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| Three Day Road |
The violence and brutality of war are not
my idea of enjoyable subject matter. Joseph
Boyden’s Three Day Road is indeed a
story of war. But it is also the story
of best friends. Their physical journey
from the Ontario bush to the trenches of Europe mirrors their interior journey
-- from peace and solitude to horror, and back again.
Elijah and Xavier are two young men from
the Cree nation who join the Canadian army in World War I. Both are experienced hunters who are
comfortable in the bush. The choice to
immerse themselves in a European war is mostly Elijah’s, but Xavier follows.
Elijah is accustomed to life in a remote
wilderness, but before going to live with Xavier and his Auntie Niska, he spent
years in a residential school. On the
surface he appears unscathed by this experience, despite the abuse that he has
undergone. He blossoms around people and quickly wins over his fellow soldiers. His charm and wit become legendary in the
Canadian army and his facility with language allows him to find a place with
his compatriots.
Xavier, however, is happier in the
company of animals than in the atmosphere of forced companionship of the
army. His English is poor, and he often
relies on Elijah to translate for him.
Both Elijah and Xavier prove themselves
to be skilled with firearms. They
quickly become a team of snipers, at times given privileges the others are
not. But while Xavier cannot reconcile
the idea of killing another man, Elijah thrives on it. Elijah becomes progressively more obsessed
with killing, all the while charming officers, lieutenants and privates
alike. Xavier watches his best friend
descend into a flurry of slaughter and madness, and must then ask himself
whether he has the power to stop him.
The war narrative is interspersed with
Niska’s tales. Niska has great power
inherited from her father and has tried to pass her skills onto Xavier. Her stories of the Wendigo, a spirit that can
possess a person, are particularly powerful.
Xavier’s traditional knowledge may be his saviour in this world of
indescribable misery.
Three
Day Road is a graphic and unflinching
portrayal of trench warfare, contrasted by the love that exists among Elijah,
Xavier and Niska. Their history and
stories are poignant and beautiful.
Somehow, in this novel, the beauty wins out.
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