Book Review: Emergence ~ by Ellie Beals
As obedience competitors, we understand that those of us who reach the highest level of our sport have exceptional powers of observation and attention to detail. Luckily for us, Ellie Beals, a top obedience competitor in Canada for many years, has been able to transfer those rare qualities to another field entirely and has written a thriller that will keep you turning pages well past bedtime and have you thinking about it long after the last page.
Set in her beloved Canadian backcountry, Emergence tells the intersecting story of Cass Harwood, a middle-aged obedience competitor who spends significant time at her second-home cabin in the western Quebec wilderness with her husband Noah and three Golden Retrievers, and Xavier, a young teenage boy and fulltime resident of the woods with his reclusive, anarchist father.
As in much Canadian fiction, the backcountry itself is a central character in the story, and Beals renders both its beauty and ever-present undercurrent of danger with the eyes of one who has seen deeply. When the dogs kick up “diamond dust” bounding through fresh snow, you can see the sparkle of the sun and feel the dogs’ joy.
The first chapters, which alternate in point of view between Xavier and Cass, set the stage and allow us to get our bearings with some background into the lives of the relevant characters. Though perhaps not as effective as letting us learn some of this information organically as the story develops, it serves as an orientation, just as we would orient ourselves as to time and place and landmarks before setting off into the woods. And then, into the woods we go.
Xavier fancies himself an observer and naturalist, like Charles Darwin or Jane Goodall, but as we slowly begin to see, lives by his own moral code and has motivations that keep the reader guessing. As Cass and her dogs are Xavier’s subjects of observation and study, and she is only aware of what he permits her to see, readers will find themselves in the uncomfortable position of not knowing whether Cass is being protected by Xavier or needs to be warned about him. Cass has many moments in the woods when the hair on the back of her neck rises and she cannot identify why, and the reader shares that sensation, but has just enough knowledge to know that the reaction is justified. I will not spoil the experience for you by telling you any more of the story here other than to say that the woods are full of dangers, but none so dangerous as humans.
The relationship between Xavier and Cass is the focus of the novel, but Cass’s dogs play significant roles. While Front & Finish readers will be left wishing for more, especially when Beals drops hints about how she trains and what details make the difference in training at the highest levels, the relationship between Cass and her dogs is both integral to the story, but also realistic in the context of Cass’s other relationships and the events that transpire. As a result, you can confidently recommend this book to your non-dog-obsessed friends and family (and may even find it prompts questions about your dog’s registered name or what happens at an obedience trial). Fundamentally, Emergence is a well-written thriller first, a dog book second.
In fact, this is one of those books that you want to discuss with someone else. In the end, you are left with questions of ethics and morality and a sense of vague discomfort that beg for discussion with others. It would be an excellent book club selection for that reason, but be forewarned that it contains adult themes and thus would not be appropriate for younger readers.