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丕賱丨亘 丕賱賲丿賲乇
An astonishing novel, Vandal Love follows generations of a unique French-Canadian family across North America, and through the twentieth century, as they struggle to find their place in the world.
A family curse 鈥� a genetic trick resulting from centuries of hardship 鈥� causes the Herv茅 children to be born either giants or runts. Book I of Vandal Love follows the giants鈥� line, exploring Jude Herv茅鈥檚 career as a boxer in Georgia and Louisiana in the 1960s, his escape from that brutal life alone with his baby daughter Isa, and her eventual decision to enter into a strange, chaste marriage with a much older man.
Book II traces a different kind of life entirely, as the runts of the family discover that their power lies in a kind of unifying love. Fran莽ois searches for years for his missing father; his own son, Harvey, flees from modern society into spiritual quests. But none of the Herv茅s can abandon their longing for a place where they might find others like themselves.
In assured and almost mystically powerful prose, D.Y. B茅chard tells a wide-ranging, spellbinding story of a family trying to create an identity in an unwelcoming North America. Political, poetic, and philosophically searching, and imbued throughout with a deep sensitivity to the physical world, Vandal Love is a breathtaking literary debut about the power of love to create and destroy 鈥� in our lives, and in our history.
From the Hardcover edition.
A family curse 鈥� a genetic trick resulting from centuries of hardship 鈥� causes the Herv茅 children to be born either giants or runts. Book I of Vandal Love follows the giants鈥� line, exploring Jude Herv茅鈥檚 career as a boxer in Georgia and Louisiana in the 1960s, his escape from that brutal life alone with his baby daughter Isa, and her eventual decision to enter into a strange, chaste marriage with a much older man.
Book II traces a different kind of life entirely, as the runts of the family discover that their power lies in a kind of unifying love. Fran莽ois searches for years for his missing father; his own son, Harvey, flees from modern society into spiritual quests. But none of the Herv茅s can abandon their longing for a place where they might find others like themselves.
In assured and almost mystically powerful prose, D.Y. B茅chard tells a wide-ranging, spellbinding story of a family trying to create an identity in an unwelcoming North America. Political, poetic, and philosophically searching, and imbued throughout with a deep sensitivity to the physical world, Vandal Love is a breathtaking literary debut about the power of love to create and destroy 鈥� in our lives, and in our history.
From the Hardcover edition.
436 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
July 10, 2015
賱賵 賰丕賳 賱賳丕 兀賳 賳卮賰乇 丕賱賴賷卅丞 丕賱賲氐乇賷丞 丕賱賲氐乇賷丞 賱賱賰鬲亘 毓賱賶 卮卅 賵丨賷丿 貙 賱賰丕賳 爻賱爻丞 丕賱噩賵丕卅夭 貙 賮賯丿 賮鬲丨鬲 賱賳 丌賮丕賯 賲毓乇賮丞 噩丿賷丿丞 賱賲 賳賰賳 賱賳毓乇賮賴丕 廿賱丕 毓亘乇 賲卮乇賵毓 賯賵賷 賲孬賱 鬲賱賰 丕賱爻賱爻賱丞 .
兀賲丕 毓賳 賴匕丕 丕賱毓賲賱 賮賴賵 丕賱賮丕卅夭 亘噩丕卅夭丞 丕賱賰賵賲賳賵賱鬲 賵賴賷 噩丕卅夭丞 廿賳噩賱賷夭賷丞 亘丕賲鬲賷丕夭.
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賲賲賷夭丞 賱賱睾丕賷丞 貙 賮賷賴丕 丨爻 賯賵賷 賵賲卮丕毓乇 氐丕丿賯丞 賵賮賷丕囟丞 貙 乇丨賱丞 丕賱亘丨孬 毓賳 噩匕賵乇 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 貙 兀賵賱 賱賳賯賱 乇丨賱丞 丕賱賰卮賮 毓賳 兀氐賱 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 賲賲孬賱丞 賮賷 毓丕卅賱丞 賰賳丿賷丞 賰丕賳 賱賱胤亘賷毓丞 賱賲爻鬲賴丕 丕賱禺丕氐丞 毓賱賶 賲賵丕賱賷丿 鬲賱賰 丕賱毓丕卅賱丞 貙 賮賴賲 廿賲丕 毓賲丕賱賯丞 囟禺丕賲 貙 兀賵 兀賯夭丕賲 賳丕賯氐賷 丕賱賳賲賵.
賵鬲爻鬲毓乇囟 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 鬲丕乇賷禺 鬲賱賰 丕賱毓丕卅賱丞 毓亘乇 賳賲賵匕噩賷賳 丕孬賳賷賳 貙 丕賱兀賵賱 賲賳賴賲丕 賲賱丕賰賲 毓賲賱丕賯 貙 賵丕賱丌禺乇 賯夭賲 貙 賵噩賲毓鬲 賲毓馗賲 丕賱賯乇賳 丕賱毓卮乇賷賳 毓亘乇 丨賯亘賴 丕賱賲賰孬賮丞 貙 賮賳噩丿 夭賲丕賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賷賲鬲丿 賲賳 亘丿丕賷鬲賴 睾賱賶 賳賴丕賷鬲賴 貙 賮賷 鬲乇賰賷夭 賲噩鬲賲毓賷 賲賲賷夭 毓賱賶 丕賱賵丕賯毓 丕賱兀賲乇賷賰賷.
丕賱毓賲賱 賲鬲賲賰賳 賱賱睾丕賷丞 貙 賲丨亘賵賰 亘丕丨鬲乇丕賮賷丞 毓丕賱賷丞 噩丿賸丕貙 亘爻賱丕爻丞 乇丕卅毓丞 賵賵氐賮 毓賲賷賯 賱賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賵爻乇丿 賲賲鬲毓 賱賱兀丨丿丕孬 賵鬲乇賰賷夭 賮賷 丕賱賵氐賮 貙 賵賱賰賳 馗賱鬲 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賮丕賯丿丞 賱卮卅 賲丕 貙 賱丕 丕丿乇賷 賰賳賴賴 貙 兀賴賷 丕賱鬲乇噩賲丞 貙 兀賲 兀賳 丕賱毓賲賱 賰丕賳 賲賳 丕賱氐毓亘 兀賳 賷禺乇噩 亘賰賲丕賱.
賮賷 丕賱賲噩賲賱 : 乇賵丕賷丞 噩賷丿丞 貙 賵鬲爻鬲丨賯 丕賱廿卮丕丿丞.
July 23, 2016
丕賱鬲賷賴 賵 丕賱亘丨孬 毓賳 丕賱噩匕賵乇 賵 丕賱兀氐賵賱 賲賵囟賵毓 丿爻賲 丿丕卅賲賸丕 賲丕 賷賰賵賳 丌鈥欂池� 賱賱丕賴鬲賲丕賲 貙 賱賰賳 卮賷亍 賲賳 丕賱賵囟賵丨 賵 丕賱鬲乇丕亘胤 賮囟丕卅賱 賲賴賲丞 賮賷 丕賱兀丿亘 貙 乇亘賲丕 賱賷爻丕 丕賱賮囟賷賱鬲丕賳 丕賱賵丨賷丿鬲丕賳 貙 賱賰賳 丿賵賳賴賲 賱丕 賷鬲亘賯賷 賮囟丕卅賱
February 25, 2016
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賲賲賱賴 噩丿丕 丕爻鬲賰賲賱鬲賴丕 亘胤賱賵毓 丕賱乇賵丨 ...賱丕鬲賵噩丿 丕賶 丕孬丕乇丞 丕賵 賲鬲毓賴 ..丕賱爻亘亘 丕賱賵丨賷丿 丕賱匕賶 噩毓賱賳賶 丕賰賲賱賴丕 丕賳賴丕 賲乇丕噩毓丞 賲氐胤賮賶 賲丨賲賵丿 賮賯胤
March 12, 2013
Book: Vandal Love
Author: Deni Y. B茅chard
Published: January 2006 by Milkweed Editions, 352 pages
First Line: 鈥滶ven when Jude was a boy, his arms and legs bulged, his neck corded, his muscled gut humped beneath his chest.鈥�
Genre/Rating: Short stories; 3/5 babies born cradling their twin sisters to protect them from the dangers of the world
(Copy provided by the publisher)
Review: The press release for this book piqued my interest 鈥� it hinted at children born with genetic aberrations, a sweeping, multi-generational saga, some magic, some mystery. All things that I love. I was eager to dig in and find out what was going on in the Herv茅 family.
The press release didn鈥檛 lie 鈥� all of what was promised was there 鈥� but it just seemed flat, unfortunately. And isn鈥檛 that the worst? When there鈥檚 an amazing book there, and you can see it, but it just wasn鈥檛 brought to life as fully as it could have been?
The children of the Herv茅 family are born either giants or runts 鈥� sometimes alternating, one giant, one runt; sometimes twins, one of each born at the same time. The runts are very small, if they grow up at all (they tend to be very fragile and very ill); the giants are abnormally large and strong. The family all seem to have wanderlust and head out for what they think are greener pastures as soon as they get the opportunity. The book goes from Canada to Georgia and Louisiana and Maine, back to Canada, then to New Mexico, as it follows the line of the giants (in Book One, which is about 3/4 of the book) and then the line of the runts (in Book Two, the remainder of the book.)
I have no fault with B茅chard鈥檚 writing. He writes well and has a very strong voice. I just am not sure if he knew quite where he was going with the book or the characters. Just when you thought you had a handle on a character, when you were getting to know them 鈥� that character would be dropped, and another character would be picked up. You had to learn not to get too invested in anyone, because the minute you did, they鈥檇 be swept away from you.
I also am not sure that splitting the book into two sections was the best solution. I think it might have served him better to make it two novels 鈥� that way, he could spend more time on each character, and flesh out each section more. (I also had a major confusion with the runts section 鈥� this might have been me, or might have been the writing, but I feel as if it was hinted at that the characters in the second section weren鈥檛 actually related to the Herv茅 family. If that鈥檚 the case, it makes no sense to have them there at all, since the book is ostensibly about the descendants of the Herv茅 family. I may have misread, but I did read and re-read that section a number of times trying to get a handle on it. If something you鈥檝e written is that convoluted, it might not be the reader鈥檚 fault.)
Do I recommend the book? Well, I don鈥檛 not recommend it. I know, that鈥檚 vague. It鈥檚 not badly written. It鈥檚 got a touch of Marquez to it, to the generational saga. (He鈥檚 no Marquez, but there鈥檚 some similarity.) It鈥檚 not bad, but it鈥檚 not the best thing I鈥檝e read lately. It wasn鈥檛 a waste of my time, but there were times I just wanted him to push it a little more, take it a little farther, see where else it could go鈥nd he didn鈥檛 do that. So, I don鈥檛 not recommend it. But I can鈥檛 wholeheartedly recommend it, either. It鈥檚 a toss-up. If it sounds interesting to you, give it a go. It won鈥檛 be the worst thing you鈥檝e read this year. But I think you might finish it feeling like it鈥檚 missing something that could have made it great.
Author: Deni Y. B茅chard
Published: January 2006 by Milkweed Editions, 352 pages
First Line: 鈥滶ven when Jude was a boy, his arms and legs bulged, his neck corded, his muscled gut humped beneath his chest.鈥�
Genre/Rating: Short stories; 3/5 babies born cradling their twin sisters to protect them from the dangers of the world
(Copy provided by the publisher)
Review: The press release for this book piqued my interest 鈥� it hinted at children born with genetic aberrations, a sweeping, multi-generational saga, some magic, some mystery. All things that I love. I was eager to dig in and find out what was going on in the Herv茅 family.
The press release didn鈥檛 lie 鈥� all of what was promised was there 鈥� but it just seemed flat, unfortunately. And isn鈥檛 that the worst? When there鈥檚 an amazing book there, and you can see it, but it just wasn鈥檛 brought to life as fully as it could have been?
The children of the Herv茅 family are born either giants or runts 鈥� sometimes alternating, one giant, one runt; sometimes twins, one of each born at the same time. The runts are very small, if they grow up at all (they tend to be very fragile and very ill); the giants are abnormally large and strong. The family all seem to have wanderlust and head out for what they think are greener pastures as soon as they get the opportunity. The book goes from Canada to Georgia and Louisiana and Maine, back to Canada, then to New Mexico, as it follows the line of the giants (in Book One, which is about 3/4 of the book) and then the line of the runts (in Book Two, the remainder of the book.)
I have no fault with B茅chard鈥檚 writing. He writes well and has a very strong voice. I just am not sure if he knew quite where he was going with the book or the characters. Just when you thought you had a handle on a character, when you were getting to know them 鈥� that character would be dropped, and another character would be picked up. You had to learn not to get too invested in anyone, because the minute you did, they鈥檇 be swept away from you.
I also am not sure that splitting the book into two sections was the best solution. I think it might have served him better to make it two novels 鈥� that way, he could spend more time on each character, and flesh out each section more. (I also had a major confusion with the runts section 鈥� this might have been me, or might have been the writing, but I feel as if it was hinted at that the characters in the second section weren鈥檛 actually related to the Herv茅 family. If that鈥檚 the case, it makes no sense to have them there at all, since the book is ostensibly about the descendants of the Herv茅 family. I may have misread, but I did read and re-read that section a number of times trying to get a handle on it. If something you鈥檝e written is that convoluted, it might not be the reader鈥檚 fault.)
Do I recommend the book? Well, I don鈥檛 not recommend it. I know, that鈥檚 vague. It鈥檚 not badly written. It鈥檚 got a touch of Marquez to it, to the generational saga. (He鈥檚 no Marquez, but there鈥檚 some similarity.) It鈥檚 not bad, but it鈥檚 not the best thing I鈥檝e read lately. It wasn鈥檛 a waste of my time, but there were times I just wanted him to push it a little more, take it a little farther, see where else it could go鈥nd he didn鈥檛 do that. So, I don鈥檛 not recommend it. But I can鈥檛 wholeheartedly recommend it, either. It鈥檚 a toss-up. If it sounds interesting to you, give it a go. It won鈥檛 be the worst thing you鈥檝e read this year. But I think you might finish it feeling like it鈥檚 missing something that could have made it great.
November 6, 2024
丕賰鬲賮賷鬲 亘賯乇丕亍丞 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 丕賱丕賵賱 賵賱賲 丕賯乇兀 丕賱孬丕賳賷 .. 賱賲 鬲毓噩亘賳賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵賱丕 丕賱鬲乇噩賲丞
October 7, 2018
賱賲 兀爻鬲胤毓 廿賰賲丕賱賴丕.. 毓噩賷亘丞.
July 31, 2013
We think that we are individuals with free thought and free will but in many cases we are still slaves to the beliefs, ideals and genetics of our ancestors. D.Y. Bechard does a great job in exploring those concepts in his novel Vandal Love.
Page 4-7
Though half his children were runts as if by biblical curse, Herve Herve remained proud. Strong beyond his years, he brought up even the last of his sons to fish and work the fields at a time when cod stocks were failing and farmland returning to forest. He'd grown up during the worst years of the emigration south and had seen too much change to trust it, the poverty, the wealth of war and again the poverty until he'd become as hard as the country that had been fled by hundreds of thousands so that it was him his children now fled. In fights, men broke knuckles on his face, his wide, almost Indian features expressionless, his weather-browned skin ignoring whatever bruise. He took his sons hunting hours through the drifts. He never used a compass, and once, when geologists and surveyors send inland by the province disappeared, he retrieved them. In 1904, walking a dark road, he heard a shot from the woods and a bullet grazed his eye. No one believed it was an accident. If anything his remaining eye became more intent, imprinted in memories and imaginations. Some claimed he measured the distance to the sea by tasting snow.
In his first marriage he fathered three boys and three girls. Of those sons, two were keepers - he spoke of his children, if at all, in the language of a fisherman. He bred his wife hard, and when she foundered in childbed, he replaced her with Georgianne, a studier woman of no small religious bent who gave him eleven more. Jude was the illegitimate son of a brutish Scots-American tourist and Agnes, Georgianne's fourteen-year-old daughter, who, intent on not giving birth, pummelled her belly, threw herself down hills and stairs, plunged into icy water and hurtled against low branches so that to the villagers she looked like a sideshow tough training for a bareknuckle fight. The pregnancy held and Jude was born with a flat nose and the glassy gaze of a punch drunk fighter. But he wasn't born alone. He came into the world with a tiny twin sister, in his arms, it was told, as though he expected further violence.
Bechard has written an excellent family epic with this book. His language while dealing with situations that are brutal is frank yet sophisticated.
Page 4-7
Though half his children were runts as if by biblical curse, Herve Herve remained proud. Strong beyond his years, he brought up even the last of his sons to fish and work the fields at a time when cod stocks were failing and farmland returning to forest. He'd grown up during the worst years of the emigration south and had seen too much change to trust it, the poverty, the wealth of war and again the poverty until he'd become as hard as the country that had been fled by hundreds of thousands so that it was him his children now fled. In fights, men broke knuckles on his face, his wide, almost Indian features expressionless, his weather-browned skin ignoring whatever bruise. He took his sons hunting hours through the drifts. He never used a compass, and once, when geologists and surveyors send inland by the province disappeared, he retrieved them. In 1904, walking a dark road, he heard a shot from the woods and a bullet grazed his eye. No one believed it was an accident. If anything his remaining eye became more intent, imprinted in memories and imaginations. Some claimed he measured the distance to the sea by tasting snow.
In his first marriage he fathered three boys and three girls. Of those sons, two were keepers - he spoke of his children, if at all, in the language of a fisherman. He bred his wife hard, and when she foundered in childbed, he replaced her with Georgianne, a studier woman of no small religious bent who gave him eleven more. Jude was the illegitimate son of a brutish Scots-American tourist and Agnes, Georgianne's fourteen-year-old daughter, who, intent on not giving birth, pummelled her belly, threw herself down hills and stairs, plunged into icy water and hurtled against low branches so that to the villagers she looked like a sideshow tough training for a bareknuckle fight. The pregnancy held and Jude was born with a flat nose and the glassy gaze of a punch drunk fighter. But he wasn't born alone. He came into the world with a tiny twin sister, in his arms, it was told, as though he expected further violence.
Bechard has written an excellent family epic with this book. His language while dealing with situations that are brutal is frank yet sophisticated.
March 22, 2016
賲賲賱丞 丕賱賶 兀賯氐賶 丿乇噩丞 !
賲卮 毓丕乇賮丞 丕賱丨賯賷賯丞 丿賴 乇丕噩毓 賱賱鬲乇噩賲丞 睾賷乇 丕賱丕丨鬲乇丕賮賷丞 賵賱丕 丕賷賴 責!
賲卮 毓丕乇賮丞 丕賱丨賯賷賯丞 丿賴 乇丕噩毓 賱賱鬲乇噩賲丞 睾賷乇 丕賱丕丨鬲乇丕賮賷丞 賵賱丕 丕賷賴 責!
June 23, 2015
The language is beautiful, just stunning at times. though the plot seems to struggle to find any kind of direction. I was originally going to give this just 3 stars. The tone is just so monochrome. There is nothing particularly good that ever happens and you so hoping for it after a while. It leads to the book feeling like a bit of a slog, gray depressing and unchanging. And yet, the more you look at it, at the themes and the symbols, the more you see. And that's why I gave it 4 stars: because it holds up to close reading and that's worth reading.
Want to read
February 21, 2008I haven't gotten my hands on a copy yet, but I'm hoping to soon. The novel follows a French Canadian family in the Gaspesie, a part of the country I love. I heard the author interviewed on CBC radio, and it sounds like a breakthrough novel for French Canadian literature. Oddly, it was published in English and then translated into French (the author's father was French Canadian, his mother American, so English was the language spoken at home).
January 1, 2018
Beautifully written novel about French-Canadians who leave the homeland and never really make or find a 'home' again. I'd give him a sixth star just for this sentence, "She mentioned the first years that the French schools were closed, and the places her cousins and brothers had gone to work, Manchester and Woonsocket and Fall River."
August 20, 2012
I dunno. I liked the writing, I liked some of the characters, and I valiantly endeavored to follow the story for those reasons. Ultimately, I basically tripped over the ending and am still trying to figure out what happened.
Read
February 28, 2015丕賱鬲賷賴 賵 丕賱亘丨孬 毓賳 丕賱噩匕賵乇 賵 丕賱兀氐賵賱 賲賵囟賵毓 丿爻賲 丿丕卅賲賸丕 賲丕 賷賰賵賳 丌鈥欂池� 賱賱丕賴鬲賲丕賲 貙 賱賰賳 卮賷亍 賲賳 丕賱賵囟賵丨 賵 丕賱鬲乇丕亘胤 賮囟丕卅賱 賲賴賲丞 賮賷 丕賱兀丿亘 貙 乇亘賲丕 賱賷爻丕 丕賱賮囟賷賱鬲丕賳 丕賱賵丨賷丿鬲丕賳 貙 賱賰賳 丿賵賳賴賲 賱丕 賷鬲亘賯賷 賮囟丕卅賱
August 1, 2020
Ce livre raconte l鈥檈rrance de la lign茅e de Herv茅 Herv茅, une dynastie de nains et de g茅ants. Les nains sont d鈥檋abiles n茅gociants port茅s sur la spiritualit茅, les g茅ants de bons ouvriers capables de s鈥檃ttaquer 脿 n鈥檌mporte quelle 茅preuve physique; deux arch茅types du capitalisme, non pas un capitalisme ax茅 sur la r茅ussite et le succ猫s, mais plut么t orient茅e vers le nomadisme et la fuite par en avant. C鈥檈st un roman singulier qui m鈥檃 profond茅ment d茅rang茅e. Une histoire qui, comme son titre l鈥檌ndique, parle de perte de de rep猫res et d鈥檌dentit茅. Je le recommande vivement.
April 8, 2020
乇賵丕賷丞 賲賳 兀爻賵兀 賲丕 賯乇兀鬲貙 乇亘賲丕 丕賱鬲乇噩賲丞 賰丕賳鬲 爻亘亘賸丕 賮賷 賴匕丕 丕賱鬲賯賷賷賲 丕賱爻賷卅 賳馗乇賸丕 賱丕賳賮氐丕賱 丕賱噩賲賱 賵睾乇丕亘丞 丕賱鬲乇丕賰賷亘貙 賱賲 兀丨亘 賮賷賴丕 兀賷 卮賷亍 爻賵賶 賮賰乇丞 丕賱亘丨孬 毓賳 丕賱噩匕賵乇 賱丕 兀賰孬乇貙 賵丕賱鬲賷 賰丕賳 賲賳 丕賱賲賲賰賳 兀賳 賷氐賵乇賴丕 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 亘卮賰賱 兀賮囟賱 賲賳 賴匕丕 丕賱鬲賷賴 賵毓丿賲 丕賱鬲乇丕亘胤. 爻賷卅丞 賵賱丕 兀鬲匕賰乇 賰賲 賲乇丞 卮毓乇鬲 兀孬賳丕亍 丕賱賯乇丕亍丞 亘卮賷亍 睾賷乇 丕賱賲賱賱.
February 9, 2019
賲賳 丕爻賵兀 賲丕 賯乇兀鬲
August 1, 2022
乇睾賲 丕賱鬲乇噩賲丞 丕賱爻賷卅丞 丕賱丕 丕賳賷 賯丿乇鬲 丕鬲賵丕氐賱 賲毓 噩賲丕賱 賴匕賴 丕賱賰鬲丕亘丞
October 17, 2013
This is story of a family of French Canadian Herve Herve whose children are either born giants or runts. Many of the runts do not thrive or are given away. This is not a gentle book. The book is divided into Book One - the tale of the generations of the giants, and Book Two, the runts. In Book One Jude, one of Herve's sons, is taught to fight. His father places bets on how much pain he can withstand. At home Jude tries to protect his frail sister. At a certain point Jude flees the family home and heads south, following many French Canadians to the USA in search of jobs and luxuries. There his saga continues.
I really enjoyed Book One. Bechard writes beautifully and there is an element of mysticism that I enjoyed. Book Two follows the runts - I think. I say I think because I found Book two very disjointed and hard to follow. I would be reading a passage and then it would end, I would reread the last few phrases, still be confused, move on and the same thing would happen over and over again. Aside from that I just did not like the characters in Book Two and did not always find their connections clear. At the very end the two branches of the family sort of come together, but personally I would have been happy to have stayed with the characters in Book One for a longer period of time and never have bothered with the runts! Five stars for Book One, zero stars for Book Two!
I really enjoyed Book One. Bechard writes beautifully and there is an element of mysticism that I enjoyed. Book Two follows the runts - I think. I say I think because I found Book two very disjointed and hard to follow. I would be reading a passage and then it would end, I would reread the last few phrases, still be confused, move on and the same thing would happen over and over again. Aside from that I just did not like the characters in Book Two and did not always find their connections clear. At the very end the two branches of the family sort of come together, but personally I would have been happy to have stayed with the characters in Book One for a longer period of time and never have bothered with the runts! Five stars for Book One, zero stars for Book Two!
July 26, 2013
This book is split up into two parts, each part pretty much its own book although they are intertwined in a small way.
What I liked about this book is that the author has a writing style that is very original so it adds a very interesting element to the novel. However, there are several cases in which people speak in french to which there is no translation so not knowing french puts a dent in understanding some parts of the story.
The first half of the book has a good story line and I really enjoyed reading it. The second half however, was quite the opposite. The story dragged on with its constant insignificant details that lead nowhere. The ending was such a dissapointment and I couldnt wait to be done reading it.
I recomend reading the first half of the book (labeled book 1 on the pages) and then the epiloge. Dont waste several hours of your life on trying to get through book 2.
What I liked about this book is that the author has a writing style that is very original so it adds a very interesting element to the novel. However, there are several cases in which people speak in french to which there is no translation so not knowing french puts a dent in understanding some parts of the story.
The first half of the book has a good story line and I really enjoyed reading it. The second half however, was quite the opposite. The story dragged on with its constant insignificant details that lead nowhere. The ending was such a dissapointment and I couldnt wait to be done reading it.
I recomend reading the first half of the book (labeled book 1 on the pages) and then the epiloge. Dont waste several hours of your life on trying to get through book 2.
September 3, 2008
This is one piece of Canadian literature I love reading. D.Y. Bechard creates interesting characters and lives. It follows to lines of people: the giants and the runts descended from Herve Herve of Quebec over the 20th century and North America. Similar themes play from the lives of runts who birth runts and giants who birth giants. Each has a desire to find what he or she is meant for and comes from. Lovely language.
May 8, 2010
Mixed feelings. Some great writing and compelling story-building, but a few too many chapter endings with a character ending up in the middle of nowhere wondering what it all means -- it went somewhat beyond a musical theme and turned into a relentless repetition. The poverty and hopelessness was very well-rendered.
March 1, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. It pulled me in to this extended family's history in Canada & the US. Well developed characters and plot. I was a little confused between the transition of Book 1 & Book 2 and needed to reread to figure out how it all fit together.
It was well worth the effort, however.
It was well worth the effort, however.
March 19, 2012
This one was not for me. If you're a fan of sweeping, multi-generational family sagas, it may be for you. Unfortunately, I never really felt that I connected with the characters because it kept switching.
August 18, 2012
I received this book as a 欧宝娱乐 Firstreads giveaway and I'm excited to start it! I am about 1/5 of the way through this book and it has been interesting but maybe not a book I would have normally read.
November 29, 2007
I had a class with this guy once.
December 21, 2007
Beautiful tragedy. See my amazon review.
Currently reading
March 4, 2008early pages but so far so good.
February 11, 2009
A great mix between John Irving's quirkiness and Annie Proulx's heart felt story telling.
August 4, 2011
Quelle belle histoire de qu锚te de soi, de spiritualit茅, de famille, de d茅sir de vivre. Plume extraordinaire. D茅j脿 h芒te 脿 son deuxi猫me roman.
June 23, 2012
I received this book through 欧宝娱乐 giveaways.
This just wasn't my cup of tea. It was very well written, I just couldn't get into it.
This just wasn't my cup of tea. It was very well written, I just couldn't get into it.
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