“Three Million Acres of Flame” – A review

Some person with more of a literary bent than I might find fault with some aspect of the writing in Three Million Acres of Flame but I’m not that person. Despite the author having written this work for a cohort younger (a lot younger!) than my own, I loved it through and through.

It tells the story so that the reader might understand both the big picture of the Great Miramichi Fire of 1825 and what an individual family may well have had to endure in the process. We get to know the characters well enough to empathize with them in the various situations in which they find themselves both during and after the event.

I know I’m emotionally invested in a book when I cringe or feel dread in certain situations, such as when the family is wintering in the dank, dark root cellar or trudging through the sludge on the day after the conflagration. Personally, I could also imagine trying to figure out how I could be useful again after I’ve lost my sight, as is the case with one of the characters.

Having read scholarly work on the Great Miramichi Fire, I think this book reflects very well what we know about it and its aftermath. Irrespective of the age group at which the author aims Three Million Acres of Flame, she tells a story that will connect with readers of any age in this, the 200th anniversary of the event.