Knife on the Table

New Canadian Library #127

by Jacques Godbout

Wrenched from the revolutionary underground of the Separatist generation, Knife on the Table is a magnificent novel of youth, love, loss and violence. On a wave of bombings, protests, slogans, and blind rage, the FLQ erupted as a potent force among the young people of Quebec in the 1960s. The first novel to speak for the Separatist generation, Knife on the Table probes the confused and restless world of a young Quebecois and the two women who love him. A brilliant mixture of poetry and politics, art and adventure, this is a book which was one of the landmark publications of its turbulent era.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Canadian Literature

128 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

Reviews

[☯Emily Ginder · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the type of book I despise. It is basically a stream of consciousness novel about a French Canadian trying to find his way through the influence of English Canada and the USA. The narrative goes back and forth through time, back and forth between two different lovers and back and forth between the USA and Canada, sometimes all in the same chapter. Most of the chapters were short, which was a blessing and the book was short, which was a greater blessing.

The blurb says the book was about the Separatist generation in Quebec in the 1960's. That blurb helped to comprehend some of the prose.

[Elliot A · Rating 1 out of 5]

Of course there are always those stories one has to read for a course that are just plain bad and make one wonder why they are included in the reading list for academic purposes.

Maybe that is because, if one doesn’t learn what bad is, one could not avoid it when writing stories or critiquing them.

I know, I sound a bit harsh, but this story really spent the last of my patience. Usually at this point I would break down my review into three main parts; the plot, the characters and the writing, but I can honestly say that for this story it is impossible to really take a look at it from an organised manner, since it was all over the place.

The writing was so convoluted that there was no real timeline or even general pointers that would aid the reader in figuring out what and when certain events happened.

I assume the author meant to include poetic elements into the story by writing like someone, who is playing video games, listening to music and balancing their pizza on their lap all at once. It was rough to say the least.

There was no line of thought, no complete sentence that made much sense and no timeline that would give the reader even a hint of a chance to familiarize themselves with the story and characters. It was just a plain mess.

The representation of the woman was just awful and unjust. Heck, the representation of the man was just as awful, not all men are like that.

Honestly, I could vent for a good three pages about all the things I found frustrating, repulsive and just plain bad when it comes to writing, but I will leave it at that. I think I made my point.

It’s not worth a reader’s time. I actually had to remove myself from all distractions, seated on a beach with no one around, just make a good dent in this book, and all I really got out of it was a painful sunburn on my legs. That is pretty much what reading this book feels like.

Overall, if you have the choice, skip this book, it isn’t worth it.

ElliotScribbles

[Ben Powell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is the babbling monotonous drone of a horrible storyteller in your family that is recounting their life to you in disjointed tidbits that are so repetitive it could make you fall asleep, yet somehow by accident every now and then they stumble into some poetic nonsense that captures you for a split second only to return to the monotony.

[Czarny Pies · Rating 3 out of 5]

C'est un ouvrage drolement malsain de l'époque de la revolution tranquille ou les Quebecois ont fait beaucoup de bonne choses . L'heros de ce roman constate que les Anglophones domine son pays sur le plan culturel, économique et politique. Il ne trouve pas de moyen pour lutter contre un statut quo qu'il trouve inacceptable et il finit par étrangler sa petite amie Anglophone.

Je donne ce roman fort deplaisant trois étoiles, parce qu'il montre le fait que comme dans tout mouvement nationalist il existe des pulsions dangéreuses. Heureusement, les politiciens indépendistes ont trouvé les moyens de canaliser le désir des Quebecois d'etre "Maitre cez eux" dans des projets for positifs.

[Vivian Zenari · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dispossessed youth wander through life and worry about their disaffection.At first I was captivated by the fragmented structure and poetic language, but I did not get abig enough payoff. The protagonist is aimless and the book matches his mood.

[Karena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had forgot I had read this, but there is a note inside the cover. It is a translation from the French-Canadian original. I may read it again...I'm unsure...but perhaps.