Book #21: The Good Rain

The book: The Good Rain by Timothy Egan

What is this book about: Timothy Egan, a Northwest native, sets off to explore the region, using Theodore Winthrop's 1853 book The Canoe and the Saddle as a rough guide. Winthrop was one of the first people to see the northwest, and Egan wanted to see what had changed, as well as explore the regional character. Winthrop felt that the land would change any man who saw it, whereas Egan showed over and over again that man has changed the land, or has been unchanged by the land at all. I will give you three guesses as to how Egan feels about these people. Hint: he does not like them. He covers quite a bit of northwestern terrain, exploring such subjects as whales, wolves, volcanos, mountains, water, salmon, Native Americans, cultural attitudes, and timber.

Why did I read this book: Well, some consider it to be one of the definitive books written about the Pacific Northwest. I was given this book at a holiday party a year and a half ago, and when I unwrapped it, several people around me gasped and said how lucky I was, that the book was that good. So that was a good recommendation as well. So after three years of living here, I figured it was time to tackle a history of the area.

What did I think of this book: I like most books that are trying to deal with a sense of place and one's relation to that place. This one, I liked certain parts of it, particularly the historical tidbits and examples, but some of the writing just made my eyes glaze over. I had to concentrate really hard to get through it...I'm thinking of passages that made it seem like Egan was just throwing words related to nature or geography together in an attempt to be poetic. And I thought it just buried the more interesting historical or political parts, for the most part. Sometimes reading this book I had the sense of a little kid eating vegetables...you're doing it because it's good for you, as opposed to enjoying it.

What was my favorite part of this book: I enjoyed a few chapters all the way through, including the one on eating and drinking one's way through Yakima, and how that region came to be so good for crops, and the chapter about Victoria, where we meet Molly Ingram, the chairwoman of the Monarchists League. What is the Monarchists League, asks Egan. "Why, it's hundreds and hundreds of people here who think the monarchy is frightfully important." That sentence just made that chapter for me.

What did I learn from this book: Well, I learned a lot of interesting factoids that I certainly hope I'll be able to bring up at occasions such as cocktail parties and game shows. Unfortunately, I'm too tired right now to accurately describe any of them, which doesn't bode well for future cocktail party conversation.

Grade: C+