Coke Stop in Emo: Adventures of a Long-Distance Paddler

Janet Money, formerly the sports editor of the Woodstock Daily
Sentinel-Review, is a freelance writer and editor in London, Ontario.

This book recounts the author’s cross-country paddling journey, in
which he retraced the fur trading routes of the voyageurs. Over three
paddling seasons, Ross traveled from Lachine, Quebec, to Vancouver,
surviving storms, bear attacks, grueling portages, and loneliness.
Though he refers in the book to taking photographs, none are included.

What could have been a compelling read, drawing us into the mind and
spirit of the traveler, fails to materialize. Ross is stingy when it
comes to personal revelations, and his descriptions of sights and people
are just that—descriptions, with no hint of what lies beyond the trees
or behind the names and faces.

The format may be partly to blame. Each of the three sections, one for
each year, is divided into mini-chapters, some no longer than a
paragraph or two. This approach makes for a narrative that is as choppy
as the rapids the author navigates.

Ross is to be commended for making the trip; sadly, this book does not
come close to matching that feat.