Shadow of Ashland

Ashland #1

by Terence M. Green

A request from his dying mother sends Leo Nolan on a quest in search of his long-lost uncle, who left Toronto for the U.S. at the height of the Depression and has not been heard from in more than fifty years, along a trail that takes him to the small Kentucky town of Ashland.

Genres: Time Travel, Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction, Canada, Adult

223 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Green received a BA in English in 1967 from the University of Toronto, an MA from University College, Dublin, and a BEd in 1973 from the University of Toronto. He is the author of 8 books (7 novels and a short story collection) and is a 2-time World Fantasy Award finalist and a 5-time Prix Aurora Award finalist. His work has been translated into French, Italian, Danish, Polish and Portuguese.

Green is a lecturer of Creative Writing at The University of Western Ontario. He is married to Merle Casci and is the father of three sons.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a touching if often predictable tale of a man searching for the uncle who has been missing for 50 years.

Leo's mother is dying in hospital and insists she has seen her brother Jack, who went away so many years before. Lou doesn't believe it until the letters begin to arrive. Letters to his mother (who by now has passed). Letters dated 1934. Letters which pull Leo out into the world to try to find Uncle Jack, or at the very least to find out why he left.

A nice read for a peaceful evening. There is just enough drama to captivate, not too much that you have to suspend belief for (other than the part where Leo travels back into the past, but even that seems to fit). The predictability of the plot is comforting; at least it was for me, since I was in the mood for comfort, not wild thrills.

I must confess to wondering about something, though. There was an inscription in my copy, a book I found a few years ago at the library sales. It reads:
1999 Merry Christmas Bill! A Canadian book from a Canadian friend! Enjoy! Joanne

So, Bill. Did you not like the book? Is that why it ended up at the library sale? Did you donate it the way I am going to donate it? I'm giving it away so that someone else can read a comforting book, and because I know I won't want to read it again. Why did you give it away?

Maybe you were startled by those upside down question marks the way I was? What font is it that has the question marks like that, anyway? It was sort of distracting, wasn't it?

Well. I know that Bill can't answer me, not even if I go back in time to search for an answer. But I do hope that whoever gets this book next enjoys it, even if they may also decide to pass it on after finishing.

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a real page turner. I sat down and I read this book in just over an hour. I loved the story, it really keeps you guessing, gives insight into what life was like in the past, and shines light on the importance of family.

[Pamela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Basically a book-long description of how hard life was during The Great Depression. It would have been much better if what little plot and character development were thrown out, and it was published as a series of essays regarding TGD.

[Harriette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Thought provoking.

[Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really wanted to know where the letters were coming from.

[Peter Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/review/R32E1QN...

This is a well-written and well-plotted book. I liked the main character and I remained curious throughout the story in finding out how it would end.

Nonetheless, the book didn't impress me and I doubt that it will stay with me.

The story begins with Leo Nolan's mother dying. It is 1984 and Leo's mother's last wish is to see her brother, Jack, who disappeared fifty years before. Leo starts on this project, but his mother dies before he can get anywhere. Suddenly, though, his father receives a letter from Jack, which is postmarked fifty years before. Leo decides to follow the postmark trail on Jack's belatedly delivered letters to Ashland, Kentucky. In Ashland, Leo stays at the hotel where Jack stayed, and he develops a love affair with a waitress at the Woolworth.

Then, for no explained reason, and without causing Leo any concern, Leo begins to see Jack. Then he starts to follow Jack. Then, he speaks to Jack and, for no particular reason, and without any particular reaction of surprise on the part of Leo, he ends up fifty years in the past where he can unravel some mysteries, including unknown relatives and Jack's fate.

The tone of the book is melancholy. Memory is the theme of the book. The characters remember back fifty years, to a time when they listened to radio and saw King Kong at the movies and won a raffle at the movies and fought on the side of the union or the side of the strikebreaker. The pace is leisurely. Leo accepts everything in stride, whether it is a love affair with the waitress or jumping back in time fifty years.

I think there are three reasons this book left me feeling "bleh."

First, the time travel element was odd and underplayed. Yes, certainly, Leo isn't going to have the technical ability to unravel the secrets of time travel, but, certainly, he should have been more surprised than he was, unless he had a brain embolism or was dreaming it all, which is not how the story plays.

Second, I liked the historical bits, but they left me wondering what was going on. What was the point of mentioning Father Coughlin? I don't remember people still carrying a grudge about the strikes of the Depression in 1984, so why make that such an issue? Was it to excuse the plan to rob the bank on the grounds that the rich ought to pay?

Third, we never found out what happened to Jack. We thought we got a conclusion, which would have been a good ending, but that was a red-herring, it seems. The actual answer was never delivered.

This is a short, decent, well-written book. If you have a hankering to relive the 1930s and a low-tolerance for magical time-travel, then this might be your book.

[Kathy Piselli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in the day, Atlanta had a great science fiction and mystery bookshop curated by someone who really knew the field. There I found many authors who learned to write in Canada. It's kind of an amalgam of British and American, great writing. Shadow of Ashland is no exception, and I'm pleased to find that Green continued the tale with two other books. Can't wait to find them. There is a dreamy murkiness about this tale that is so well conveyed on the printed page.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Sometimes what we become and where we end up is of greater surprise to ourselves than it is to others. Plans get skewered. Logic falters. We become human, terribly so, stumble, try to recover, fail, choose another direction and move onward, shadow and sunshine, the road behind us disappearing, the one ahead unknowable."

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this wonderful little novel at a library book sale and paid a whole dollar for it. Money well spent! I enjoyed the story very much, especially the seamless jumping back and forth across time. Good stuff! Time to seek out more of Mr. Green's work...

[bridget Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

this went really fast. i really enjoyed it

[Lynda Bangham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and interesting story

The characters and history were terrific! Only complaint is the lack of editing; many misspelled words. Definitely worth the read.

[Kev Willoughby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice time-travel type of story that reminded me of the movie, "The Lake House," because the protagonist, Leo, receives a series of hand-written letters (one at a time) from his uncle 50 years after they were originally mailed.

The "present day" portions of the story take place in Kentucky in 1984, not far from Cincinnati. As a baseball fan, I enjoyed the accounts of the Reds, Tigers, Blue Jays, and other teams and players from the '84 season that made cameo appearances at different points in the story. Eventually, Leo meets the 1930s version of his long-missing uncle and finds out some interesting things about his past. And along the way, Leo starts to put the pieces of his own future together.

I found the accounts of life in both 1984 and 1934 to be very endearing, but couldn't follow how Leo suddenly found himself in 1934 alongside his uncle, nor how he made it back to 1984. In some ways, it made me think of the exchange between Kevin Costner and Burt Lancaster on the streets of Chisholm, Minnesota in "Field of Dreams."

This book is the first in a series, but I'm not sure if I'll continue with the second book or not.

[Carolyn (in SC) C234D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this back in 2004. I wish I remembered it better, just vaguely recall it. What I noted at the time was “A 40-year-old man, Leo Nolan, from Toronto sets out to track down his uncle, who hasn’t been heard from in fifty years. Leo’s dying mother wanted to see her brother Jack. The trail leads to Ashland, KY, where he finds the hotel Jack lived in, as well as his own love and, perhaps, Jack. Shades of Field of Dreams. Very nice story.” Fantasy isn’t usually my thing, but I recall liking this book. 8 out of 10

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe this book meant more to me because of knowing the area of where it was centered and having relatives from that area. It was a very enjoyable read and fun to see the mystery unravel. Very good read.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet, quick read. Now, when I go to post it, I see it's the first of a triology. I enjoyed this one enough to look for the other two in Terence Green's series. A fictional account of a long-lost uncle that incorporates just the right amount of magic realism to unravel the mystery.

[Brian Gaston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some powerful writing outside of Green's SF background.

[Steven Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warm, nostalgic time travel story.

Very fun read. Written with a knack for vivid historical detail. Recommended for fans of Jack Finney & the show Quantum Leap.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!

This book was one of the most unusual books I have read. It kept my interest the entire time and I simply loved it! You must not miss this!!

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow…I thoroughly enjoyed this book I will be reading the next one. Picked it up on a whim The writing is just fabulous

[Lorena · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another obscure library find! 3.5 stars.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read! There was just a little bit of mystery and things unexplainable which gave it a slightly whimsical feel but also laced with history.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quiet, somewhat melancholy book that tells of a man's search for family through time and space. Loss, love and family all intertwine to give a picture of life in the Great Depression.

FROM THE PUBLISHER
In the depths of the Great Depression, Jack Radey left his home in Toronto to seek a better life in the United States. He left behind a newly married sister and his estranged father. They received only one letter from him. As she lies dying in 1984, Leo Nolan's mother asks him to find her brother, Jack Radey, whom she hasn't seen or heard from in over fifty years. Leo does everything he can to locate his uncle, but can find no trace before his mother dies. And then a letter arrives. It is from Jack. It was sent a few weeks after the other letter - fifty years ago. Jack had just moved on in his search for work. Some time later another letter arrives from Jack, also postmarked in 1934. Jack was heading south. A final letter arrives - from Ashland, Kentucky. Jack had settled down there. Fifty years ago. Moved by these letters, windows on the youth of his mother and an uncle he never knew, Leo goes to Ashland. He finds a town that still bears the scars of the 1930s. He finds his love, a woman who, like Leo, has been disappointed by life but who is unwilling to let it make her bitter. And he finds Jack, a man pushed to desperate action, while Leo himself experiences the despair of the Great Depression as no one else has in over fifty years.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book....quick afternoon read. Kinda scary reading about the depression.....a little too close to home living in Detroit today.

[Her Royal Orangeness · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://onlyorangery.blogspot.com/2011...

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a great book but an OK book. I only picked it up because I was born in Ashland. Easy read.

[Laura]

Revisiting a book I remember as an old favorite from my bookstore days, circa 1996. I hope it's as good as I remember...

[Zoe Schools · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful story about a man who is trying to answer his mother's last question. What happen to her brother, Jack?

[Andrea Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a radiant book! A story that will inspire all those who read it.

[Ashley]

Read most of the book, couldn’t get into the series.