Barometer Rising

I just finished Barometer Rising by Hugh MacLennan.  I thought the style was clear and demonstrated an uncommon depth of knowledge.  The characterization revealed the morality of the characters and their motivations well through their thoughts and actions.  The plot was surprisingly disappointing given the author's uncommon ability at style and characterization mentioned above.  In a nutshell the actions of the characters involved in a conflict of justice are dwarfed by the introduction, toward the end of the novel, of a gigantic disaster completely outside of their control.  This disaster, which takes place at the point in the novel where the climax should be and the reader expects it, completely takes over the novel.  The resolution of the conflict is then mentioned almost as an afterthought just before the end of the novel.  The style and characterization of this novel are strangely in contradiction with its plot.