false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg 5292478 3 <p><i>Woodsburner </i>springs from a little-known event in the life of one of America’s most iconic figures, Henry David Thoreau. On April 30, 1844, a year before he built his cabin on Walden Pond, Thoreau accidentally started a forest fire that destroyed three hundred acres of the Concord woods—an event that altered the landscape of American thought in a single day. <br>Against the background of Thoreau’s fire, Pipkin’s ambitious debut penetrates the mind of the young philosopher while also painting a panorama of the young nation at a formative moment. Pipkin’s Thoreau is a lost soul, plagued by indecision, resigned to a career designing pencils for his father’s factory while dreaming of better things. On the day of the fire, his path will intersect with three very different local citizens, each of whom also harbors a secret dream. Oddmund Hus, a lovable Norwegian farmhand, pines for the wife of his brutal employer. Elliott Calvert, a prosperous bookseller, is also a hilariously inept aspiring playwright. And Caleb Dowdy preaches fire and brimstone to his congregation through an opium haze. Each of their lives, like Thoreau’s, is changed forever by the fire. <br>Like Geraldine Brooks’s <i>March</i> and Colm Tóibín’s <i>The Master</i>, <i>Woodsburner</i> illuminates America’s literary and cultural past with insight, wit, and deep affection for its unforgettable characters, as it brings to vivid life the complex man whose writings have inspired generations</p> 5359905 28 4 2009 Woodsburner: A Novel total:90|5:19|4:30|3:28|2:10|1:3| 90 322 292 36 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 4 3 false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 27 07:32:17 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 19:09:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 5 1 false Thu Jan 22 13:04:43 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 18 09:44:59 -0800 2009
Move Pipkin's Woodsburner to the top of your reading pile! While Woodsburner is a novel about Henry David Thoreau, it manages to exceed or escape all of the ponderous transcendental baggage that c...more...]]> 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 0 1 false Thu Jun 11 14:03:47 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 11 14:03:56 -0700 2009
Woodsburner, by John Pipkin, Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, Hardcover, 370 pages, List Price: $24.95

True fact: One year before he built his cabin on Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau accidentally scorched 300 acres of the Concord woods. In Woodsburner, John Pipkin's lyrical...more...]]> 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 5 1 false Sat Aug 08 17:03:26 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 18:38:11 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 3 0 false Mon Jul 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 08:37:50 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 08:44:07 -0700 2009 But there were 2 or 3 inclusions I found unnecessary and distracting- the pornographic book plates as well as the "witches" were oddly unnec...more...]]> 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 4 2 false Sun Aug 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 24 18:53:13 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 07:27:06 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 4 1 false Sun Jul 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 06 17:37:06 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 06 17:41:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 1 0 false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 14:51:28 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 22 09:24:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 4 0 false Fri Jul 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 19:14:29 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 20:30:07 -0700 2009 1 John Pipkin explores the possibilities in this novel. It is well written and and engaging even as multiple characters, each with their own story and motivation are revealed.

Each character struggles with who they curr...more...]]> 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 4 0 false Sat Jun 06 14:14:24 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 10:44:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 3 0 false Sat Jun 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 13:58:45 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 13 13:50:41 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 4 1 false Thu Jun 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 16:58:58 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 17:59:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 3 0 false Tue Jul 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 15:33:40 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 15:59:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 0 0 false Fri Oct 30 06:23:51 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 30 06:25:14 -0700 2009 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 4 1 false Tue Jun 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 25 15:48:21 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 25 15:51:30 -0700 2009 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 3 0 false Mon Aug 17 11:49:59 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 11:51:38 -0700 2009 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 4 1 false Sun Aug 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 30 09:04:45 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 20:11:34 -0700 2009 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 0 0 false Sat Jul 11 19:15:38 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 19:17:34 -0700 2009 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 4 0 false Wed Jun 03 20:49:42 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 20:50:35 -0700 2009 5292478 0385528655 9780385528658 88 36 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255628690m/5292478.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5292478.Woodsburner_A_Novel 3 0 false Sat Aug 29 06:40:38 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 29 06:41:57 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=5292478