Saturday, March 12, 2022

Book Review: Cloudmaker (2021). Malcolm Brooks.

The setting for this unusual adventure novel is rural Montana in 1937.  Young Huck, a high school kid with a talent for building and fixing mechanical things and an obsession with aviation, is building a Pietenpol biplane (one of the earliest “homebuilt” airplane designs) from plans, in a barn, without even telling his mother.  

It's a story of families, youthful sexual exploration, growing up, and small-town adventures in the Depression era.  Other great characters include Annelise, Huck’s rebellious "bad girl" cousin from the city, who is also a young pilot and Amelia Earhart fan, and McKee, a disaffected young Mormon, blacksmith, mechanical whiz and gun expert. 

This is a well-paced twentieth century western adventure novel with an appealing set of characters.  Highly recommended.

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