The great Canadian writer Farley Mowat, who served in World War II, has passed away at 92.
The last Mowat book I read was Two Against the North. It won a Governor General’s Award.
I was in Turin, covering the 2006 Olympics.
Late at night after covering events all day and into the early morning hours, I would unwind with Mowat’s book.
It was written for a young audience and it was easy to read.
It captured the Canadian North in its essence. Of course Mowat was long familiar with the harshness of the Far North.
While in Italy, I covered some events in the Alps. The wind and the snow often whipped through the mountains and in an instant you couldn’t see.
It was interesting to compare the Canadian wilderness with that of the Alps.
Mowat brought a sense of home to me in that time and place.
I have always been fascinated by books that deal with the haunting wilderness, where survival is never guaranteed.
What is your favourite book by Mowat?
Isle of Rumleski 