Grog Wars
About Burke Kaufmann, the beer brewer hero of Anne Sweazy-Kulju’s delightful new book Grog Wars, readers are told two key things early on: he has as natural talent for brewing, and he is “nicely adventuresome.” He ends up needing both those qualities by the time Grog Wars is finished; in sending her hero on a trek across the world from his native Germany to 1849 America, Sweazy-Kulju is able to pack an enormous amount of danger and adventure into a little over 300 pages.
Burke endures a nightmarish crossing of the Atlantic, a gruelling journey along the Oregon Trail, dramatic adventures in the Uncharted Territories of the American West, and finally the squalor and savagery of frontier Portland, Oregon, which Sweazy-Kulju characterizes as “arguably the most dangerous place on earth.”
Burke is a very engaging main character, wilful but also impressionable, and Sweazy-Kulju skilfully complicates his story with the presence of not only Lily, his love from back in the old country, but also with the standout character of Australian immigrant Queensy Gray, companion in many of Burke’s adventures.
The book’s pacing is smooth, and the dialogue throughout is sharp; Grog Wars is a bright, entertaining read.
