false <![CDATA[Three Day Road]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178697702m/823411.jpg 823411 18 Joseph Boyden's first novel is the story of two Cree friends, Xavier and Elijah, who leave their pristine northern country to end up in the horrific trenches of World War I. Loosely based on the real life of a famous Canadian sniper, the story is told from two first-person views: those of Xavier and his old aunt and only living relative, Niska. After the war, Niska is taking her wounded nephew back home north to the bush in a canoe. Their trip is the three-day road of the title, which also refers to the journey taken after death. The story of the war is told in flashbacks on this journey as Xavier recovers from morphine addiction. Niska also relates various stories to Xavier, believing there is "medicine in the tale."<p> Boyden is a natural storyteller. Both the Native tales of the north and the grim accounts of the war in France and Belgium have the ring of truth. His images can be subtly appropriate--raiders who go over the top are "eaten by the night"--and his characterizations are excellent, especially the three main players and Xavier's Canadian trenchmates. Eventually, Elijah seems to feed on the death all around him, becoming a "windigo," while Xavier begins to question the sanity of the war and his friend's growing madness, realizing "we all fight on two fronts, the one facing the enemy, the one facing what we do to the enemy." Not for the squeamish reader, this is a powerful novel that takes a new angle on a popular subject, "the war to end all wars." <I>--Mark Frutkin</I> 809209 2005 Three Day Road total:487|5:223|4:183|3:68|2:11|1:2| 487 2075 764 130 5 12 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Aug 14 09:42:03 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 12 18:58:07 -0700 2009
I'm not sure I've read any other books inspired by the First World War, but I am sure Joseph's story is different than anything else ever written.

Agreed, I was slow to get TO it (heard him read first chapter in Whistler 2007), and to really get into it, but oh -- when...more...]]> 5 3 false false Sun Aug 31 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 09:19:32 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 02 13:12:00 -0700 2008
Later, while near the bookstore I went back in and grabbed it. The idea of the book crossed a number...more...]]> 5 2 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Feb 11 13:06:31 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 11 13:07:21 -0800 2008 Joseph Boyden
Viking Canada Penguin 2005
ISBN 0-670-06362-2
Once in a long while one reads a book that you cannot put down and the overall beauty of it leaves one gasping. Three Day Road, is such a book. ...more...]]> 5 2 false false Mon Jul 20 12:50:45 -0700 2009 Sun Jan 06 15:35:05 -0800 2008 Mon Jul 20 12:50:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 26 07:41:13 -0800 2007 Wed Jan 09 19:13:35 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 01 03:02:21 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 30 09:10:00 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Apr 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 03 14:13:05 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 03 14:21:06 -0700 2009
Three Day Road is the story of two young Cree men who volunteer for service in WWI. Only one returns - Xavier - and the ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Oct 25 08:07:19 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 08:12:06 -0700 2009
This is Boyden's debut novel and is a compelling read that successfully weaves the ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Sep 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 21:40:45 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 25 06:48:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Tue Mar 06 09:45:06 -0800 2007 Tue Mar 06 09:45:24 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jan 18 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 11:18:33 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 23:53:16 -0800 2009 1
The Plot: Niska is waiting anxiously at the train station for Elijah, the best friend of her nephew Xavier. She helped raise the two of them, but as teenagers they set...more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri May 02 09:25:10 -0700 2008 Fri May 02 10:26:19 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Dec 25 11:58:00 -0800 2007 Tue Dec 25 12:01:00 -0800 2007
I found this in a bookstore in Banff, Alberta, on a shelf of staff recommendations (that contained other books I have loved). If I lived near there, I would read e...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Aug 12 13:00:47 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 12 13:04:44 -0700 2007
I read this with VIFF Friends Book Club. At the same time we were reading it Joseph Boyden came to town to talke about it. This added even more to the enj...more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 24 15:48:43 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 24 15:53:31 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Oct 19 10:47:39 -0700 2007 Fri Oct 19 10:56:09 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Aug 27 20:11:01 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 27 20:18:41 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Nov 09 18:15:33 -0800 2007 Fri Nov 09 18:20:21 -0800 2007
After reading this book, I understand, finally, Windigo. How it transforms you from a normal human to deeply wr...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Sep 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 06 00:07:14 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 06 00:13:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Aug 15 19:14:51 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 19:21:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=823411