Either Side of 55

 Either Side of 55
 by James Tough
223 pages
Published by Muskoka Books and Cheryl Tough

Who Knew?
During the forty odd years that I knew Jim Tough, he constantly kept changing the way he made a living. A list of his endeavours includes: prospector, claim staker, kitchen cabinet maker, stonemason, carpenter, log house erector, canoe builder, row boat maker, cottage country contractor, rustic furniture craftsman-and probably there are others that I have forgotten.  In fact, he helped me lay the floor in our house and with the help of another friend,  built the cabinets in my kitchen.
In addition to all his hands-on work, and unbeknownst to me, he was also a writer and a wordsmith. In the publisher's message of Either Side of 55, Patrick Boyer notes:

But you may need your dictionary. There are pejorations, emancipists ,and antifractious situations. You´ll encounter circadian rhythms, ferial outings, feculent bogs, mesorrhine faces, abandoned adits even semi=palmated feet. Without trying to be a lexicographic show-off like Conrad Black or Rex Murphy, James Tough enriched his work with apt use of rare words.  

Over the years I did have a hint that he might have a writerly bent. Jim sent a couple of letters to the editor of our local newspaper. The letters were witty, tongue-in cheek, and I really enjoyed reading them. I used to tell him that I was hoping that he would write some more, but he confided that he had been advised that he should not produce any more missives. I guess that his prose had riled some of the townspeople.Sadly, Jim Tough passed from this world in April of 2014. He left behind a journal of his explorations and his wife, Cheryl, decided to publish his work as a fitting memorial to his life.

During the time that I knew Jim, he would often be absent from Bracebridge for long periods.

I knew that he was working in mine exploration and the staking of claims, but I was never privy to the details of his activities. Jim's book gives you insight into the challenges of life in a 14 x 20 wall tent in the wilderness( often with somewhat questionable employees)

My criterion for judging a book is simple: Did it hook me or not? 

When a book catches me, I finish it quickly and enjoy the insights it provides me. Otherwise, I quit reading partway through the publication and cast it aside.I am happy to report that Either Side of 55 held my interest. I finished reading Jims´ work over two days, and I felt involved in the stories as they unfolded. The final chapter is particularly sweet as Jim uses his frontier knowledge to collect from a reluctant debtor by staking a claim on his lakefront Muskoka property.

Perhaps this quote by Ken Black from the forward of the book says it best: ¨His is not the North of fairy tales and fantasy, but the North of hard-working and sometimes hard-living people who dealt with realities head-on.¨

  I am happy to recommend ¨Either side of 55¨ to you.

Jim's book is available from muskokabooks.com.