Book Review: Michener's "Journey"

James Michener’s Hawai’i is often referred to as an epic historical saga, a fitting phrase given that it is over 1,000 pages and starts at the dawn of humanity, which not many other books can lay claim to outside religious texts. 


Michener's Journey is not quite as broad or “epic”, starting out at the end of the 1800s and describing the perilous journey to Alaska for fortune seekers participating in the Yukon gold rush. Although fictional, Michener's books are heavily researched and considered at least historically plausible. How would I do in this situation? Let's try it out. 


Phase 1: Train Across Canada

A 6-day trip in a luxury train car from Quebec to Edmonton - I’m in!  Finally, one of these adventurers picks an activity I can get on board with. Literally, not only could I survive that experience, but feeling I’d thrive in this one.  


 Phase 2: Sailing North

Guiding a boat downstream, heading north towards the Arctic Circle, where the would-be miners planned on spending the winter. Seems possible to accomplish, but unclear on why someone would do this? There is a reason that snowbirds choose Arizona and Florida to spend the winter rather than Nome, Alaska.

 

Phase 3: Building a Cabin

They needed to build a cabin, something I have fantasized about doing myself. However, my version would be as a hobby, over years, and would that would qualify as just a couple levels higher than a decent tent. This version entailed racing against the clock with an impending winter storm and the cabin quality determining whether they would survive the winter. Maybe I survive building the cabin, but the next stages are not looking good.


Phase 4: Spend a Winter in the Cabin

In Phoenix - absolutely.  At 30 degrees below? If the thermometer goes below 0 overnight, I'm probably dead. Seems like a new life rule for me. 

 

In Journey, reaching the gold fields and mining quickly became secondary to the, ahem, Journey. As often occurs in these type of stories, the trip itself takes center stage, ceding the intended destination to a footnote, an excuse to conquer what seems insurmountable. Similar, I suppose, to an experience I had several years back, when I attempted to locate the best pastry in Park City, Utah in a single afternoon. I quickly forgot the actual goal, and just buckled down to focus on the Journey. 

 

Journey by James A. Michener
Image Credit: Penguin Random House

 

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