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11th out of 17 books
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16 voters
The Little Shadows
Here is the eagerly anticipated new novel from a brilliant writer whose last book, Good to a Fault, was shortlisted for the prestigious Giller Prize and won the Commonwealth Prize for Canada and the Caribbean.
The Little Shadows revolves around three sisters in the world of vaudeville before and during the First World War. We follow the lives of all three in turn: Aurora, t...more
The Little Shadows revolves around three sisters in the world of vaudeville before and during the First World War. We follow the lives of all three in turn: Aurora, t...more
Hardcover, 544 pages
Published
September 27th 2011
by Doubleday Canada
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Vaudeville is a wonderous art form that has sadly long left our world. A world were stage entertainment is king and is a life that Flora wants to get her three young daughters Aurora, Clover and Belle into and will fight to the bone to have them be successful. Flora a former Vaudeville performer herself is struggling to keep the family afloat after the death of her son to pneumonia and the suicide death of her husband and now she is down to her last $20. After numerous humilating failed audition...more
I loved two of Marina Endicott's other books - Open Arms and Good To a Fault. They're set on the Canadian prairies and yet aren't your typical 'glorify the prairies' books, with their depth of character and interesting plot lines - both surprising and familiarly prairie like. The plot line in Little Shadows is more surprising than familiarly prairie like. Set in the 1920s, three sisters, whose teacher father has just committed suicide in his small town teacherage, form a singing vaudeville act w...more
The year is 1912 and after the death of their father and baby brother the three Avery sisters, Aurora, Clover and Bella hit the road with their mother to start their career as vaudeville stars.
Flora Avery, the girls’ mother, worked in vaudeville before she married their father and gratefully uses contacts from the old days to get her girls started. But, it is by no means plain sailing.
The world of vaudeville is highly competitive and knows no mercy. If you don’t entertain the audience you are o...more
Flora Avery, the girls’ mother, worked in vaudeville before she married their father and gratefully uses contacts from the old days to get her girls started. But, it is by no means plain sailing.
The world of vaudeville is highly competitive and knows no mercy. If you don’t entertain the audience you are o...more
The Little Shadows is a beautifully written coming-of-age tale of three sisters at the beginning of the twentieth century. At a time when moving pictures were in their infancy and television was the stuff of science fiction, vaudeville was one of the few forms of entertainment available and was hugely popular. So, when their father dies, Flora, the girls' mother decides to have them audition as a song-and-dance routine. They are not particularly talented but, thanks mainly to the eldest sister's...more
Let me begin by saying that my estimation of this book suffers from two biases. First is the fact that I read Good to a Fault earlier this year and loved its exploration of the complexity of modern life, its depth of characterization, and its choice of a messy and somewhat ambiguous ending. Second is that I am growing weary of historical fiction and annoyed by the fact that almost every major Canadian publisher has released a 'big name author' work of historical fiction this fall - Vanderhaeghe,...more
MY REVIEW
A beautiful poetic novel of what the vaudeville or theatre might have been in historic western Canada and the northwest U.S.A., in particularly Montana. The story follows three girls and their mother after the death of the father as they go into the world their mother knew before she met their father. Each scene and each character is portrayed in vivid colors, both their good attributes as well as the eccentric. Although i don’t know much about the world of actors either then or now, it...more
A beautiful poetic novel of what the vaudeville or theatre might have been in historic western Canada and the northwest U.S.A., in particularly Montana. The story follows three girls and their mother after the death of the father as they go into the world their mother knew before she met their father. Each scene and each character is portrayed in vivid colors, both their good attributes as well as the eccentric. Although i don’t know much about the world of actors either then or now, it...more
Extremely mixed feelings about this one. It is probably quite good, but I just couldn't get into it. I ended up reading a multitude of books while reading this one, which is a sign that a book is not doing something for me.
That said, one of the reasons why I didn't like it was because I LOVED "Good to a fault." I find that sometimes when I love, love, love one book by an author, it makes it more difficult for me to love other books by them. (See Lynn Coady's "The Antagonist" due to "Mean Boy" lo...more
That said, one of the reasons why I didn't like it was because I LOVED "Good to a fault." I find that sometimes when I love, love, love one book by an author, it makes it more difficult for me to love other books by them. (See Lynn Coady's "The Antagonist" due to "Mean Boy" lo...more
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This was a lovely, lyrical and entertaining novel about 3 sisters who join the Vaudeville circuit as singers and dancers in pre-WW1 Canada and the US under the tutelage of their mother, a retired performer herself. Beginning when they are between 9 and 15 years of age, we watch them strive to break into the business while contending with poverty, winter and the perils of being young women in the ambiguous social situation of stage performers. Over the course of the novel we see the girls grow up...more
What a wonderful story!
It began Canada, to a cold, snowy day in 1912.
Flora Avery took her three daughters – Aurora, Clover and Bella – to an audition. She had been a vaudeville star, before her marriage to a school-teacher, and now she wanted the same for her girls.
I wondered if she was a pushy, show business mother, but she wasn’t. She was a widow, struggling to cope, and doing the best she could for her girls.
Vaudeville was hugely popular in those days, when cinema was in its infancy and telev...more
It began Canada, to a cold, snowy day in 1912.
Flora Avery took her three daughters – Aurora, Clover and Bella – to an audition. She had been a vaudeville star, before her marriage to a school-teacher, and now she wanted the same for her girls.
I wondered if she was a pushy, show business mother, but she wasn’t. She was a widow, struggling to cope, and doing the best she could for her girls.
Vaudeville was hugely popular in those days, when cinema was in its infancy and telev...more
"The Little Shadows," I hoped, would be as fine as "Good to a Fault," but that turned out to be overly optimistic. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this novel, partly for the rich texture of anecdotes and historical sketches that brought vaudeville alive in a western Canadian perspective -- and partly for the colourful plot line that Endicott was able to weave through this book. Almost as fine in its dramatic ups and downs as the "perils of Pauline" style that the vaudeville acts played out in their high...more
This is a mammoth novel about three sisters, Aurora, Clover and Bella and their mother Flora, on the vaudeville circuit from 1912 until we leave them in 1917. Flora was living as a housewife, but after the death of her husband and young son, she has decided to take her girls on the road. The book begins with the young girls auditioning in a theatre when Aurora is just 16 and the youngest, Bella, only 13. There are jobs cancelled, hopes raised only to be dashed, working for experience with no pay...more
Damn that is one good book.
The ending had me weeping. It was perfect.
The story of three sisters, their mother and the people of their lives. vaudeville.
I love how smoothly she moves from girl to girl. I watch it, these last few days with Elephant Shoes (a novella I’m working on) in mind.
I’m not sure I understand all the little titles for the scenes/chapters or the structure as a whole - though I’m betting it is intensely “built” along those lines. I might have to study it to really appreciate th...more
The ending had me weeping. It was perfect.
The story of three sisters, their mother and the people of their lives. vaudeville.
I love how smoothly she moves from girl to girl. I watch it, these last few days with Elephant Shoes (a novella I’m working on) in mind.
I’m not sure I understand all the little titles for the scenes/chapters or the structure as a whole - though I’m betting it is intensely “built” along those lines. I might have to study it to really appreciate th...more
This is the story of three sisters and their widowed mother attempting to make a living in vaudeville in the Alberta/Montana/Saskatchewan/Manitoba area just prior to and during the first world war. Every city in the area had at least one "live" theatre and larger places like Winnipeg were popular destinations for performers. Some of the action takes place right in my own backyard of Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, a village of much historical significance which has declined in more recent years like m...more
This was a charming book. At times a little delicate, although it represented a former time. It's good to slow down and remember that we haven't always lived with TV shows where people make a public spectacle of the private lives.
On the other hand the relationship of the women in the story to men they worked - their need/choice to relate sexually to power figures, for instance, was pretty matter-of-fact and not delicate at all.
I enjoyed reading about the history of vaudeville in the west. This...more
On the other hand the relationship of the women in the story to men they worked - their need/choice to relate sexually to power figures, for instance, was pretty matter-of-fact and not delicate at all.
I enjoyed reading about the history of vaudeville in the west. This...more
Feb 23, 2012
Shelleyrae at Book'd Out
rated it
3 of 5 stars
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review of another edition
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Having been impressed by Good to a Fault I was delighted to discover The Little Shadows on my doorstep one afternoon (Courtesy Allen & Unwin Australia}. The premise was particularity inviting, promising a backstage glimpse at the life of vaudeville performers in the beginning on 1900's.
Marina Endicott lifts the curtain to reveal Aurora, Clover, Belle and their mother auditioning to join a vaudeville house. The Avery sisters are young and pretty with sweet voices and their mother, once a per...more
Marina Endicott lifts the curtain to reveal Aurora, Clover, Belle and their mother auditioning to join a vaudeville house. The Avery sisters are young and pretty with sweet voices and their mother, once a per...more
First I would like to say kudos to Marina Endicott for receiving some very prestigious nominations being first long listed for the Giller and now in the running for the Governor General. These are very important awards and clearly many people have seen something praiseworthy in her characters and writing.
Unfortunately, I was supremely disappointed in this novel. The characters lacked depth and diversity; the sisters were uninspiring and their relationship with each other rather flat; the mother...more
Unfortunately, I was supremely disappointed in this novel. The characters lacked depth and diversity; the sisters were uninspiring and their relationship with each other rather flat; the mother...more
I can't think of this as a cohesive novel. More like a sucession of vignettes about characters that I can't sympathise with, doing things I can't relate to.
Of course. It's Vaudeville and I don't know the smallest thing about it, so obviously I wouldn't be able to relate. But still. There's a very big chunk of something missing, and I can't quite pinpoint what it is.
I do know a few things, though. This book is too big. It takes a really, really long time to get into it, and when you finally do, b...more
Of course. It's Vaudeville and I don't know the smallest thing about it, so obviously I wouldn't be able to relate. But still. There's a very big chunk of something missing, and I can't quite pinpoint what it is.
I do know a few things, though. This book is too big. It takes a really, really long time to get into it, and when you finally do, b...more
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This is a very intricate story and it took me some time to get through. At first I really struggled to stay interested in the characters. (I actually put it down for a while and read another book in between.) Like some of the previous reviews, I had a hard time telling Clover and Bella apart in the beginning. I kept thinking I would ultimately not finish it and found myself saying 'ok ten more pages, I'll give it ten more pages'. Eventually I found myself getting attached to the sisters, strange...more
I took us a bit to get into the book. The characters didn't come into focus right away. And some of the language seemed a bit awkward especially read aloud.
But once we connected with the characters and the rhythm of the book we were thoroughly hooked.
Flora Avery, a former vaudevillian, is left widowed with three teenage daughters — Aurora, Clover and Bella — and sets off to help them become established on the stage. This is not the New York or London big-time; this is a provincial circuit in Al...more
But once we connected with the characters and the rhythm of the book we were thoroughly hooked.
Flora Avery, a former vaudevillian, is left widowed with three teenage daughters — Aurora, Clover and Bella — and sets off to help them become established on the stage. This is not the New York or London big-time; this is a provincial circuit in Al...more
I was expecting this to be wonderful because many people have said it is, I'm disappointed and in fact I'm sending it back to the library only 1/3rd read. (Glad I didn't buy it). It's very long and I just don't want to take up any more of my time on it. I can see a lot of good things in this book - the writing, the insights, the characters. The three sisters are particularly fine. Lovely people, all different from each other, all intelligent and talented with varying degrees of innocence and wis...more
I love historical fiction, and this book does exactly what historical fiction should do, both entertains and educates. The fact that it takes place largely in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Montana, in places I have visited, makes it even more appealing to me. I was hooked right from the opening chapter, which takes place at the Empress Theatre in Fort Macleod, which is still standing and which I visited last summer. And it explores the world of vaudeville, about which I have always been curious but...more
****Please note I won this book as a Goodreads Giveaway*******
I feel somewhat bad for only rating this book as okay. I feel guilty that it took me so long to finish reading it, especially after winning it as a giveaway. I thought this book would be more fun than it was, being about the vaudeville era.
The main disappointment was the plodding pace of the book. I put this down after barely a hundred pages to read other things. It dragged on, and didn't really catch my interest until somewhere aroun...more
I feel somewhat bad for only rating this book as okay. I feel guilty that it took me so long to finish reading it, especially after winning it as a giveaway. I thought this book would be more fun than it was, being about the vaudeville era.
The main disappointment was the plodding pace of the book. I put this down after barely a hundred pages to read other things. It dragged on, and didn't really catch my interest until somewhere aroun...more
Oh. My. God. It actually took me 2 weeks to read this book. It was my own private hell. This is the story of 3 Canadian sisters' travels through early 1900's vaudeville. The author must have done extensive research on vaudeville acts pre WWI and she describes each and every one of them, ad nauseum. An editor would have been greatly appreciated and this 520+ page book should have been half the length. However once you strip away all the description of the acts the story of the 3 sisters has been...more
This book received rave reviews so our book club chose it for one of our books. Not one person in our book finished reading the book and did not like it. There were parts in the book that were interesting. Mostly because the author speaks about EDMONTON and that is where many of us have lived and could relate to the places that were written.
I did not forge through the book and now am not disappointed that I didn't' try harder based on the opinions of the women in my group.
I did not forge through the book and now am not disappointed that I didn't' try harder based on the opinions of the women in my group.
The wonderful world of vaudeville has always fascinated me, and I'm only sad that Marina Endicott's book did such a fantastic job of taking me into that world that I felt bereft when the book ended. My good friend YA author Karen Krossing (The Yo-yo Prophet) has taught me a lot about writing from an organizing principle, and I thoroughly appreciated Endicott's mining of the vaudeville conventions in the way she presents the stories of the three Avery girls and their mother in a four-act structur...more
The performance is of three sisters, Aurora, Clover, and Bella, who, with the help of their mother, work to make it in vaudeville. As they move from theatre to theatre, they encounter many interesting characters, some who make a great impact on their lives, some who make only a brief impression.
The story is largely character driven, though upon completion the plot can be mapped out more clearly. I appreciated the sections of the novel, split like a play, as well as the subtitles within the chapt...more
The story is largely character driven, though upon completion the plot can be mapped out more clearly. I appreciated the sections of the novel, split like a play, as well as the subtitles within the chapt...more
Endicott writes beautifully, delivering a rich, sensory portrayal of time and place. The story had a graceful sense of symmetry about it and the ending, while not exactly happy, was satisfying and suited the characters that she created. Importantly, it reads as a natural sort of period piece – not the kind that bombards you with random details designed to demonstrate exactly how much research the author did.
However (and there is always a however) I found this book quite difficult to get though....more
However (and there is always a however) I found this book quite difficult to get though....more
I loved this book as it was not only informative about the time period, something I didn't know much about, but because the characters were engrossing and made you really care about them. Yes there were times when I thought I woulnd't get through it but by the middle of the book I was unable to put it down. I enjoy Marina Endicott's writing and she doesn't disappoint in this novel either. Just hang in there and I promise it is worth it!
Marina Endicott has woven her inestimable writerly magic again into the story of the on and offstage trials, tribulations and triumphs of the Avery sisters, vaudeville performers circa World War I. The sisters waste no time stealing your heart, rapidly followed by a disarming cast of vivid supporting characters, from family to fellow performers to others driving the vibrant theatrical scene of that era. The Little Shadows is a book that you'll be tempted to consume in great gulps, with its engro...more
this book took me to an unfamiliar place -- the world of vaudeville -- and made me fascinated with what it meant and its practitioners. The three Avery sisters -- Aurora, Clover and Bella are wondrous individual characters and their experiences evoke the times and place. The onset of the first world war is part of the tale, not the focus, but through the sisters, and those connected to them, you get a real feel for it. Great storytelling!
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Marina Endicott was born in Golden, BC, and grew up with three sisters and a brother, mostly in Nova Scotia and Toronto. She worked as an actor and director before going to England, where she began to write fiction. After London she went west to Saskatoon, where she was dramaturge at the Saskatchewan Playwrights Centre for many years before going farther west to Mayerthorpe, Alberta; she now lives...more
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“It's been a great gig. In this roistering life there a multitude of partings and meetings-
I will look for you along the way-”
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