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Carry Me Across the Water
by
Ethan Canin
Breathtaking in its suspense and beauty, Carry Me Across the Water is the story of a man’s turbulent journey, with his family, through the central years of the twentieth century. Young August Kleinman escapes from Nazi Germany to America, where his mother’s words—“Take the advice of no one”—fate him to a life of boldness and originality, from the poor streets of New York t...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
May 14th 2002
by Random House Trade Paperbacks
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Like drinking straight cream, reading Ethan Canin forces you to slow down. You can’t swallow quickly. You don’t want to. You appreciate the way words coat your brain, the way images want to linger. It’s not as if every sentence is doing back-flips and waving a big flag saying “look at me, look at me.” There’s plenty of good, plain-vanilla prose as well but Canin peppers his stories with the kinds of details that give his stories punch and life. In “Carry Me Across the Water,” the story careens c...more
Ethan Canin is such a skillfull writer. The book is about a 78 year old Jewish man,a self made tycoon named August, who is remembering certain times of his life, most of which were rather violent. We gradually learn about his past as his memory is stimulated while he is visiting one of his sons and helping to care for his grandson. His past is vibrant, interesting and very touching at times. The parts of the novel where the main character is crawling through a cave in Japanese territory durin...more
Written by a short story author this novel is basically several short stories woven together in a non-linear fashion that presents the portrait of complicated man showing where he is and how he got there. By taking the advice of no one he falls in love, serves his country, and earns his fortune. In his old age he has lost his wife and finds himself distanced from his children and seems not quite sure what to do with himself but still not willing to let anyone tell him what to do. There were a fe...more
I picked up this book on a whim while browsing the used books at the library. I thought the novel was going to be more about the escape from Nazi Germany. After quickly realizing it really wasn't, I was already hooked by the main character. This book is written as seperate stories in one man's life, but they are interwoven in such a way that it doesn't come across disjointed at all. Each storyline was intriguing to me and brought up interesting aspects of relationships, religion and life. This w...more
A Jewish boy flees Germany with his mother, marries an Italian girl, starts a brewery in Pittsburgh, & becomes wealthy but loses touch with his 3 children. After his beloved wife dies, he reflects on his life and especially on his experience killing a Japanese soldier and aspiring artist whose letters he retrieves and only now tries to return to the women they were written to. It's a rich novel about the human condition with an appealingly complex principal character, though the short snippets s...more
Story of an old man flashing back on his life -- escaping the Nazi's in Germany, fighting in the Pacific, becoming very successful but alienated from his children and having lost is wife, he returns to Japan to try to make peace with the "wife" of a solider his killed.
Someone called it "enchanting" and I think that's a good description as you become so involved with the main character and all that he has done and wants to do. Apparently this author generally writes sho...more
Someone called it "enchanting" and I think that's a good description as you become so involved with the main character and all that he has done and wants to do. Apparently this author generally writes sho...more
Perhaps it was the disjointed way in which I read this little novel, a couple of pages at a time, that led me to be un amazed by it or perhaps it was simply unstartling. Never the less in spite of a nice writing style I finished the book with a bit of a ho hum feeling. The story is of a successful Jewish man reflecting on his time during the war and revealing secrets to the family of an enemy he had killed in the South Pacific. It was enjoyable and easy enough to pick up but never really got m...more
It’s a lovely book. August Kleinman is an elderly man, non-religious but Jewish enough for Hitler’s henchman to have killed his father and grandfather in Hamburg in 1933. Two months beforehand, August’s mother had had the presience to leave; her husband would not. Mother and son fled to England, and from there to New York. August changed his name from Gertzmann when his mother remarried, and when the time came, went to war against the Japanese. In his old age, having made a fortune in Ameri...more
This book is about a man's life. August Kleinman grows up in between the wars Germany as a Jew. His mother sees the handwriting on the wall and manages to escape in 1933 with him, but not his father. Together they make a life for themselves in the new world, settling in New York. He goes off to war. Marries. Starts a very successful business. Gets old. Loses his wife. Rears three children.This is a lovely book about the cycle of life, birth, death, renewal. A quick read too.
As a young man, I was not immediately drawn into the world of an old, rich Jew looking back on his life, but as the book progressed, I became involved with the protagonist beyond his demographics. Regardless of the particulars, the power of memory is strong, and really haphazard. No one can ever predict what stimulus in the world will create a travel down memory lane in one's mind. August's life is totally broken up into meaningful vignettes, which I prefer. I think there is a beauty in trying ...more
I was very disappointed after reading this book, Ethan Cain is an author that I really like. I loved his previous book, namely For Kings and Planets.. I did`nt understand the plot of the book, they had some characters that were memorable but most were forgettable. I struggled understanding the point of the book, I did`nt get anything that was worth treasuring. It was not a book that I would not recommend to any Cain fans, it was a huge disappointment.
Great protagonist in August Kleinman, a self-made millionaire brewer. Told in the present and in flashback to childhood and World War II. Kleinman is the child of a woman who took him from Germany to escape the Holocaust of Jews and who is haunted by his past, especially by a violent encounter with a Japanese soldier during the war. Kleinman exemplifies bravery.
I enjoyed this book. I would have liked it to be longer. It's almost more like a novella. I am not sure that I liked it quite as much as America America or For Kings and Planets (even though this one generally receives better reviews than the latter). The interview with Canin at the end was really interesting in terms of getting an insight into his writing process.
I had been reluctant to read this book, it has been on my shelf for a few months. It begins with a strange Japanese letter. It is a series of short stories as an elderly Jewish man looks back on his life. It does not go in a strict chronological order but always makes perfect sense. Beautifully written and impossible to put down.
This is a very good short novel about a 78-year-old Jewish immigrant to America who at the end of his life is trying to put to bed some unresolved issues from his past...most notably something that occurred during World War II.
The main character, Augie Kleinman, is very believable and Canin does a good job putting himself into this character's head. I imagine as we age there are lots of unresolved issues that come up and one way or another it's instinctual to try to resolve them befo...more
The main character, Augie Kleinman, is very believable and Canin does a good job putting himself into this character's head. I imagine as we age there are lots of unresolved issues that come up and one way or another it's instinctual to try to resolve them befo...more
This book is about a gentleman who survived World War II. The author does not write in chapters, so this book is easy to pick up where you left off. The story is interesting and I would recommend reading it if you enjoy historical fiction.
Canin is my favorite fiction writer of the moment; this is a short story that still manages to cover a lot of ground and be emotionally powerful. A delight to read, and makes me glad I came across America, America and Canin.
A well-written story about the life of an American family by way of Nazi Germany, and the ups and downs that make a life. Strong characters and a peaceful ending.
I love this author It's easy to get lost in his beatifully written books. You will see many older people you know in the main character.
When I started to read this book, I was very prepared to hate it. Friends had recommended it but I just didn't think I would like it. Begrudgingly, I began the book. And I was right, for about 20 pages. Somewhere after that, this man, August, became someone that I wanted to know more about. This is what kept me reading. The short chapters(?) make this easy to read and to keep picking up again and furthermore I wanted to. I surprisingly really enjoyed this book. I rated it three stars bec...more
Lovely writing style. For a fragmented story style, I expected a larger revelation at the end. Subtle but beautiful.
Fantastic book-- amazingly well written, poetic, compelling, and artfully woven together. Loved this book!
Ethan Canin is a great American novelist. This book was a highly satisfying read. Big recommendation!
Very touching account of an elderly man and a life well-lived.
beautiful book. am going to see him at a talk tonight, so i read the whole thing last night. short and sweet, and he has a way with beautiful metaphors.
love this book...very lyrical
Superb.
I'm reading some of the writers who will be at ODU's Lit fest in October '07. This novel has an interesting narrative structure -- three narrative strands from different points in the POV character's life, woven together in an non-linear sequence.
Also read "The Palace Thief" by Canin. Four stories, one of which was made into the movie "The Emperor's Club" with Kevin Kline.
Good writer. Oh, and a doctor. Yeesh.
Also read "The Palace Thief" by Canin. Four stories, one of which was made into the movie "The Emperor's Club" with Kevin Kline.
Good writer. Oh, and a doctor. Yeesh.
John's mom loaned me this book, and in one word: poignant! It's somewhat sad because it's about an old man looking back on parts of his life, but I'm overwhelmingly drawn to the immense love between the characters. It's a book about finding continuity in life, meaning in events, and personal redemption (not religious, but justice for the soul). I am very impressed by this novel. Read it! It's short.
This doesn't read like a collection of short stories cobbled together into a novel... it reads like a masterfully-constructed novel. Beautiful and amazing. I can't wait to read more by Canin, and am so grateful to have had him recommended to me!
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Ethan Canin was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He received early encouragement for his writing from a teacher at his prep school, the bestselling author Danielle Steel. A graduate of Stanford University, he received a master's in fine arts from the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop before shifting gears to enroll in Harvard Medical School. Canin continued to work as a physician as he wrote and publ...more
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