Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen
Brian's Winter
by Gary Paulsen
(Audio)
The concept of this book reads like a fanfiction: what if Brian hadn't been rescued at the end of Hatchet and needed to weather the winter alone on the island? The fact that it is Paulsen writing it, though, makes it a sort of alternate history canon and an interesting take. I think I prefer the first book's ending, but I liked the concept of an author taking seriously the letters from his fans and exploring his character in much more detail.
I liked seeing how Brian's world was similar and how it was so different in the winter as well. It was neat seeing him come up with concepts like rabbit-skin shirts and snowshoes and arrowheads in order to continue doing the things that he'd come up with the first time around. And it was neat diving back into his mentality then, hearing him talk about fool birds and use other terms he'd come up with during the first book.
And though I liked this book, I definitely didn't like this book as much as the first two. It went a few places that, as a vegetarian, made me uncomfortable to hear in such detail. I'd like to think that if I were in Brian's position, I'd do whatever it took to survive and I'd eat whatever it took. In the winter, when plants are buried or dead, that means meat. And I didn't have a problem with that idea. But I did have a problem listening to all the details of the killing and cutting up, the disembowling, etc. And not just what Tim does, but the mess that the wolves make as well. I just didn't need quite the level of detail that came in the descriptions so frequently. So that's why the other books were a bit easy for me to stomach.
I'm going to have trouble tracking down the "next" book, as it isn't available on CD the way all the others in the series are. But I plan on continuing. These books are quick reads and an interesting concept. As a reader, I enjoy looking at this different way of life and the way Brian copes with challenges that would ruin me. And as a writer, I like the way the different concepts are explored and presented through this young character. I look forward to more adventures.