"Good historiography novel"
In 1801 in the District of Maine of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, recently widowed Rosemund Loon sends her
teenage son Peter to find an uncle he has never met. Peter
has never left his home in Sheepscott Great Pond so with
trepidation and anticipation, the teenage begins a trek to
locate Obed Winslow, not realizing that the target of his
quest is not blood, but the suitor his mother did not marry. The journey proves dangerous and distracting as seventeen
year old Peter meets various people. He encounters females
that divert his attention from his goal and learns that
though the American Revolution ended two decades ago, many
of the farmers wonder why they revolted as the wealth
remains with the privileged few in Boston and New York.
Peter is discovering a vast world made up of different
people in his quest through New England. No one does the late eighteenth country early nineteenth
century like Van Reid does. His latest tale, PETER LOON,
brings to life a side of America rarely found in the
textbooks as the author vividly describes people not
harmoniously monolithic in support of the Founding
Fathers. The story line is loaded with vivid descriptions
and plenty of action with Peter obviously the focus, but
also contains too many subplots as if Mr. Reid wanted to
get as many of his thoughts into the novel as he could.
Still, Mr. Reid's coming of age Americana historical tale
remains top notch and worth reading just as the author's
Moosepath Adventures prove he is the fictional chronicler
of the early years of the United States. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted July 2, 2002
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