Lowertown by Darren Jerome

2014, First Class Press, 306 pages, $20

Historical Fiction

Indigo, Amazon

This story takes place in the 1840s, and mostly in the Lowertown area of Bytown, modern-day Ottawa.  It follows the storis of two protagonists, Richard and Hugh Brislan, during the Shiner’s conflict.  The two brothers make different life-decisions, which come into conflict as the story develops. 

What I liked about the story was that it did show some of the moveable alliances of the day.  While focusing on two Irish brothers, one takes up with the Shiners and another with the local constabulary, this does a good job of illustrating that the conflict was more than Irish-did-this, French-did-this, Anglos-did-this.  It shows some nuance. 

Another strength of the book is that it illustrates just how untenable post-canal-construction Bytown was.  The only major employer for six years ended, closing up shop, and there was a panic of going into lumber camps, or city trades, that people didn’t really understand what was going to happen.  The unpredictability and desperation in the story was palpable. 

While the research that went into the book was solid, the story wasn’t as engaging as the material.  The characters didn’t have the pathos that I needed to stay interested in the story, and were more “marching through history” than telling their own stories.  Things were happening around them, and their personal agency was fairly limited.   While realistic, it wasn’t exactly absorbing.

I’m giving this story three stars out of five.  I like the research that went into the portrayal of the setting, but the characters and story didn’t lock me into the narrative as much as I would have liked.

★★★☆☆