Reading Envy Readers discussion
Readalong: Barkskins
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Barkskins: Week 1 - 8/29-9/4 - I,II
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Jenny (Reading Envy)
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Aug 26, 2021 05:31AM
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I'm only on page 47, but I wish these was a map in this book. Maybe the geography will flesh out for me as I go. While googling for a map, I discovered that National Geographic has turned it into a series and season one is on Hulu. Sounds like a season 2 is somewhere in the works.......
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National Geographic! Wow. Okay, so maybe some visuals for the text, might be nice..
I agree that a map would be helpful, particularly since place names, delineations and boundaries were different then from what they are now.I didn’t find this to be so true of the second section, but section one has some fantastic nature writing. For example:
The moon was a slice of white radish, the shadows of incomparable blackness. The shapes of trees fell sharply on the snow, of blackness so profound they seemed gashes into the underworld. The days were short and the setting sun was snarled in rags of flying storm cloud. The snow turned lurid, hurling away like cast blood. The dark ocean of conifers swallowed the afterglow.
Also:
He could make out a pale clump of corpse flowers and other luminous fungi in the gloom.
This pretty much does it for me; I don’t need too much else to happen in the book in order to go home happy. Is anyone else loving the language?
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I didn’t find this to be so true of the second section,..."
I remember the slice of radish too!
It was definitely hard to picture a completely European manor house which surely must have been assembled over a long period of time, without roads and such.
This novel so far has been a good reminder of the people who always lived in these places and the knowledge they hold.
Hi there, I'm going to join you for this discussion. This is a book I have been meaning to read for a long time now.Who knows I may be helpful with some local knowledge when the book shifts to a New Zealand setting.
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Who knows I may be helpful with some local knowledge when the book shifts to a N..."
Welcome Marcus! Does New Zealand even have trees anymore.....
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Does New Zealand even have trees anymore........"Plenty of big forests left, I live on the slopes of one of them surrounded by birds and wildlife.
I'm glad Alice reminded me about the radish moon ,it is such a perfect image and I suspect I will see that now whenever there is a new moon. That section had me debating when I needed to put the heating on as the sense of cold was overwhelming "The forest clenched into itself as inhaling a breath".I am starting part 2 tonight 1693-1727 sorry to see the end of the Rene section. Did anyone else suspect a spurned Rernardette at the end ?
I am also still a little shocked at the eventual demise of Trepagny whose fate had me squirming .
I always wonder about books like this and similar family histories such as 'Homegoing' as I rapidly become involved in the individual lives before quickly leaving them.
Definitely enjoying as the characterisation is so well done as well as the storytelling.
I just finished section 2 and your mention of Homegoing was perfect for my initial thoughts on this book. My objection to Homegoing was that it was a history of slavery and not a novel with a plot. Does that have to be an objection? Can’t it just be a different type of novel? A plot based novel vs a family saga? I just finished The Sweetness of Water a perfect example of a tight plot based novel. It takes place in a matter of months, has twists and surprises and ups and downs. I loved it. And now Barkskins covers 300 years or something. It’s totally different. It’s the history of 2 families and the characters are beautiful and the landscapes are beautiful. In section 2 we go all around the world and so much is shown in not that many words. So far I am loving it!!!
I just finished section two. I am really loving the book. As others have mentioned, I am one who gets attached to characters, so to see their end is often shocking. While I was sad to see the end of Rene, I wasn’t so sad to see the end of “Duke.” I hadn’t thought of Reanderette as Renes killer, but I can definitely see that possibility. I wonder if we’ll find out in upcoming sections. Andrew—I noted the radish moon as well and I think it will be something that sticks with me in the future.
As new characters are introduced, I find myself wondering how much we’ll get to learn about each. I am curious about so many.
I’m very much enjoying reading this sweeping story at a more leisurely and thoughtful pace as well as reading others insightful comments.
Andrew wrote: "Did anyone else suspect a spurned Rernardette at the end ?"Yes, that's what I suspected as well.
I admit I struggled during part I to connect, but while Duquet is absolutely terrible, I found myself totally engaged while reading his section.
I also really enjoyed the first two sections. I am curious about classifying novels like this that span such a great stretch of time, as Andrew and Bryn mentioned (haven't read Homegoing yet but I definitely want to try it). One unique thing is the lack of a central character: many novels over longer time periods still follow one character from birth to old age. Or in the case of One Hundred Years of Solitude, there is a character who is present for most of the novel to witness the events and provide a thread running through them. But the storytelling is so good right at the start, that I didn't feel like my interest changed a great deal based on who we were observing. Looking forward to seeing where it goes from here!
Historical novels that pass from one narrator to another has become a favorite of mine - I've been lucky that so far my experience has been that each narrator has been just as interesting as the last. (In other words, no dud yet.) I didn't come into this novel with much advance knowledge, so I was surprised that Duquet's section spanned the globe and added so much variety and color to the story. Somehow I thought I'd be spending 700 pages in the deep (and receding) woods. I hope this continues!So far it's worked well for me to read through our weekly pages fast, then read other, shorter mood-lightening books during the week. I don't feel like I'm missing anything.
Nadine wrote: "...so I was surprised that Duquet's section spanned the globe and added so much variety and color to the story. Somehow I thought I'd be spending 700 pages in the deep (and receding) woods"I was, too! I never thought we'd be globetrotting. We had an interesting look in to Chinese culture.
Just finished section two and am really enjoying this. With Duquet and Rene out of the picture I wonder where this will go from here?
Reading about the great woods in what is now southern Canada and northeast US makes me want to experience what the forests and rivers were like before the Europeans got there. I've seen pictures in local MN publications and on postcards of the Mississippi River choked with trees floating the Twin Cities and images of loggers taking down the MN big woods which stretched from Mankato to St. Cloud and can't image how much human power it took to clear so many massive trees.
I just finished part 2 yesterday and I’ve been enjoying it so far. Like others, I really like the nature descriptions. It is also super interesting to read about the time period in Canada and France- the viewpoint is so different from historical novels I read about the US at the time. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next. Right now I’m betting we will follow one of the Duke sons.
I enjoyed the duquet story and the travels around the globe. The research must have been painstaking and this continues in part 3.It was the touches such as the ivory flase teeth and how to negotiate in China including rolling on the floor laughing, as well as the image of the theft of a precious from duquet's very head which may linger.
Although life is certainly cheap and I suspect now that any dirty look or slight from an obviously dodgy character whether Reanerdette in part 1 ( who in part 3 reemerges as a villain) or as duquet finds out Dud McBogle the ginger whiskered timber thief.
I think as everyone mentions it is a curious experience to read in 60 pages about such a dramatic life which could well in itself encompass a 400 page book of it's own.
I just finished part 2, and found Duquet's/Duke's end fitting for someone so violent and conniving. His maiming and murder of the 14 year old boy was so brutal and unnecessary; I was not bothered to see that revenge play out.Though the size of this tome is intimidating, I am finding Proulx's writing to be easy to absorb and enjoyable. The passages referenced above about the "radish moon" and the descriptions of the cold/weather stood out to me as well.
I am looking forward to seeing what descendants we follow in subsequent parts. Unfortunately, I know that Sel's Native American descendants will not have an easy time of it.
