false 2012337 7 Nancy Huston’s latest novel, <i>Fault Lines</i>, which was originally published in French (winning France’s Prix Femina in 2006) and is here translated by the author herself, is a family history and an exploration of the trauma of war. It’s a tale told backwards in four segments, each narrated by a six-year-old child from a different generation of the same family: Sol in 2004 California, obsessed with Iraq; Randall, encountering the 1982 Lebanon war after moving from New York to Haifa; Sadie in 1962 Toronto and New York; and Kristina in 1944-45 Germany. None of the four narratives, save perhaps Kristina’s, reads as a convincing six-year-old voice. If it were simply a matter of a too-advanced vocabulary, this might be explained away by the unusual intelligence of each child. But the problem with voice runs deeper: the emotions, as well as the language in which they are expressed, often ring false. Sol contrasts the older mother of his friend with his own mother as follows: “That means she had him when she was forty-four which is disgusting, I can’t believe people go on screwing in old age.” Surely to a six-year-old the idea of adults in their forties “screwing” is no more or less disgusting than that of adults in their twenties. Despite the flaws in the individual segments, the cumulative effect is powerful. The layering of narratives fosters a complex understanding of individual characters and of family dynamics. The perception of Kristina, for example, shifts kaleidoscopically – we see her first through the eyes of her great-grandson, then of her grandson, then of her daughter, and finally in her own narration. The steady excavation of family secrets that flows from the reverse chronology builds suspense beautifully. (<i>Quill & Quire</i>) 2016541 30 8 2007 Fault Lines total:310|5:58|4:117|3:87|2:39|1:9| 310 1106 572 100 5 6 false false Mon Oct 27 13:11:51 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 27 13:13:00 -0700 2008
I know this isn't the correct way to use this word -- but I enjoyed this book so much I wanted to flip back to the first page and read it all over again.]]> 4 2 false false Wed Jun 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon May 12 17:27:53 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 11 20:04:38 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Wed Dec 24 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 12 17:41:16 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 24 08:02:34 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Nov 14 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Oct 24 06:27:16 -0700 2008 Fri Nov 14 11:47:39 -0800 2008
The reason I only gave it three stars is that each chapter is told from the POV of a 6 yr old. And, I just didn't buy it. The language was wrong for a 6 year old, and I felt that a lot of the feelings were wrong...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Mar 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 04 18:38:10 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 14 12:51:21 -0700 2009
Some of the la...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Dec 04 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 07:21:33 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 04 06:22:27 -0800 2008
A friend recommended the book while she was reading it, so I put it on my list, not having any idea what it was about. I don't read jacket covers or blurbs, so I usually go into books totally blind, to be able to enjoy the journey without any spo...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Jan 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 01 16:24:09 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 19:19:34 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jul 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 02 18:43:45 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 16:27:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Feb 22 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 28 08:50:52 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 28 09:10:59 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon May 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 23:09:39 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 16 00:03:01 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Fri Mar 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 17:17:44 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 11:42:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 11:17:04 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 11:18:15 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 13:19:39 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 13:28:28 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Jan 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 18:50:10 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 17:18:31 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Aug 17 10:37:09 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 10:37:26 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Oct 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 19:40:53 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 17 12:17:39 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 06:32:27 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 06:32:27 -0800 2009 Huston traces a family line from the present back through 4 generations - through the eyes of each generations child. From the US, to Isreal, Canada, Europe.

It's information. It's funny. It's terrifying. Well worth t...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Feb 13 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 31 07:07:37 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 13 12:05:49 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jan 20 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 01 14:03:40 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 04:02:32 -0800 2009 A selection for one of my reading groups. I'd have given 3.5 stars if that were possible.

Although I was quite put off by the opening section narrated by the 6-year old going on 30 rather sleazy Sol, the other 3 sections narrated by his father, grand-mother and great-grandmother al...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Mar 21 15:18:17 -0700 2009 Sun May 24 14:00:45 -0700 2009 more...]]>