The Cartographer of No Man's Land: A Novel
*Starred Review* Angus MacGrath is a ship’s captain in Nova Scotia, contending with his pacifist father and changes in the shipping industry in the middle years of WWI. When his brother-in-law, Ebbin, goes missing in France, he enlists in the Allied forces to try to find him. Expecting to serve from the safety of a London cartography division, he finds himself instead as an officer on the front lines, facing mustard gas, watching his men die for paltry gains of German territory, and battling his own despair. Back in Nova Scotia, his wife begins modernizing the family business, and his son is drawn into a dispute with his neighbors when he defends the local German schoolteacher. Both settings come to life thanks to Duffy’s full realization—each character, however minor, is a distinct personality; the action is grounded in closely observed details of fishing life and trench warfare; and her patience in developing the cast of characters makes for an unusually rich novel. In addition, the world of shipping and the uncertainty of the uncharted front line provide poignant metaphors for the characters’ navigation of conflict, loss, and change, as well as their journey back to each other—and to themselves. --Lynn Weber