The experience of home . . . a sense of place
Meadowlands¿-¿home to the family of Morris and Harriet Scovil at the beginning of the 20th century; nine hundred acres of interval and forest land at Scovil Point on the St. John River across from Gagetown, New Brunswick; a farm that produced hay and horses; a place that nurtured the life of a remarkable family.
Virginia Bliss Bjerkelund has created a family chronicle with the flair of a novel. Meadowlands captures the heart and engages the imagination. It's a strange and exhilarating experience to have no knowledge of a family and then, by reading a book, come to know its members and the trajectory of
their lives in a way you will not likely forget.
In his reflections on literature that endures, Kenneth Rexroth writes:
The perils of the soul and ... the great commonplaces of human life ... do not have to be presented as especially grandiose.¿... There are quiet and idyllic classics, even inconspicuous ones. (The Classics Revisited; 1965, 1986)
Meadowlands portrays the perils of the soul and the great commonplaces of human life in a way that will endure. The textures family life, the ever present natural world, and the surrounding community will resonate with readers for generations to come.
