Hooker & Brown

Hooker & Brown by Jerry Auld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 and 1/2 stars

Rumi, the protagonist of Hooker & Brown, states early in the book that his “favourite professor at university made classes interesting by telling the material in the form of stories” (35). Jerry Auld also succeeds at using the joy of storytelling to transform a novel that may, at first, seem to be just about people who like to climb mountains.

This book is that and more. Combine an adventure story, a mystery, a hint of romance with philosophy, Canadian history, and geology, and you’ll have Hooker & Brown.

Rumi is a recent university graduate who is spending his summer working on the Kananaskis Park trail crew, trying to decide whether or not to continue his geology studies, or to get a job downtown. A third option appears to him while climbing with Lion, another former student who “has climbed and improved while [Rumi’s] hands have softened on the edges of library racks” (3). At one point, Rumi is alone on the trail and about to be overtaken by a storm. He knows that he needs to get off the crest as soon as possible. But just as he is about to turn around, “something appears across the valley in the clouds and rivets [him]: a smudge that remains immobile when all else is swirling. It expands into a ridge, shredding the clouds. It’s straight and steep, impossibly close, rising hundred of metres above [him]. It seems like a battleship prow surging above an icy swell” (17). As quickly as the mountain peak reveals itself, it disappears into the rolling mists.

Rumi consults maps, but no mountain should be where he thinks he saw it. Initially, he believes that he simply saw Mt. Assiniboine, but after discussing history with the other members of the park crew, Rumi is set on the path of finding the legendary mountains, Hooker & Brown. An early explorer had noted and named the two massive peaks, but when other men subsequently tried to find them, it was without success. Rumi becomes obsessed.

The novel begins with strong descriptions of climbing, particularly Rumi and Lion making a nail-biting ascent of a rock face. The feeling of immediacy, danger and only existing in the present are conveyed with such intensity that I was willing to ignore my dislike of heights and give climbing a go. What a thrill. There’s poetry in Auld’s sentences. I read many of them out loud to my husband as I made my way through the novel. Auld had me at the lines: “His hips shimmy with a hula of climbing gear” (2) and “I‘ve always had an affinity for carbon” (16).

However, the action, while strong in parts one and four, and lags in part two.

As well, the characters are given stock names: Lion, the Interpreter, the Ranger, the Fire Lookout. I’m not sure if I like this. These names have a distancing effect and, for me, the characters are faceless.

The novel ends with drama, insight, and a surprise. As well, the reader gains an understanding of how the mountains affect the people who encounter them.

I loved reading this novel for its language, mystery, and elucidation of early Canadian exploration. As well, in the tradition of sports literature, the protagonist struggles in a variety of ways: physically during his climbs, mentally when trying to make the right life decision, and emotionally in dealing with his colleagues and relationships. Long after the reading is done, I continue to think about the book and wonder, what are my two peaks, my “most meaningful aspects of life” (113)?

For more about this book check out Jerry Auld’s cool website: http://www.jerryauld.com/

As well, read Angie Abdou’s take on the ideal reader for this book: http://www.abdou.ca/litpicks/litpicks...

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