Chasing Lakes
Date
2018-07-27
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
Chasing Lakes is an adventure-thriller novel that takes place in the Great Lakes region. Following the lives of two protagonists decades apart, Chasing Lakes explores the human relationship with the environment and the complex, interwoven nature of our existence. The novel emphasizes setting and place, with its characters taking part in separate but connected adventures through Canada’s natural and unnatural landscapes—storylines that parallel and interact with each other across time. Chasing Lakes explores the historical human impact on the Great Lakes region, as well as the spectacular beauty that remains there. The novel follows the stories of Michel and his grandfather Joseph, two men who share similar lives, despite having never met each other. After a series of gambling losses, Michel flees his home in Montreal with a stranger, embarking on an adventure that takes him through the entire Great Lakes region. As Michel travels, he encounters characters and obstacles that test his spirit and courage, finding passions for music and sleight of hand along the way. Framed for arson, Michel is forced to go on the run, and a series of decisions lead him toward Thunder Bay, the Lakehead. Generations earlier, Michel’s grandfather Joseph is arriving in Montreal as a new immigrant. Joseph takes a job on board a lake freighter, sending him on a parallel journey through the Great Lakes, where he must navigate the dangerous world of smuggling. A newcomer to the hostile and masculinized lives of sailors, Joseph struggles to find his place, his voyage taking a similar route through each Great Lake, from Montreal toward Thunder Bay. With an emphasis on the power of story, imagination and memory, Chasing Lakes presents the Canadian Landscape in the style of an adventure-thriller. Using dense prose, Chasing Lakes blends excitement with literary substance, an effort to find the space between popular and poetic writing that reaches a broad audience.
Description
Keywords
Ecology, The Great Lakes, Adventure, Thriller, Freighter, Magic
Citation
Degree
Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)
Department
English
Program
Writing