Three Day Road joins Boyden's latest, The Orenda, in my top five or so favorite books that I have ever read. Boyden is incredibly talented. He just has a way of drawing the reader into the book's world. I could clearly see the characters, the war-torn First World War setting, and the events unfolding as if before my eyes. Boyden is excellent at providing real, flawed people and believable situations. His books do not follow the typical formula of most other literature: there will be no twist at the end, no defeating some villain, no happily wrapped-up situation. Instead, his books provide a series of slices in time that take the reader on a journey. His books are all relatively easy to read, since the reader is continuously faced with the thoughts and statements of the characters instead of a traditional narrator, so there is no room for flashy, over-the-top prose. The books are liberally sprinkled with violence, but it is very important to note that the violence is not there to shock the reader, as is often the case. Instead, the violence is an often (always?) unwanted part of the world in which the characters live. In this book, the raw, disturbing violence of the First World War is clearly presented to the reader. Boyden is not afraid to show the reality of terrible situations to his readers and glorifies absolutely nothing.

I really hope that Boyden's The Orenda wins Canada Reads 2014 and that he becomes what he deserves to be: a Classic Canadian author.