The Man From Snowy River by Elyne Mitchell

THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER By ELYNE MITCHELL



MAIN CHARACTERS:

JIM CRAIG – 18 YEAR OLD MOUNTAIN BOY

HENRY CRAIG – HIS FATHER

SPUR – HENRY’S BEST FRIEND, A RECLUSIVE ECCENTRIC SEARCHING FOR AN ELUSIVE GOLD MINE

ANDY – JIM’S DUN HORSE

HARRISON – RICH RANCH OWNER

JESSICA – HARRISON’S DAUGHTER

CURLY – AN UNPLEASANT RANCH HAND

THE STALLION – AN OLD STALLION WHO WAS ONCE A PRIZE TB COLT WHO ESCAPED INTO THE WILD


SUMMARY:

Eighteen year old Jim Craig and his father Henry are close, especially after the death of Jim’s mother. Together they make plans to raise money by breaking colts in their mountain home. But tragedy strikes when the arrival of a legendary wild stallion who is rumoured to bring ill luck inadvertently causes Henry’s death. Alone and unable to run the family ranch himself, Jim seeks work with local bigwig cattle rancher Harrison. There he falls foul of an unpleasant ranch hand and Harrison himself, who has a strange dislike for mountain men. There seems to be a dark secret hanging over the Harrison family which has something to do with the wild stallion of the mountains, Harrison’s dead wife and his long-lost brother. However when Jim is persuaded by Harrison’s daughter Jessica to break in their valuable thoroughbred colt whilst her father is away he finds both that his life improving and that he is growing close to the girl. But then the arrival on the scene of the wild stallion again causes trouble when it sets off a chain of events which puts Jessica in danger and ends up with the valuable colt running loose. Can Jim prove that a mountain man is a man to be respected, and in doing so break the curse of bad luck which seems attached to the wild stallion?


REVIEW:

This is an excellent young adult coming of age story set I think at the end of the 19th century in Australia. It was actually based on the screen play of the film of the same title, which in turn was based on a ballad by legendary Aussie bush poet Banjo Paterson. The story itself has something for everyone, with the wild backdrop of the bush and it’s brumbies, the excitement and danger of the brumby drive, a mystery and a romance all combined into one.

Ms. Mitchell makes a superb job of converting the film to novel form. This is her writing at her best and will appeal to all lovers of her Silver Brumby series. Although this focuses more on the human element than the brumbies or wild-life, nevertheless it still evokes the wild and somehow spiritual quality of the mountains which are in the blood of young Jim Craig, making him part of the bush as much as it’s wild-life. Jim’s perilous chase down the side of a cliff in pursuit of the elusive brumby herd is reminiscent of one of the exploits of Thowra – like the Silver Brumby stallion he uses his knowledge of the land and his innate connection with it, and with his horse, to stay alive when all the other ranch hands would have surely have come to grief.

However, unlike some of the author’s later books such as the Dancing Brumby series in which the spiritual element took over the plot somewhat, it is here tempered with realism. The day-to-day life on a cattle station and of life in the mountains is described in a down to earth manner, with much authentic detail. The writing style is for the most part simplistic. It is, like the Silver Brumby series, very easy to read and has realistic dialogue. However this is not to say the writing is bland, there is plenty of evocative description of the bush and mountains, which is at times almost poetic.

The main characters are well drawn, especially Jim, who is a very sympathetic hero. Although he has been brought up in the no-nonsense world of the bush, he has not the hardness of many of the other ranch men, who see horses just as part of the their job and a way to make money. His relationship with his horse Andy is close and loving and he has a deep connection with the horse which is one of the keys to his eventual success. And yet he is not a complete goody-goody. He has flawed moments, such as when he loses his cool upon seeing the wild stallion and stupidly races off in pursuit on the half broken valuable colt. (But of course we forgive him this as it was due to his grief and guilt over his father’s death.) He also gets involved with fights and other scrapes. In short, a realistic very human character who the reader likes as much as most of the other other characters in the book do. The only people who dislike Jim are Curly, who is the villain of the piece, and Harrison who has his own agenda for not liking the boy. Although this is not a book which explores emotions or motives too deeply, (being a fairly short event-packed novel it would have trouble fitting too much of this in!) nevertheless Jim is not a two dimensional creation. His guilt, his love for Jessica and especially the feeling he has for the land he loves, is not ignored.

Another thing I like about this book, unlike many horse stories, is that it appeals to both sexes, in fact possibly even more to boys than girls. There is plenty of ‘boy stuff’ in the book such as manly cattle mustering, fights, break-neck riding and proving oneself to be a man. Although it’s set in Australia, it has at times almost the feel of a Western.

The romance element of the book is also handled extremely well. There is nothing mawkish or distasteful about it In fact the gentle development of the romance is understated and realistic. The scene in which Jim realizes the strength of his love for Jessica when they are stranded together in the bush is quite beautifully portrayed.

I can’t think of any criticisms of this book, except perhaps that it is too short! I feel it will appeal to a huge range of readers. There is plenty of excitement for people who like fast paced stories, loads of horse content, and the mystery and romance elements will even hold the attention of non-horselovers. If perhaps it doesn’t quite reach the outstanding heights of the Silver Brumby series, it is still an excellent story by any standard.

5 horseshoes (excellent)

BTW proves that haffy and I do like the same books occaisionally ;D