The Long Way Home: A Personal History of Nova Scotia by John DeMont was a selective history of the province, as I assume all histories are, but in this particular case DeMont wrote at length about some episodes in Nova Scotia’s past while totally ignoring others, such as the Halifax Explosion of 1917 and the Africville community. The book was not indexed, which made references to the text next to impossible since even the chapter titles were vague in their poeticism (sample chapter titles were “Scheen of Sorrow”, “Ace, Joe and Me” and “Angle of Repose”). That said, readers should beware that The Long Way Home is not a conventional history of chronological events and the “personal” in the title is apt.
Nevertheless, DeMont made his personal stories of Nova Scotia an irresistible read. He travelled the province from north to south and conducted countless interviews, including those with Mi’kmaq elders and Cape Breton Scots from families who settled long ago. The chapters on European settlement and the expulsion of the Acadians were the most interesting. Coal mining was a major part of Cape Breton industry and DeMont covered the ways that mining companies held their employees in conditions of dire servitude.
I thank the author for introducing me to the word nesomania, which means a craze or excessive interest in islands. I am one so afflicted. The 255 pages were supplemented by 35 pages of useful endnotes which I enjoyed reading at the end of each chapter.