Canawlers: A Novel of the C&O Canal

Canawlers #1

by James Rada Jr.

About the Author

James is the author of
three other novels: Logan s Fire, Beast and My Little
Angel. He is also an award-winning reporter for the
Cumberland Times-News in Cumberland, Maryland. It was
from reporting on local history that he developed an
interest in the C&O Canal.

He lives with his wife and son in Cumberland and is
currently working on his next novel.

Genres: Historical Fiction

306 pages, Paperback

First published December 14, 2001

About the author

I am a multi-award-winning journalist and copywriter. I have also written a number of books, both fiction and nonfiction and plan to write even more. I work as a freelance writer in Gettysburg, PA, where I live with my wife and sons.

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

This workmanlike novel sets out to tell the story of those who ran canal boats of coal up and down the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) canal, between Washington DC (aka Washington City) and Cumberland, during the Civil War. It does so through the Fitzgerald family and their boat, "The Freeman" -- along with a subplot around a Confederate scout working around the Maryland-Virginia border, and a child of the Cumberland wharves who eventually joins the Fitzgeralds.

The action all takes place over roughly March-November 1863 and features a lot of idealism and romanticism. The father, Hugh, is a paragon of hard work, clean leaving, family first, and other such virtues, and his wife is a virtual saint. Naturally, they are involved in the Underground Railroad.Their children are all fairly stock characters, as are the Confederates, and pretty much everyone in the book.

The central theme is of how/whether the Fitzgeralds will be able to continue to work the canal in the midst of the war. This is filled out with various subplots, such as the romantic pursuits of the older Fitzgerald children, and small vignettes (encounters with Rebel snipers, a run-in with an obstreperous canal captain, etc...). It all keeps moving at a tidy clip, but it's really best read for a sense of life on the canal, rather than storytelling or characters. More interesting in the historical details than engaging as fiction.

[[ J o ] · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read as part of the Get Through The Crap On Your Kindle You Stubborn Eejit reading challenge.

Sometimes it really pays to read the blurb.

I have no interest whatsoever in American anything, but its history is particularly high up on the Don't Give A- list. Wasn't that badly written and I suppose a war story is a war story, but just not for me.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr Rada does a good job of putting you on the canal during a very perilous time.

[Dale Bentz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable tale of the Fitzgerald family's 1862 season on the C&O Canal. Rada Jr. does an admirable job of blending historical events with everyday canal life on this man-made waterway, that along with the Potomac river, separated North from South during the Civil War.

[Jan Fitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyable informative

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history about the civil war. I kept researching the cities and towns they were citing along the route. Action filled and enjoyable.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm guessing Canawlers was/is used for 8th grade US History fodder. It was an easy read with a repeating storyline..."a family struggles, a family overcomes, someone dies, a family overcomes, teenage angst, a family overcomes, the civil war happens, a family overcomes"...etc. There were some major editing flaws (and I'm nowhere near being an editor). The errors distracted me and I wanted to get out a red pen to correct!

[Pammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this novel because I wanted the storyline about the C&O Canal circa 1860's.
I did learn a good bit about the life and challenges of canalers.
However, Mr. Rada should not quit his day job as a newspaper reporter. His writing style does not flow.