By Pamela Collins
Behind the Pickle Jar
By Wendy McQuaig
Horse and Carriage Publishing, 2023
On one of my many day trips this summer I came across this book in Orillia. It was signed by the author, and the cover and the author’s history enticed me to pick it up.
Behind the Pickle Jar is a historical fiction novel set in Simcoe County, Ontario. It is about a modern-day family renting an old farmhouse for the summer as an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Amy Hewston is assistant manager of Ultra Luscious Relaxation Spa in Toronto, but she is so stressed from this job and managing a home, as well as two teenagers constantly arguing, that she can hardly function. She and her husband, Matt, decide to rent a farmhouse north of the city where the family can relax and regroup.
The teens are not happy to leave their friends and connections in the city to stay in a dilapidated old house, but they too begin to absorb the country life. Thank goodness for wifi so their daughter, Megan, can still text her city friends, and son, Tyler, can continue online gaming with his friends.
As they explore the cellar of the old house, Amy and Matt come across a diary behind an old jar of pickles. The diary’s author was Isabel Huntly who lived in the farmhouse at the turn of the 20th century. As Amy reads the pages, the history of the home and the family who lived there takes hold.
In contrast to her own stressful and seemingly isolated existence, Amy discovers there is something about the diary that helps her work through her own anxieties and decisions for the future.
What kept my interest was the chapters flipping narrators with Isabel in the 1900s, Amy in the current time, and small interjections from the old farmhouse itself. The chapters portray the experiences of both women, their hardships and daily life, and how they deal with them.
Although farming life in the 1900s was physically difficult, the author notes that at that time Isabel’s close family and community life were ”unmatchable today. If she were on Facebook, she would have 500 friends, except they would actually be present in her life. How many women today are single parents or live in nuclear families disconnected from extended family, friends and community?”
I found myself making comparisons of the old and new: the physically difficult life in the past, running a farm and managing a large family but always with the support of family, friends and neighbours, versus today where Amy and Matt have no support system at all.
You will be taken on a journey from horse-drawn buggies and church socials to Instagram and iPhones. Many people today can relate to Amy’s hectic life.
The characters are well developed and engaging, and it feels like you are watching a Netflix series and can’t wait for the next episode. I challenge you, the reader, to ask yourself how much things have really changed over the last century. Behind The Pickle Jar could inspire some interesting discussions with your family and friends.