Bys Vyken by Syd McGinley

[reviews_and_ramblings]

The story is setting in Cornwall of 1808. Jack is a miner and he lives a miserable life since his lover Clem, drowned inside the mine. Trying to rescue his lover, Jack cried out to the man his love and now all the town knows that Jack is a sodomite, and he survives waiting the day when someone will be tired of him and will end his existence.

Then one day a ship wrecks near the shore and while all the men tries to steal as much as possible, Jack instead saves a man, Nehemiah; Jack knows that, if the other men see the injured stranger, they will kill him, and saving him Jack has a bit of relief for not having saved Clem. Jack thinks the man an English sailor, and instead Nehemiah is an American citizen, forced to join up the English army when he arrived with a merchant ship months before.

In the loneliness of Jack's cottage, Nehemiah and Jack discover that they have a lot in common and Nehemiah convinces Jack to find the freedom with him outside the small town where he lives. But their life is not simple, a stranger and a sodomite alone against the world.

The story is pretty short, less than 35 pages, but it's very good. Again the author tries to involve the reader using Cornish words in the middle of the sentences, and also when she uses plain English, the grammar construction is very particular. There is a lot of reference to specific customs of the period and to the political relationship between America and England, but also on the way English government treated simple peasant like Jack. All in all, it seems that for a so short story, the author made a very good work.

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Comments

[louisaclark.livejournal.com]

I really liked this one, especially so since a historical is a rare read for me and it was interesting and different. But what really grabbed onto me was Nehemiah's love for his freedom and country. I'm a very patriotic person, proud of my country, (although the politicians annoy me) and I was really moved by his fervor for his country. LouisaClark

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I read your review after reading the book (I prefer to read reviews after to not influence my opinion) and I noticed this aspect for you. Obviously is stronger for you than me, you are dirctely involved. But yes, Nehemiah is a very patriotic man, hope men like him could have the life they dreamed. Elisa