Jenny's comments
(member since Oct 01, 2007)
Jenny's comments from the You'll love this one...!! A book club & more group.
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Our December reads - Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
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2 days ago, 03:51AM
Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden
Book Summary
A haunting novel about identity, love, and loss by the author of Three Day Road
Will Bird is a legendary Cree bush pilot, now lying in a coma in a hospital in his hometown of Moose Factory, Ontario. His niece Annie Bird, beautiful and self-reliant, has returned from her own perilous journey to sit beside his bed. Broken in different ways, the two take silent communion in their unspoken kinship, and the story that unfolds is rife with heartbreak, fierce love, ancient blood feuds, mysterious disappearances, fires, plane crashes, murders, and the bonds that hold a family, and a people, together.
As Will and Annie reveal their secrets—the tragic betrayal that cost Will his family, Annie’s desperate search for her missing sister, the famous model Suzanne—a remarkable saga of resilience and destiny takes shape. From the dangerous bush country of upper Canada to the drug-fueled glamour of the Manhattan club scene, Joseph Boyden tracks his characters with a keen eye for the telling detail and a rare empathy for the empty places concealed within the heart. Sure to appeal to readers of Louise Erdrich and Jim Harrison, Through Black Spruce establishes Boyden as a writer of startling originality and uncommon power.
Book Reviews:
"Though the incongruously melodramatic denouement doesn't fit with the richly textured narrative preceding it, the novel as a whole is an intelligent, multilayered accomplishment, and well worth reading." - Publishers Weekly.
"Boyden writes with unassailable authenticity; his latest is strongly recommended for all fiction collections." - Library Journal.
"Though the forced, contrived plot almost submerges the novel, the sensuous apprehension of a distant, perilous, ineffably beautiful world draws us in and won't let us go." - Kirkus Reviews.
"Boyden is definitely a gifted storyteller. His narrative progresses with practiced ease until, very near the end, it falters in a climax that is pure melodrama – after which, I’m sad to say, the story unravels into a threadbare epilogue: a disappointing finale that does little justice to the rest of the novel." - Quill & Quire (Canada).
More Information:
This is Boyden's second novel following Three Day Road. It won the 2008 Giller Prize in Canada.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
It is hard to believe that there is anyone on the planet who is not familiar with the story of A Christmas Carol. Written in a six-week period in October and November of 1843, the novel was the first of five short Christmas books published by Charles Dickens. Obviously, it was the most successful novel in the series. In fact, he was so certain that people would like his story that he refused to sell the rights to his publisher and instead paid to publish it himself. His instincts proved correct, and soon after its publication, all of the copies were sold.
In his later years, Dickens would read an abridged version of A Christmas Carol at public readings for which he charged a fee. Often, that fee went to the several charitable organizations that he was involved with throughout his lifetime. The book itself was instrumental in raising people's awareness of poverty.
Since its publication, the story has been told many times in all imaginable forms. Despite the thousands of times that A Christmas Carol has been adapted to stage, radio, movies, and television, the novel remains the most popular and poignant telling of the tale.
The Muppet's Christmas Carol is one of my all time favourite films!! Watch it every year :) It is actually pretty close to the book!
That one sounds good Shannon!!
Hi Jennie, our theme this month is Christmas and I'm assuming that ones not a christmas book :P
Two themes this month and here is where you can nominate those woods, forests and trees books!
If you lead last month then it is up to you whether or not you choose to nominate this month.
Please can you give me all of the following:
The title, the author
Brief description of the book
**If you nominate a book I assume that you are willing to lead the discussion. It's not hard to do I promise!**
IF YOU DON'T GIVE ME A DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK I WON'T ACCEPT YOUR NOMINATION
One nomination per person please. Thank you!
You have 2 days to nominate!
Two themes this month and here is where you can nominate those Christmas books!
If you lead last month then it is up to you whether or not you choose to nominate this month.
Please can you give me all of the following:
The title, the author
Brief description of the book
**If you nominate a book I assume that you are willing to lead the discussion. It's not hard to do I promise!**
IF YOU DON'T GIVE ME A DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK I WON'T ACCEPT YOUR NOMINATION
One nomination per person please. Thank you!
You have 2 days to nominate!
I have just seen 2012. What spoilt it is the suspension of disbelief. It plays like the cut scenes in a video game...
Do you recommend I wait until it comes out on dvd then?
Don't think my copy is going to show up on time :( is everyone enjoying it?
I want my copy to arrive at the library!!
We're not nominating books just yet. Theme first. Christmas is automatically going to be one of the themes for December.
I've set up a section for discussing how we would like to change certain books. Better late than never :P
Time to nominate a theme for December!
One nomination per person
**There must be 6 months between repeating a theme i.e. the themes/genres - a book set on an island, comedy, kids as the main characters, Australian, American Deep South, Halloween and historical fiction cannot be nominated**
3 days to nominate!
**As it is Christmas next month, one of our themes will be Christmas**
Think I may be waiting forever for Wolf Hall to turn up in the library :(
Here is a good review on this month's read from the Guardian ~ http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/may...
Thanks for setting the thread up Ally. Was away this weekend!
Just moving this into the correct section Charmian. I'm sure you'll get some answers soon!
I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia at the moment and struggling with the section in India. Not sure this book is for me really.
I like that idea as well. The ending definately fits in with the rest of the story but like you say Ally it was very rushed and spoiled it for me sadly.
I like the idea of a section for how we would improve particular books! I'm on it!
You'll love this one...!! A...
