspaper regarding the discovery of gigantic bones in Kentucky, Bellman leaves his farm and daughter in the care of his highly-dubious sister, Julie, driven by the urgency and passion to explore the unknown Western regions of America. He desired with all his being to see for himself these immense creatures who left colossal bones behind and might still be wandering in undiscovered locations.
The whole thing had lit a spark in him. For half a day he'd sat without moving. He'd read it a dozen times....there were no illustrations, but in his mind they resembled a ruined church, or a shipwreck of stone -- the monstrous bones, the prodigious tusks, uncovered where they lay, stuck in the salty Kentucky mud: teeth the size of pumpkins, shoulder blades a yard wide, jawbones that suggested a head as tall as a large man. A creature entirely unknown.
Who in 1815 (or any other age for that matter) could resist seeing such incredible giants? Certainly not Bellman, a man looking for a dream after his wife's recent death. He meticulously plans his journey of a thousand miles, to be undertaken alone, crossing unknown territory to find these creatures for himself.
He promises Bess and his sister to be away only a year or two, but he secretly knows his passion to see these animals may drive him far away from home, possibly for a much longer period.
I have to go. I have to go and see. That's all I can tell you.
Davies' slim novel recounts Bellman's adventures in brief, strong sentences as the widower wanders through lands he'd never before passed through, suffering bone-chilling winters, and encounters with unfriendly residents, trappers, and local Indians. No one he talks with has ever seen such creatures. Many laugh to themselves, wondering gleefully where Bellman thinks animals that size could be hiding.
But Bellman never loses his passion, never doubts his ability to achieve his goal, pushing through every challenge in his quest. He steadfastly writes his daughter of his adventures, giving these notes to passersby traveling in the opposite direction, entreating them to promise his letters will be delivered.
And back on the farm, Bess also never loses her faith in her father. She sneaks into the local library to pour over maps of the regions Bellman might pass through, trying to predict where he is, what he is experiencing, and when he might return. Bellman's sister, Julie, and the townspeople harbor no such respect for his quest and are open in their disdain for him leaving his family and livelihood.
Author Davies pulls you into the passionate mind of Cy Bellman from page one, sharing his yearning thoughts for his project, worrying with him about how he will survive his next challenge, and feeling his hopefulness about just what might lie ahead over that next mountain or in the wild woodlands ahead.
I loved this book and will reread it again very soon just to savor the simple writing style, the adventurous story, and the passion driving Cy Bellman in his quest to view for himself these incredible giants.
(P.S. Carys Davies is a new author to me, so I quickly grabbed onto her book, Clear, another highly recommended read about passionate people in personally challenging situations.)
Happy reading.
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Davies, Carys. Clear.
An impoverished minister takes on the job to remove a lone man living on an isolated Scottish island, a man who speaks a forgotten language and hasn't been in contact with other people for decades. Wonderful character study of these trying to understand each other. (Previously reviewed here)
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