Martin Marten

In the wilderness of Oregon, two young animals are approaching adulthood. Dave is 14 and is facing the challenges that come with becoming a man and Martin is a marten who is also facing a new and frightening world. As both Dave and Martin contemplate leaving their families behind for lives on their own, readers will be struck by the similarities in these two seemingly very different species.

I was swept away by this book, nearly totally immersed into life on the woods. Nearly, rather than totally, because I kept thinking about how it could be used in the classroom - character development and comparisons, vocabulary improvement, discussions about why the author chose not to use quotation marks, whether or not the really detailed descriptive passages improved or distracted from the book, comparing snd contrasting the lives of Dave and Martin and discussing the connection between them.

When reading an e-book, I find that it's not as easy to know how much of the book is left. This might be important when reading a mystery, as the reader seeks to know the answer to the puzzle. In this case, it was important to me because I treasured each and every page, and didn't want the book to end. When I finished reading, my first impulse was to start again from the beginning, reading slower and watching more closely for details I might have missed.

This is another stunning book by Brian Doyle, editor of the Portland Magazine at the University of Portland. Set in the mountains of Eastern Oregon, this is an extraordinarily beautiful story of 15-year-old Dave, who lives in the mountains with his family, and a marten that Dave sees one day when he is out in the woods. A marten whom we shall call Martin, to distinguish him from any other martens who happen to be close by.

Pick this one for a pleasurable read. Martin and Dave are both getting older, living in Washington their paths cross periodically out in the forest. Dave is entering high school and loves to hike and commune with nature. Martin is also growing and exploring the forest on his own, he's a pine marten, a mink like animal. The book is told from both their perspectives and is well written and believable. I like the scenes where they meet unexpectedly and share the sun and warmth of a rock. I also like Martin's perspective of the celebration in the meadow.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an opportunity to read Martin Marten. Last year I had the good fortune to win Brian Doyle's The Plover from a First Reads giveaway. And to my surprise I was completely enchanted by Doyle's quirky style and vision. So I was quite happy to have a chance to read an advance copy of Doyle's upcoming book and again I was enchanted. It is about Martin -- a young marten --yes the animal -- and Dave -- a teenage boy -- who live in a tiny community called ZigZag on a mountain in Oregon. There's not much of a plot, but Doyle does a brilliant job describing this community, its generous isolated residents and the natural world they live in. But trying to extract a plot is besides the point. Doyle does a lovely job creating a set of characters who one would want sit down down with for a cup of tea. He also does an amazing job of bringing the natural world around them alive. It's a book to be read slowly at the meandering pace of the world in which it takes place. A book to be savoured. And it's probably not for everyone -- after all, it's partly told from the perspective of a marten called Martin -- but I was delighted a second time by Doyle's lovely idiosyncratic writing and sensibility. I am reminded to go back and read Doyle's earlier books and I will certainly be looking for his books in the future.

Both poetical and disturbing

I’m very conflicted about how I feel about this book. On one hand, I loved its beauty and its connection with humans, animals, trees and nature. It struck me emotionally so many times. I laughed and I cried. I felt each of the characters were known to me, both human and animal, and I wished many times that I could be part of their circle. Dave, Maria, Martin the Marten, Miss Moss, Mr. Douglas, Edwin the Horse, Unable Lady, Mr. and Mrs. Robinson – all characters that I hated to say goodbye to at the end of the book. Sections of this book struck me to the core. There are little stories throughout the book that are true treasures. Suspense, love, loss, grief, growing up, heartbreak – all contained in this book.

However, I have to say that I did find parts of this book offensive. I do believe that this author and I share a love for animals or he couldn’t have written so movingly about the affinity one species has with the other. But the book also contained rationalizations for the trapping of animals for their fur, such as when a trapper kills a fox, he saves the many animals that the fox would have killed. The animals are depicted as killers among themselves so why would it be any different for us to kill them. As for eating animals, the book states that humans are omnivorous mammals and that we have no choice in what we eat. There’s talk about how we must kill animals with respect and reverence for the life we’re taking. There’s even the statement that since vegetables are alive sentient beings, vegetarians kill them for food. All of this goes deeply against my personal beliefs.

It’s my hope that the parts of the book that deal with the death of the animals and depict beautiful creatures being strangled by wire traps will do its own work in readers’ hearts and minds. I do believe that it may very well have been the author’s intent to make those scenes especially vivid for just that purpose. After all, one of the main characters in the book is a marten and it’s his struggle for survival that’s one of the main components of the book. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and possibly others who have read more of his work would have better insight into his reasons for telling his story in this manner. But it’s a bit unclear to me what his intention is as the fur trapper was a very good man in every other way and seemed very confident in his right to kill animals for their fur. Only one young boy showed any objection to the trapping, calling it murder, but everyone else was very accepting of it. I can see this as a book that will open up much discussion and debate.

Though there were those sections that really got my hackles up, I still liked this book very much. That’s how beautiful and poetical it is. It will strike a chord with you on one page and then disturb you on the next. I truly did not want this book to end and wanted to stay awhile longer in the little hamlet of Zigzag. Several times throughout the book the author says “but that’s a story for another book” and I hope he means it.

Loved the story, loved the writing!!!