The author, Joseph L. Lothian, brings to life a 1930's coal mining town through the vivid reminiscences of Mykola, who began his young life in poverty and deprivation and then enters the coal mines. Many characters touch his life, none more than his one boyhood friend. A tortured conscience drives him to escape to a new life on Vancouver Island where he finds both love and heartbreak. In a gripping conclusion, he is forced to confront his past in the mine."As an historian and a chronicler of coal mining, ...I loved this book and its hero, Kola Krush. Kola is Everyman. He is the kind of person who inadvertently shaped Western Canadian history as he survived a difficult childhood, worked for wages, fell in love and quietly went about the business of living his life."
Lynne Bowen, Award Winning Author, "Boss Whistle" and others"...The Grasshopper is not simply a novel you read. It's one you cherish. Lothian is a born storyteller and the story ...is mesmerizing. Lothian keeps the reader enthralled. ...the characters, Kola meets on his life's journey ...are the true treasures of The Grasshopper. They are all so real that they leap off the page to stay with the reader long after Kola's story ends. The Grasshopper deserves to be a Canadian classic."Louis B Hobson, Journalist Calgary SUN"...very descriptive ...I felt like I was right there in the mines and towns... The story is at times poignant and at times intense. I was made to feel his (Kola's) sadness and his loneliness, ...The ending is the way I like them, a total surprise."
Joan Donaldson-Yarmey, Author, "Illegally Dead""A beautiful journey into Alberta's rich history."
Paul Brandt, Canadian Country ArtistISBN 978-0-9697023-4-4