*Editorial Book Review*
Unfulfilled Expectations: The Untamable
by Christian Beaudry
Publisher: Tullinois
Page Length: 236
Genre: Historical Fiction
Catherine is bold, determined, and stubborn.
In her youth, she defies the constraints of 1930s patriarchal society and rejects the conventional path that her mother had planned for her. She decides to break the mould.
After becoming a nurse, the young woman enlists to contribute to the war effort. Assigned to northeastern Ontario, she becomes infatuated with two wounded soldiers entrusted to her care. From then on, Catherine's destiny becomes intertwined with that of the two men. But the situation of one of them is not as clear-cut as he claims. To maintain his hard-fought freedom, he must resort to trickery, deceit, and sometimes evasion.
The post-war period brings Catherine back to Montreal. She and her friends, feminists in the shadows, demand greater social justice. However, they face the entrenched machismo of Maurice Duplessis’s era. Navigating waters that are sometimes murky and often turbulent, Catherine must reconcile her aspirations as a mother, a professional, and an activist. And above all, as a woman.
A historical novel with contemporary resonance.
Home is more of a feeling than simply a place. It is the feeling of warmth, acceptance, familiarity, and security. For Catherine, home is not in her family’s house with her mother and sisters. She longs for adventure, craving something more than the monotonous and predictable life that seems to be laid out before her. Taking matters into her own hands, she leaves, running away from what she knows in order to carve out her own future.
The derailment of a train, killing many of its passengers, opens up an opportunity for one man on board. Escaping from a prisoner-of-war camp, Helmut uses the disaster as a chance to start a new life. Donning the clothes and identity of an officer who succumbed to his injuries, Helmut becomes Josh Cohen and leaves the wrecked train a different man than he was when he boarded it.
Unfulfilled Expectations: The Untamable by Christian Beaudry gives deceit a purpose, offers opportunities for reinvention, and provides a fictional account of life in Canada during the immediate years following the end of the Second World War.
Having treated two men after the brutal and deadly train accident, Catherine finds herself torn. Both men have caught her eye, but she knows she must choose. The first, Arthur, is a safe man, one who would treat her well and do all he could to make her happy. Josh offers different possibilities. There is something about him that catches her attention and keeps it captive. He is mysterious and clearly withholding secrets, yet that does nothing to diminish the powerful pull she feels towards him.
Josh Cohen, the identity Helmut has adopted, finds himself not only speaking an unfamiliar tongue but stepping into a life he knows little about. Josh’s diary proves a useful reference point, allowing Helmut to learn about the life he has taken over. Complications arise, however, when Josh’s sister, from whom he has been estranged for some time, begins searching for him. Helmut may have escaped from the camp, but there are still constraints on his freedom, with people watching and waiting for him to make a mistake. His predicament is a precarious one and, at times, demands that he move on quickly to avoid discovery. Helmut is one of many characters in this novel, but he is the one whose story feels the most fully realised, filled with difficulties and sacrifices alongside the joys of friendship and love. His journey, from a German officer imprisoned behind two layers of barbed-wire fencing to a man living under a stolen identity in Canada, is one of the novel’s most compelling threads.
Both Arthur and Josh play pivotal roles in Catherine’s life. She is a free spirit, determined to follow her own path and shape her future according to her own wishes rather than the expectations of others. The idea of tying herself down to one man seems contrary to her nature. Josh, however, takes that choice away from her when he suddenly disappears without explanation. When he returns, matters become even more complicated. The relationships that develop are unconventional and, at times, somewhat confusing. Catherine is desperate for fulfilment and struggles to find it in Arthur alone. Between the two men, she experiences both physical affection and emotional attachment, with her feelings for one often amplified by the attentions of the other. Without both men in her life, she appears lost. It is an unusual situation, particularly as both men seem to have little outward objection to Catherine’s actions.
The historical period in which this novel is set is clearly the result of extensive research, and the political and social changes of post-war Canada are explored in considerable detail. However, the historical information is not always integrated smoothly into the narrative. At times, the story pauses to provide explanations of political developments or historical events before returning to the characters and their experiences. While these passages are informative and demonstrate the author's knowledge of the period, they can interrupt the flow of the story and make it more difficult to remain fully immersed in the narrative. Rather than emerging naturally through dialogue or the characters' perspectives, some of these sections feel detached from the surrounding scenes, contributing to the disjointed feel of the novel.
Despite there being several characters who drive the narrative, it is Josh who appears to stand out and capture the reader’s interest most effectively. Catherine is not an especially likeable character. Although she is a strong woman working within a male-dominated profession during a period when she would have faced considerable challenges to secure her position, she often comes across as fickle. She moves between relationships throughout the novel and, when it comes to her family, can seem emotionally distant towards her children, at times appearing more focused on her own desires than on her role as a mother.
As the narration switches between multiple characters and spans many years, it can be difficult to truly get to know any one individual until well into the novel. This creates a reading experience that can, unfortunately, feel somewhat disjointed. Just as the reader begins to understand a character, the perspective shifts elsewhere, often accompanied by a jump forward in time. Had the novel focused more exclusively on Helmut’s escape and his efforts to reintegrate into society under a false identity, it may have created a more emotionally intense and cohesive story. Instead, the inclusion of so many perspectives can occasionally make the narrative feel cluttered and difficult to follow.
Although several aspects of this novel are not as polished as they have the potential to be, Unfulfilled Expectations: The Untamable by Christian Beaudry remains a story that contains both intrigue and tension. Between the political changes taking place in post-war Canada and Helmut’s determination to remain hidden behind a stolen identity, the novel maintains a steady sense of curiosity and suspense that encourages the reader to keep turning the pages.
While the novel contains an interesting premise and a well-researched historical backdrop, its frequent shifts in perspective and lengthy timeline can make it difficult to fully connect with many of the characters. Helmut’s storyline is undoubtedly the strongest aspect of the book, but the narrative's broader focus occasionally weakens its emotional impact. An engaging concept with some compelling moments, but one that ultimately falls short of its full potential.
The Coffee Pot Book Club
