To The Bright Edge of the World in Around the World in 80 Books

Dec 21, 2016 Kay rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: book-clubs, available-mcpl, e-book, fiction, exploration-adventure, modern-fiction, favorites

Read for the "Potluck and Prose" book club meeting held in January 2017

I loved this book, and in fact gave it one of my rare five-star ratings. It seems that many people come to this book after reading the author’s earlier book, The Snow Child, also set in Alaska. However, this was the first book I'd read by the author, so I came unswayed by that earlier work, which some judge to be superior. (I later read The Snow Child, and perhaps unsurprisingly found I liked this book better – testimony to m ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jul 03, 2019 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was ok

Shelves: did-not-finish, fiction, literary-schmiterary, historical-fiction, audio, era-mid-late-1800s, ohno-its-magical-realism

I can’t do it, I had to DNF. I tried so hard to appreciate this book, because I really loved The Snow Child, but it is so slow. Pages and pages of minutiae interspersed with Allen and Sophie whining about missing each other. Oy! I think I can see what Ivey is trying to do, but I didn’t have the endurance for it.

March 31

So stupid of me! To lose the most precious gift I have ever been given!

Just after breakfast, I decided to take a walk along the lane and down through the barracks. Though it

I can’t do it, I had to DNF. I tried so hard to appreciate this book, because I really loved The Snow Child, but it is so slow. Pages and pages of minutiae interspersed with Allen and Sophie whining about missing each other. Oy! I think I can see what Ivey is trying to do, but I didn’t have the endurance for it.

March 31

So stupid of me! To lose the most precious gift I have ever been given!

Just after breakfast, I decided to take a walk along the lane and down through the barracks. Though it is a trifling distance compared to my previous excursions, it lifts my spirits all the same. Not far beyond the Baileys’ home, I noticed a nest high up in the branches. I longed for a closer look, so walked the short distance into the trees. A few twigs and damp leaves had stuck to my hat along the way, so I removed it to shake off the bits.

It was only when I had returned to the lane and walked for a time that I realized the comb had fallen from my hair. Oh why did I wear it out of doors like this!

When I realized it was missing, I returned to the place where I thought I had removed my hat, but search as I might, I could not find the comb. A flushed panic overcame me and I was nearly to tears.

And then I spotted it! It was in the wet grass just across from the Bailey house. I was so glad, and was beginning to walk toward it, when that raven—the one with the deformed leg that has been frequenting the yard—swooped in and landed just a few feet from the comb.

“Go on, shoo!” I shouted.

I don’t think I understood before just how large and intimidating these birds can be. It was the size of a house cat, and its black beak looked strong enough to snip off my fingers. It shook its wings at me and hobbled about in its strange way. I trusted that it would take flight. Instead, it stepped closer to the comb, and pecked at it once, twice. I yelled and waved my arms. And then, to my astonishment, it snatched the comb up in its beak! I lost all fear and was overcome with anger. I ran at the bird, but it flapped its wings, hopped, and took to the air. It flew toward a stand of trees, and I thought for a moment it might land on a branch and somehow drop the comb. Instead, the raven kept to the air, flew over the tops of the trees, and continued on his way. Flew away! With my lovely comb!

I am positively sick with guilt. It was a treasure to me, both as a gesture of Allen’s affection and for its own beauty. And I am afraid I attached some superstitious quality to it—I hoped to wear it every day until Allen returned safely.

If you liked that, there’s a lot more where that came from. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 29, 2019 Stil de scriitor rated it really liked it

De aceeași autoare eu am mai citit o carte care se numește Copila de zăpadă, o carte foarte frumoasă pe care am citit-o acum doi ani, după Paște, când timp de câteva zile a nins puternic. Romanul despre care vreau să vă vorbesc acum, Spre marginea luminoasă a lumii, a fost pentru mine o lectură puternică, aparte și o adevărată aventură. Este o lectură mai potrivită pentru anotimpul rece, însă mie mi-a făcut o mare plăcere să călătoresc în Alaska alături de personaje. Este o ficțiune istorică, da ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 03, 2017 Windy rated it it was amazing

Fictional account of US army exploration through Alaska following the purchase of the state from the Russians. The plot is told through the use of journal entries, letters my newspaper articles etc which add interest and depth to the story.

Like · see review

Nov 06, 2017 Susan rated it liked it

Slow paced but enjoyable. A bit overly wordy in places and lagged a bit in parts, which kept me from giving it 4 stars. Still, a very worthwhile read.

Like · see review