Who has seen the wind by W.O. Mitchell

Who has seen the wind by W.O. Mitchell is the quintessential western Canadian prairie novel. In it a young boy learns about life and death, mostly death. The prairie setting is everything in this work. A very interesting example of how setting can shape a story. The characters are flushed out particularly the main character Brian O'Connal. Who is perhaps a little too much the brat.. He goes through various stages of learning about how life begins and ends. This is done through a series of lessons. The death of his pets, father and finally grandmother. The ending does seem rather contrived unfortunately.

That being said highly recommended even if you've never experienced the prairie wind.