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The Brave
The motto of the boarding school to which Tommy Bedford is dispatched is 'Fortune Favours the Brave'. It's 1959 and the school bristles with bullies and sadistic staff. Tommy, a quirky loner, obsessed with cowboys and Indians, needs all the bravery he can summon.
Salvation comes when his glamorous actress sister is swept off to Hollywood by one of his heroes, TV cowboy Ray Montane. But with the Cold War looming, the sinister side of Tinseltown seeps through and Tommy and Diane soon find themselves in jeopardy. Forty years on, Tommy has to confront his boyhood ghosts when his own son finds himself charged with murder.
Salvation comes when his glamorous actress sister is swept off to Hollywood by one of his heroes, TV cowboy Ray Montane. But with the Cold War looming, the sinister side of Tinseltown seeps through and Tommy and Diane soon find themselves in jeopardy. Forty years on, Tommy has to confront his boyhood ghosts when his own son finds himself charged with murder.
488 pages, Paperback
First published September 3, 2009
207 people are currently reading
2,566 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas Evans
141Ìýbooks1,447ÌýfollowersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Nicholas Evans was born and grew up in Worcestershire, England. He studied law at Oxford University, graduating with first class honors, then worked as a journalist for three years on the Evening Chronicle in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He then moved into televsion, producing films about US politics and the Middle-East for a weekly current affairs programme called Weekend World. It was during this time that he traveled a lot and got to know the United States.
In 1982 he started to produce arts documentaries - about famous writers, painters and film-makers, several of which won international awards (films about David Hockney, Francis Bacon, Patricia Highsmith). In 1983 he made a film about the great British director David Lean (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, etc). Lean became a friend and mentor and persuaded Evans to switch from fact to fiction.
For the next ten years, Evans wrote and produced a number of films for television and the cinema. In 1993 he met a blacksmith in the far South-West of England who told him about horse whisperers - people who have the gift of healing traumatized horses. Evans started work on what was to be his first novel.
Published in the fall of 1995, The Horse Whisperer has now sold about fifteen million copies across the world. It has been the number one bestseller in about 20 countries and has been translated into 36 languages. It was also made into a movie, starring, produced and directed by Robert Redford.
The Loop and The Smoke Jumper, Evans's second and third novels, were again an international bestsellers, topping the bestseller lists in many countries. The Smoke Jumper was published in a paperback edition on July 30, 2003. Evans lives in London and Devon, England.
- Nicholas Evans' Website
Nicholas Evans was born and grew up in Worcestershire, England. He studied law at Oxford University, graduating with first class honors, then worked as a journalist for three years on the Evening Chronicle in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He then moved into televsion, producing films about US politics and the Middle-East for a weekly current affairs programme called Weekend World. It was during this time that he traveled a lot and got to know the United States.
In 1982 he started to produce arts documentaries - about famous writers, painters and film-makers, several of which won international awards (films about David Hockney, Francis Bacon, Patricia Highsmith). In 1983 he made a film about the great British director David Lean (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, etc). Lean became a friend and mentor and persuaded Evans to switch from fact to fiction.
For the next ten years, Evans wrote and produced a number of films for television and the cinema. In 1993 he met a blacksmith in the far South-West of England who told him about horse whisperers - people who have the gift of healing traumatized horses. Evans started work on what was to be his first novel.
Published in the fall of 1995, The Horse Whisperer has now sold about fifteen million copies across the world. It has been the number one bestseller in about 20 countries and has been translated into 36 languages. It was also made into a movie, starring, produced and directed by Robert Redford.
The Loop and The Smoke Jumper, Evans's second and third novels, were again an international bestsellers, topping the bestseller lists in many countries. The Smoke Jumper was published in a paperback edition on July 30, 2003. Evans lives in London and Devon, England.
- Nicholas Evans' Website
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 654 reviews
June 25, 2012
I had anxiously awaited the latest Nicholas Evans book after finishing reading my way through all of his others. While Smoke Jumper will still remain my favorite, The Brave will easily be up there as one of the best books I read in 2010.
True to Evans's form, he weaves the story together jumping from Tommy's past life to his current life, but does so in a way that the reader doesn't get lost. Tommy's childhood and adult life are filled with heartache, and I found that there was a sense of foreboding throughout the book which made it hard to put down. I wanted to keep reading at the end of each chapter because Evans truly weaves characters so richly into his words that you become concerned for them and their wellbeing.
Buy this book, a good pair of cowboy boots, and some tissues and get lost in the rich wording as Evans paints a vivid picture of Montana as well as Hollywood in the mid 1950's.
True to Evans's form, he weaves the story together jumping from Tommy's past life to his current life, but does so in a way that the reader doesn't get lost. Tommy's childhood and adult life are filled with heartache, and I found that there was a sense of foreboding throughout the book which made it hard to put down. I wanted to keep reading at the end of each chapter because Evans truly weaves characters so richly into his words that you become concerned for them and their wellbeing.
Buy this book, a good pair of cowboy boots, and some tissues and get lost in the rich wording as Evans paints a vivid picture of Montana as well as Hollywood in the mid 1950's.
September 5, 2011
I have to say that I've now read all of Nicholas Evans' books and they have all left me preplexed and somewhat sad. It seems in each book there is a charactor or two that gets hurt badly and the redemption at the end doesn't always satisfy me. The metal images he gives are so vivid and graphic (i.e. Tommy's boarding school/last visit with his Mom) that it's hard to read but also impossible to put down. He gives detailed descriptions so well of the story line....a hard look at all involved. I like the way he goes into each character's head and describes their feelings, he especially does a good job with the women characters (for a male writer). The book that left me 'wasted' was The Divide. I could not get over Ben leaving his family and never coming back. I would imagine if there was as sequel written, he would have not stayed with Eve (the enabler) either. I highly recommend all his books. I think this makes Nicholas an excellent writer because he got to my heart. Now I need to read something more uplifting!
January 17, 2020
I did not enjoy this book. To many cliches and a bizarre plot. The boy Tom killing Ray and then the mother/sister taking the blame and ending up being executed. Tom unable to tell anyone about his mother and ending up estranged from his family. The don Danny and a subplot of him killing innocent civilians in Iraq and getting away with it. The back and forward to his childhood and the present worked in places but struggled in places.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2010
I have to say, this book was a disappointment to me. In all fairness, it's not a bad story. If it had been written by anyone else, I may have enjoyed it more. But Nicholas Evans has set the bar very high for himself. I was so anticipating the emotional depth of The Horse Whisperer or Smokejumper, and it just isn't there. The only well developed character is Tommy. We are lead to believe that Diane's love for Tommy is what motivates her actions, but I never really felt the emotional pull of it, it seemed very superficial. There were alot of characters interacting and their connections were just made with a sentence or two. Not to reveal too much of the plot, but Diane and Cal? Why,...what was the connection? The reader is left to figure it out for themselves. I also felt that the second story between adult Tom and his son was not well developed either.
As for the ending, I don't believe Ray would suddenly be so violent towards Diane, it seemed contrived to move the plot along.
I am still a huge Nicholas Evans fan, but this is my least favorite book.
As for the ending, I don't believe Ray would suddenly be so violent towards Diane, it seemed contrived to move the plot along.
I am still a huge Nicholas Evans fan, but this is my least favorite book.
December 9, 2010
I typically don't care for books set in Hollywood. The Brave, however, proves to be an exception. It is set in the west, both in the desert and in LA, and Evans provides just enough detail to "put the reader there" without delving into flowing, poetic descriptions of the landscape (which, often feel, detract from any compelling movement a book may have).
The settings in this novel create the tone, but the characters are who drive it. Contrasting the Tommy growing up as a younger brother, a son, and a victim with the grown-up Tom who has become a writer, a divorcee, and a dad was a stroke of brilliance on Evans' part. It allows him to tell two separate yet related stories simultaneously, while keeping the reader engaged in each. We care about Tommy, and we care about Tom, and we continue to read to find out how one develops and why the other has become who he is.
The Brave is a masterful story that speculates on how the roles of father, brother, and son can all converge in one person, and what makes a boy into a man.
November 19, 2010
Written by the author of "The Horse Whisperer," this is another novel about (mostly) Americans written by an Englishman. I did enjoy the humanity of the characters and the plot was interesting. Perhaps it's the English sensibility of not expressing emotion, as the main characters, Tom and Diane, present as emotionally constipated to the extent that at some point, I processed what befell both of them as "right...thank you, next!" It's like a denial fest, even in the milieu of heartland America and suburban England, where people are supposed to be strong and silent; and stiff upper lipped, respectively. The supporting characters were even more shut down, with the possible exceptions of Karen O'Keiffe--yes, always with the last name included--really annoying--her mother, Lois and the surly maid, Dolores. While I did feel some suspense and anticipation toward the end of the book, I'm really glad it's over so that I don't have to be aggravated every time I pick it up and read about another character who doesn't respond. If I were to give this book a color, it would be pale beige.
July 21, 2011
I think The Loop will forever and always be my favorite Nicholas Evans book, with The Horse Whisperer a close second. I did like The Brave, though I predicted both of the book's plot twists/surprises a few chapters before they happened. I'm not sure why that frustrated me - was it because I thought he gave too many hints, and that took away from the suspense? Was it because I like thinking authors are more clever than I am and if I figured it out so soon, perhaps this wasn't the case?
Regardless, loved both the 'English boys boarding school' and 'classic Hollywood movie sets' aspects of the book and really loved the complicated, flawed characters and thinking about the decisions they'd made throughout their lives - and whether I really would have done any differently if I'd been in the same situation.
Regardless, loved both the 'English boys boarding school' and 'classic Hollywood movie sets' aspects of the book and really loved the complicated, flawed characters and thinking about the decisions they'd made throughout their lives - and whether I really would have done any differently if I'd been in the same situation.
November 18, 2010
I'm torn about the rating. If I hadn't read and and fallen so completely in love with them, I might have given this one a five. Nicholas Evans is one of my favorite authors, his writing is amazing, and as with all his others I've read, including the two above-mentioned, I found The Brave hard to put down. So, I'm not sure why I haven't clicked 5 stars. The characters, the plot, the settings were all expertly entwined and developed. Evans brought the different time spans of the chapters and events in Tom's life together at the end to a plausible ending. Perhaps the depressing nature of it all was a deterrent, but then, Evans has that element in all his books, of lives tragically affected and survival of it all, and it works. Well, now after reviewing all of these attributes of the book, I feel compelled to rate it a five. Gee, a review with thought process. Go figure, and go read The Brave. Glad Evans is back.
September 8, 2019
This is a rather slow moving book in the beginning, but is no less interesting for that. Tommy is the second child in the family, born when his sister Diane is 16, and he has never been truly welcomed by his mother. Set in England, the book quickly moves to Hollywood when Diane marries a cowboy movie star who happens to be Tommy’s idol.
The book jumps from the past to the present in alternating chapters, and the time frames were easily followed. It is a heartwarming and heartbreaking story. I highly recommend this book to all who want to lose themselves in a great novel.
The book jumps from the past to the present in alternating chapters, and the time frames were easily followed. It is a heartwarming and heartbreaking story. I highly recommend this book to all who want to lose themselves in a great novel.
May 23, 2021
A great little emotional read. Like a web, the storylines were weaved together.
I've certainly not read anything remotely similar and was thoroughly engaged. Found all the characters completely believable and likeable.
Also enjoyed the Horse Whisperer, by the same author.
I've certainly not read anything remotely similar and was thoroughly engaged. Found all the characters completely believable and likeable.
Also enjoyed the Horse Whisperer, by the same author.
September 3, 2015
Our first view of Tommy Bedford is when a prison guard is escorting him to visit his mother for the last time before she is put to death after she was found guilty of murder. (Is this Tommy's imagination?)
The actual story begins in 1959 when Tom is eight-years-old and living in England. He lives in a fantasy world where he dreams of cowboys and Indians. His hero is Flint McCullough, star of Wagon Train, TV series and his prized possession is a photo of Flint.
Tom is a meek boy who is attempting to cope with a nighttime bed wetting problem. His parents are sympathetic but distant, they are also much older than most of his friend's parents.
He's sent to Ashlawn Prep boarding school to toughen him up. The school, an imposing, Gothic mansion had been a mental hospital. It is a cold, frightening facility for this little boy. In this, it reminds me of Tom Brown in the novel by Thomas Hughes, which took place in an English boarding school in the 1830s.
At the school, Tom is faced with bullying students and sadistic behavior by one of the faculty. When classmates learn of his bed wetting issue, he writes his sister, Diane, to please get him out of the school.
Diane is an actress who is just coming into her own. It's not for another year that she becomes a success. Then, she moves to Hollywood and meets actor, Ray Montane, who is famous for his cowboy character, Red McGraw.
Imagine the effect on a boy of nine when his actress sister, and her famous boyfriend come to the school. Tom's esteem soars but then Diane admits that she is really his mother and not his sister. As he is digesting this, Diane tells him that she and Ray will be able to provide for him in Hollywood.
The story is interlaced between events of the past and what is happening in the current day. We learn how Diane became pregnant when she was sixteen-years-old and how Tom, now in his fifties, is a divorced filmmaker and writer. The emotional abuse he had growing up has led to his escape into alcohol which ruined his marriage and changed the rest of his life.
This is a powerful, character driven novel by the author of "The Horse Whisperer." The pacing of the story allows the reader to accept each step without being rushed into the next event. Both Tom and Diane are memorable and sympathetic characters in a story that will entertain readers.
The actual story begins in 1959 when Tom is eight-years-old and living in England. He lives in a fantasy world where he dreams of cowboys and Indians. His hero is Flint McCullough, star of Wagon Train, TV series and his prized possession is a photo of Flint.
Tom is a meek boy who is attempting to cope with a nighttime bed wetting problem. His parents are sympathetic but distant, they are also much older than most of his friend's parents.
He's sent to Ashlawn Prep boarding school to toughen him up. The school, an imposing, Gothic mansion had been a mental hospital. It is a cold, frightening facility for this little boy. In this, it reminds me of Tom Brown in the novel by Thomas Hughes, which took place in an English boarding school in the 1830s.
At the school, Tom is faced with bullying students and sadistic behavior by one of the faculty. When classmates learn of his bed wetting issue, he writes his sister, Diane, to please get him out of the school.
Diane is an actress who is just coming into her own. It's not for another year that she becomes a success. Then, she moves to Hollywood and meets actor, Ray Montane, who is famous for his cowboy character, Red McGraw.
Imagine the effect on a boy of nine when his actress sister, and her famous boyfriend come to the school. Tom's esteem soars but then Diane admits that she is really his mother and not his sister. As he is digesting this, Diane tells him that she and Ray will be able to provide for him in Hollywood.
The story is interlaced between events of the past and what is happening in the current day. We learn how Diane became pregnant when she was sixteen-years-old and how Tom, now in his fifties, is a divorced filmmaker and writer. The emotional abuse he had growing up has led to his escape into alcohol which ruined his marriage and changed the rest of his life.
This is a powerful, character driven novel by the author of "The Horse Whisperer." The pacing of the story allows the reader to accept each step without being rushed into the next event. Both Tom and Diane are memorable and sympathetic characters in a story that will entertain readers.
March 4, 2018
I was really excited to read this book by Nicholas Evans. I've been a fan ever since "The Horse whisperer." I think I've always liked his writings about the West, including in his books "The Loop" and "The Smoke jumper." While Evans does paint an overly romantic picture of the west, sprawling ranches and miles of wilderness, he also notes modern pieces of the West often overlooked. In "The Loop" he talked about the mineral rights beneath ranch lands and in "The Brave," he describes a minuteman missel silo, which people often don't realize are in Montana.
The Brave is different than Evans' other books. It constantly moves through time and is from different points of view. It took me a little while to get used to the style because you wouldn't always know right away the author had switched to a different time period.
I got into the book and it was a fast read, but there were a few things that wrapped up too easily. For instance, the main character's relationship with his son. One moment they haven't spoken in years and the next the father is the son's main confidante. Even the main character's own relationship with his mother and grandparents - early on in the book we learn some pretty shocking information, which the main character seems to be absorb easily and never think about again.
Evans also starts to delve into some complicated issues about war, but then backs off. Just when as a reader, I was beginning to really think about those issues, the story had moved on.
Overall, I'm glad I read this book, but it was more of a vacation read then a profound piece of literature, which is fine, but I think what is disappointing is that it had the potential to be more than a beach read, it just never quite got there.
The Brave is different than Evans' other books. It constantly moves through time and is from different points of view. It took me a little while to get used to the style because you wouldn't always know right away the author had switched to a different time period.
I got into the book and it was a fast read, but there were a few things that wrapped up too easily. For instance, the main character's relationship with his son. One moment they haven't spoken in years and the next the father is the son's main confidante. Even the main character's own relationship with his mother and grandparents - early on in the book we learn some pretty shocking information, which the main character seems to be absorb easily and never think about again.
Evans also starts to delve into some complicated issues about war, but then backs off. Just when as a reader, I was beginning to really think about those issues, the story had moved on.
Overall, I'm glad I read this book, but it was more of a vacation read then a profound piece of literature, which is fine, but I think what is disappointing is that it had the potential to be more than a beach read, it just never quite got there.
January 13, 2018
Tom Bedford lives alone in the wilds of Montana. Distanced from his own troubled past, he rarely sees his son, Danny, who is now deployed in Iraq. Tom hasn't always been so isolated. As a boy, his mother was a rising movie star in the glitzy, enchanted world of 1960s Hollywood. She fell in love with young Tom's onscreen cowboy hero, the suave Ray Montane. Tommy and his mother lived in a glamorous, Hollywood version of the Wild West--until a shocking and deadly confrontation forced them to flee.
As a man, Tom has put all of that behind him--until Danny is charged with murder. In the chaos of war, his son has been caught in a violent skirmish gone bloodily awry, and the Army needs someone to pay for the mistake. Shocked into action, Tom confronts the violence in his past and fights to save the son he'd let slip away. As father and son struggle to understand one another, they also learn the true meaning of bravery.
It has been a long time since I read a book by this author. His earlier ones are some of my favorites. This one was just ok. It kept my attention and I read it, but it seemed to be lacking from what I remember from Nicholas Evans. The jumping timeline seemed jarring and not at all smooth, often leaving me confused as to what was going on. 3.5 stars
As a man, Tom has put all of that behind him--until Danny is charged with murder. In the chaos of war, his son has been caught in a violent skirmish gone bloodily awry, and the Army needs someone to pay for the mistake. Shocked into action, Tom confronts the violence in his past and fights to save the son he'd let slip away. As father and son struggle to understand one another, they also learn the true meaning of bravery.
It has been a long time since I read a book by this author. His earlier ones are some of my favorites. This one was just ok. It kept my attention and I read it, but it seemed to be lacking from what I remember from Nicholas Evans. The jumping timeline seemed jarring and not at all smooth, often leaving me confused as to what was going on. 3.5 stars
June 17, 2022
4 sterren- Nederlandse paperback
Tommy verhuist op acht jarige leeftijd met zijn moeder naar Hollywood. Zijn moeder breekt door als actrice en word verliefd. Ze beleven echter maar even geluk. Hij raakt verbitterd en reageert zijn frustraties af op haar.
Voor haar eigen veiligheid vlucht ze met Tommy samen naar familievriend Cal naar Montnana. Zo kan zij haar zoon de liefde geven die hij verdient na al die jaren. Tot dat ze voor een grote verassing komt te staan.
Het speelt zich af in het heden en verleden ondanks de wisseling is het niet storend of onlogisch. Het is een verhaal met een zoektocht naar liefde, zijn/ haar identiteit.
Als je van een roman houdt is dit een goede mogelijkheid.
Tommy verhuist op acht jarige leeftijd met zijn moeder naar Hollywood. Zijn moeder breekt door als actrice en word verliefd. Ze beleven echter maar even geluk. Hij raakt verbitterd en reageert zijn frustraties af op haar.
Voor haar eigen veiligheid vlucht ze met Tommy samen naar familievriend Cal naar Montnana. Zo kan zij haar zoon de liefde geven die hij verdient na al die jaren. Tot dat ze voor een grote verassing komt te staan.
Het speelt zich af in het heden en verleden ondanks de wisseling is het niet storend of onlogisch. Het is een verhaal met een zoektocht naar liefde, zijn/ haar identiteit.
Als je van een roman houdt is dit een goede mogelijkheid.
October 25, 2019
Waited for this book for almost a decade since it was published back in 2009. I love Nicholas Evans. Read all of his five books now. I wonder why he is no longer writing. I haven't seen a new one since The Brave.
June 7, 2022
There is a lot to like about this book. It has some great settings and Hollywood heyday really fizzes off the page, the overall story arc was good and the way the two stories came together at the end was neatly done and I found the characters credible and meaty. All the side characters played a good role and didn't feel like set dressing.
There is also, however, a lot to dislike about this book.
The fractured timeline was...just kind of annoying.
Diane taking the wrap for the kid shooting Ray was the stupidist idea ever. I know it was heat of the moment: but really? THAT'S your idea? Even the most incompetent and idiotic lawyer in Hollywood could have gotten her off for self defence. She must have come out of that fight with two black eyes, a concussion and a face like a California sunset. The police turn up and find a beat up woman and a scared kid (who would be traumatised) and they decide that she shot him in cold blood? Wow.
Secondly, I know Tom's mother (sister) ends up in the chair and he feels a lot of residual guilt. But growing up on a ranch in Montana with a chilled native American dude who sounds like he is a total bad ass and then manages to do enough in school to just go: sod it, creative writing, that's where the big bucks are and finishes university and writes a book that is successful enough that he can pay the legal fees to save his piece-of-s**t son from a court martial? Tom, it sounds like you got over it. Except you didn't. Whaaat?
So, Danny gets off and then tells his dad: oh, fyi, I killed a bunch of women and kids because our humvees got blown up and some friends got hurt in Iraq and so I decided to get revenge. Dad be like: don't worry about it, it's all good, we're a happy family again. Danny: great, I want to study again and have some kids. Dad: Swell. W the actual F.
Tom is super sad because his idiot of a mother (sister) died for a crime he commited to save her getting the living daylights beaten out of her but is totally cool his son killing a bunch of civilians, committing a war crime, lying under oath, using his girlfriend as a pregnancy prop and not talking to his dad for ten years because he thought that they should have a talk about him joining the military to fight a war most people understood at the time to be both pointless and unnecessary?
There is also, however, a lot to dislike about this book.
The fractured timeline was...just kind of annoying.
Diane taking the wrap for the kid shooting Ray was the stupidist idea ever. I know it was heat of the moment: but really? THAT'S your idea? Even the most incompetent and idiotic lawyer in Hollywood could have gotten her off for self defence. She must have come out of that fight with two black eyes, a concussion and a face like a California sunset. The police turn up and find a beat up woman and a scared kid (who would be traumatised) and they decide that she shot him in cold blood? Wow.
Secondly, I know Tom's mother (sister) ends up in the chair and he feels a lot of residual guilt. But growing up on a ranch in Montana with a chilled native American dude who sounds like he is a total bad ass and then manages to do enough in school to just go: sod it, creative writing, that's where the big bucks are and finishes university and writes a book that is successful enough that he can pay the legal fees to save his piece-of-s**t son from a court martial? Tom, it sounds like you got over it. Except you didn't. Whaaat?
So, Danny gets off and then tells his dad: oh, fyi, I killed a bunch of women and kids because our humvees got blown up and some friends got hurt in Iraq and so I decided to get revenge. Dad be like: don't worry about it, it's all good, we're a happy family again. Danny: great, I want to study again and have some kids. Dad: Swell. W the actual F.
Tom is super sad because his idiot of a mother (sister) died for a crime he commited to save her getting the living daylights beaten out of her but is totally cool his son killing a bunch of civilians, committing a war crime, lying under oath, using his girlfriend as a pregnancy prop and not talking to his dad for ten years because he thought that they should have a talk about him joining the military to fight a war most people understood at the time to be both pointless and unnecessary?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2010
When your first novel sells about fifteen million copies across the world, has been the number one bestseller in about 20 countries, has been translated into 36 languages, and gets made into a movie, starring, produced and directed by Robert Redford, is there a point to trying again? Seriously, if you were Nicholas Evans, author of The Horse Whisperer would you really think you could do it again?
Luckily for readers everywhere, Evans did try again. In each subsequent novel Evans succeeds in creating characters and stories that, while very different from Grace, her family, Pilgrim, and Tom Booker, are of the same depth and caliber.
In his latest, The Brave, Tom Bedford is bumbling his way through life. He’s divorced, estranged from his son Danny, and has never revealed the upheavals and violence suffered during his childhood to anyone. When Danny is charged with murder while on tour in Iraq, Tom’s past breaks the surface, forcing him to remember what he has long forgotten.
Fans of Picoult and Bojhalian might appreciate Evans� examination of regular people under pressure.
Luckily for readers everywhere, Evans did try again. In each subsequent novel Evans succeeds in creating characters and stories that, while very different from Grace, her family, Pilgrim, and Tom Booker, are of the same depth and caliber.
In his latest, The Brave, Tom Bedford is bumbling his way through life. He’s divorced, estranged from his son Danny, and has never revealed the upheavals and violence suffered during his childhood to anyone. When Danny is charged with murder while on tour in Iraq, Tom’s past breaks the surface, forcing him to remember what he has long forgotten.
Fans of Picoult and Bojhalian might appreciate Evans� examination of regular people under pressure.
November 14, 2016
3.5
I'm shocked I didn't like this one better. Evans is one of my all-time favourite authors, and before this book, I absolutely loved everything he'd written.
I think this book suffered from too much jumping around between characters and time periods. While I loved the story of young Tommy and how his life evolved, I didn't much care about him as an adult, or about his soldier son's court case. Sometimes it took me a minute to realize what time frame we were in and which character we were talking about. Even when the characters were in Britain, it felt and sounded like they were in the U.S.
Because of all the different time frames and characters, many things weren't developed. I assumed the stepfather was going to be abusive, and we see hints of his jealousy beginning, but then that subject just kind of dies until the end. Another trial is hinted at, but not really delved into until the end. The ending seemed like a race to tie up a whole bunch of loose ends. I still love Evans' writing and will definitely buy his next book, but this one didn't do it for me.
Oh, and the cruel, offhanded way the senseless, horrible death of a pet cat is handled really pissed me off. :(
I'm shocked I didn't like this one better. Evans is one of my all-time favourite authors, and before this book, I absolutely loved everything he'd written.
I think this book suffered from too much jumping around between characters and time periods. While I loved the story of young Tommy and how his life evolved, I didn't much care about him as an adult, or about his soldier son's court case. Sometimes it took me a minute to realize what time frame we were in and which character we were talking about. Even when the characters were in Britain, it felt and sounded like they were in the U.S.
Because of all the different time frames and characters, many things weren't developed. I assumed the stepfather was going to be abusive, and we see hints of his jealousy beginning, but then that subject just kind of dies until the end. Another trial is hinted at, but not really delved into until the end. The ending seemed like a race to tie up a whole bunch of loose ends. I still love Evans' writing and will definitely buy his next book, but this one didn't do it for me.
Oh, and the cruel, offhanded way the senseless, horrible death of a pet cat is handled really pissed me off. :(
May 29, 2013
In Nicholas Evans's the Brave, he gives us a heart-breaking moving novel, a break from his eco-thrillers in the past, and gives us one of his best. This novel has a great combination of literary fiction and historical fiction entwined in this heart-pounding thriller. He takes us on an emotional journey of Tom Bedford, when he weaved a good combination and segues of the past and the present. It's about his brave life, one he lived filled of lies and half-truths. When adult Tom Bedford receives devastating news about his only son, Daniel, a Marine's in a troubling crisis in Montana, we're transported to a young English Tommy and the story of his life. Living through a hard life and heartaches, Tommy experienced hardships in a English boarding school and right to living in a Hollywood life of luxury that takes a twisting turn to tragedy. He gives us a good balance of past and present and how brave he turned to be in his adult life. There's lot of twists and turns that really pulls at your heartstrings real tight and makes you cry. This is one of his finest and the best.
October 6, 2011
There was too much back and forth - first Tommy was 13, then it fast forwarded to today, back to when he was 8...too much confusion, too many cowboy references. It just dragged. I wanted to know what happened but it was too slow to want to bother. I am *really* glad I got this through the library.
September 26, 2010
So many things happened in different periods, different people...till everything comes together.
Different in many ways and the same in many ways like his other stories. But I guess if I started this morning and finished it now, it must have been good!!!
Different in many ways and the same in many ways like his other stories. But I guess if I started this morning and finished it now, it must have been good!!!
December 10, 2018
I'm just not a fan of jumping time back & forth, back & forth.
December 5, 2017
It's been a long time since I've read a Nicholas Evans book and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I must admit to a bit of confusion for a while as we dealt with one of the central characters, Tom/Tommy as a grown man and a little boy almost simultaneously. I surmounted that 'obstacle' and went on to find a complex at times, simple at others, story spanning time in England, Hollywood and Montana. It's hard to say much about the plot without including spoilers, so let this suffice to say, 'go get a copy of this and be well entertained as well as drawn to the characters as they develop. Most of them are people you might like to run into one day.
August 20, 2021
Sono molto combattuta sulla valutazione, mi è piaciuto, è scritto davvero molto bene, super scorrevole ma non è il mio genere... è qui che vacillo, probabilmente si merita più un 4 che un 3.
Ogni capitolo è una fase temporale diifferente del protagonista ed è scritto così bene che comunque non si crea confusione. Si vuole finirlo il più in fretta possibile per scoprire cosa sia successo e il finale lascia un leggero amaro in bocca... il giusto. Ho solo belle parole per questo libro ma non è il mio genere ahahah forse sono troppo severe con questo 3.
Lo consiglio? Si.
Ogni capitolo è una fase temporale diifferente del protagonista ed è scritto così bene che comunque non si crea confusione. Si vuole finirlo il più in fretta possibile per scoprire cosa sia successo e il finale lascia un leggero amaro in bocca... il giusto. Ho solo belle parole per questo libro ma non è il mio genere ahahah forse sono troppo severe con questo 3.
Lo consiglio? Si.
February 13, 2016
Desde que hace años leà "El hombre que susurraba al oÃdo de los caballos", me convertà en una incondicional del autor.
Con aquel libro me tropecé de casualidad, sin referencias, pero fue todo un acierto. Me gustó tanto que todavÃa lo guardo en mi memoria como uno de mis libros favoritos pese a haber leÃdo tantos a lo largo de los años, y es que fue una lectura que me llegó al corazón, porque Evans es un especialista en esto, en llegarte al corazón. Y la novela que hoy os traigo no es menos.
No nos enfrentamos a una lectura trepidante con un ritmo frenético, ni falta que le hace, Evans maneja con maestrÃa los tiempos y compases de la narración sin necesidad de nada más.
La historia se desarrolla sin prisa pero sin pausa, con un desarrollo y una trama trabajada y correcta, incluso contiene un pequeño giro final que me pareció muy interesante ya que no lo esperaba para nada porque además está incluido en una de las subtramas que dejamos un poco en segundo plano durante toda la lectura, por lo tanto el choque es más sorprendente, aun, que si se hubiera producido en la trama principal.
Todo esto, esta aderezado por una ambientación al más puro estilo americano de los años 50. Esta es fabulosa y nostálgica, nos hace tener la sensación de que la hubiéramos vivido y conocido pese a tratarse de una época en la quizá muchos de nosotros no habÃamos ni nacido y menos aun en Estados Unidos pero gracias a su elegante estilo nos la hace sentir cercana y conocida.
Además, nos adentramos también en el maravilloso mundo del Hollywood de aquellos años, gracias al personaje de Diane, hermana de Tom, que consigue hacerse un hueco entre las estrellas de la época.
Este hecho es sumamente trascendental en el desarrollo de la novela, pues si bien la llenará de grandes satisfacciones que podrá compartir con Tom ( y especialmente con él, ya veréis el porqué... ) también le acarreará tremendos tormentos, desencadenando importantes problemas que se irán acrecentando hasta dar forma a una parte muy importante y fundamental del desenlace de la obra
Además de todos estos ingredientes que os estoy contando, me he dejado para el final el que creo que es el mejor aun, si cabe, y es la manera en la que el autor nos muestra a sus personajes ya que son treméndamente cercanos en todas sus novelas. Yo, hasta el momento, he leÃdo todas menos una y puedo decir que es un aspecto que maneja a la perfección y con maestrÃa. Nos resultará difÃcil encontrar una novela que pueda superar el mosaico de personajes tan perfectamente trabajados y dibujados. Igualarlo, tal vez sÃ, pero no creo que superarlo, pues aunque haga años que leà sus otros libros, siempre me queda el regusto y el recuerdo, por leve que sea, de los personajes que conocà en sus novelas.
Para terminar, os comento un par de detalles más: además de la pequeña sorpresa final, que os he comentado antes, también encontramos alguna que otra a lo largo de la novela y aunque creo que son un poco más previsibles (que no menos importantes) esto no es algo negativo, no tiene importancia que lo descubramos antes de tiempo pues la novela es mucho más que descubrir alguna que otra sorpresa. Y por otro lado, deciros, que se van alternando dos tiempos en el trascurso de la trama, la vida actual de Tom y los hechos que marcaron su infancia allá por los 50. Ambos planos temporales son igual de interesantes si bien es verdad que creo que, salvo en el final, cobra un poco más de protagonismo el pasado y son aquellos hechos los que más me han marcado en la novela.
Si no conocéis al autor os invito a hacerlo. Creo que, sea cual sea vuestro género , o tipo de lectura, favorito, Evans se encuentra al margen de todo eso y logrará conquistaros.
Nos ofrece historias con poso, con buen hacer, cocinadas a fuego lento para saborear sin prisas y, como digo, creo que ajenas a cualquier genero y, al mismo tiempo, conteniendo un poquito de varios a la vez.
Sencillamente, historias humanas.
Con aquel libro me tropecé de casualidad, sin referencias, pero fue todo un acierto. Me gustó tanto que todavÃa lo guardo en mi memoria como uno de mis libros favoritos pese a haber leÃdo tantos a lo largo de los años, y es que fue una lectura que me llegó al corazón, porque Evans es un especialista en esto, en llegarte al corazón. Y la novela que hoy os traigo no es menos.
No nos enfrentamos a una lectura trepidante con un ritmo frenético, ni falta que le hace, Evans maneja con maestrÃa los tiempos y compases de la narración sin necesidad de nada más.
La historia se desarrolla sin prisa pero sin pausa, con un desarrollo y una trama trabajada y correcta, incluso contiene un pequeño giro final que me pareció muy interesante ya que no lo esperaba para nada porque además está incluido en una de las subtramas que dejamos un poco en segundo plano durante toda la lectura, por lo tanto el choque es más sorprendente, aun, que si se hubiera producido en la trama principal.
Todo esto, esta aderezado por una ambientación al más puro estilo americano de los años 50. Esta es fabulosa y nostálgica, nos hace tener la sensación de que la hubiéramos vivido y conocido pese a tratarse de una época en la quizá muchos de nosotros no habÃamos ni nacido y menos aun en Estados Unidos pero gracias a su elegante estilo nos la hace sentir cercana y conocida.
Además, nos adentramos también en el maravilloso mundo del Hollywood de aquellos años, gracias al personaje de Diane, hermana de Tom, que consigue hacerse un hueco entre las estrellas de la época.
Este hecho es sumamente trascendental en el desarrollo de la novela, pues si bien la llenará de grandes satisfacciones que podrá compartir con Tom ( y especialmente con él, ya veréis el porqué... ) también le acarreará tremendos tormentos, desencadenando importantes problemas que se irán acrecentando hasta dar forma a una parte muy importante y fundamental del desenlace de la obra
Además de todos estos ingredientes que os estoy contando, me he dejado para el final el que creo que es el mejor aun, si cabe, y es la manera en la que el autor nos muestra a sus personajes ya que son treméndamente cercanos en todas sus novelas. Yo, hasta el momento, he leÃdo todas menos una y puedo decir que es un aspecto que maneja a la perfección y con maestrÃa. Nos resultará difÃcil encontrar una novela que pueda superar el mosaico de personajes tan perfectamente trabajados y dibujados. Igualarlo, tal vez sÃ, pero no creo que superarlo, pues aunque haga años que leà sus otros libros, siempre me queda el regusto y el recuerdo, por leve que sea, de los personajes que conocà en sus novelas.
Para terminar, os comento un par de detalles más: además de la pequeña sorpresa final, que os he comentado antes, también encontramos alguna que otra a lo largo de la novela y aunque creo que son un poco más previsibles (que no menos importantes) esto no es algo negativo, no tiene importancia que lo descubramos antes de tiempo pues la novela es mucho más que descubrir alguna que otra sorpresa. Y por otro lado, deciros, que se van alternando dos tiempos en el trascurso de la trama, la vida actual de Tom y los hechos que marcaron su infancia allá por los 50. Ambos planos temporales son igual de interesantes si bien es verdad que creo que, salvo en el final, cobra un poco más de protagonismo el pasado y son aquellos hechos los que más me han marcado en la novela.
Si no conocéis al autor os invito a hacerlo. Creo que, sea cual sea vuestro género , o tipo de lectura, favorito, Evans se encuentra al margen de todo eso y logrará conquistaros.
Nos ofrece historias con poso, con buen hacer, cocinadas a fuego lento para saborear sin prisas y, como digo, creo que ajenas a cualquier genero y, al mismo tiempo, conteniendo un poquito de varios a la vez.
Sencillamente, historias humanas.
August 12, 2013
3 1/2 stars - The parallel story approach Mr. Evans took to tell about Tom’s life was often frustrating, thus the 3 and 1/2 stars. Just when I’d get engrossed in the Dickensian backstory, the next chapter would pick up in the present. This often left me searching for purchase in the beginning of chapters. Which decade was I in? Was this section about the far more sympathetic younger character, Tommy, or the locked away and emotionally aloof adult, Tom? This jumbled chapter technique made it very easy for me to walk away from the book, sometimes for days. Though looking back, I see there was probably no other way to tell this story unless as Part One (his youth), Part Two (his adulthood), and Part Three (the immediate, with wrapping up of the final backstory mystery).
Beefing aside, Mr. Evans has once again tackled a huge story and in many ways, he has done so brilliantly. He is unafraid to dissect a complicated and intriguing drama � a young boy who loses his mother to the gas chamber, and that same character as an adult facing another trial, this time his son’s. I don’t want to give any spoilers so I’ll just suffice in saying the dual role the woman he knew as his sister, Diane, was great. I loved the old and glamorous Hollywood portrayed in The Brave. The more quiet life Tom led as an estranged parent was less captivating with ho-hum politically correct attitudes poorly disguised, until the second trial came into play.
Tom was a hard man to feel empathy for, especially after he, as the adult in the room, didn’t have the good sense to bite his tongue and not indulge in his personal views about the war on the eve of his son’s shipping out. The wedge he drove between him and his son was unnecessary in an already difficult relationship.
What I did admire about Tom was his getting his life back on track with never wavering sobriety, even when challenged by a second life-changing trial, this one involving the son with whom he was still on unsteady ground.
Mr. Evans didn’t take the easy way out with his characters, and though I wished things could have gone better, I was impressed with the twist of information shared between father and son toward the end. I was deeply grateful for the hopeful ending, and the satisfied feeling I had having read this overall mostly wonderful book.
Beefing aside, Mr. Evans has once again tackled a huge story and in many ways, he has done so brilliantly. He is unafraid to dissect a complicated and intriguing drama � a young boy who loses his mother to the gas chamber, and that same character as an adult facing another trial, this time his son’s. I don’t want to give any spoilers so I’ll just suffice in saying the dual role the woman he knew as his sister, Diane, was great. I loved the old and glamorous Hollywood portrayed in The Brave. The more quiet life Tom led as an estranged parent was less captivating with ho-hum politically correct attitudes poorly disguised, until the second trial came into play.
Tom was a hard man to feel empathy for, especially after he, as the adult in the room, didn’t have the good sense to bite his tongue and not indulge in his personal views about the war on the eve of his son’s shipping out. The wedge he drove between him and his son was unnecessary in an already difficult relationship.
What I did admire about Tom was his getting his life back on track with never wavering sobriety, even when challenged by a second life-changing trial, this one involving the son with whom he was still on unsteady ground.
Mr. Evans didn’t take the easy way out with his characters, and though I wished things could have gone better, I was impressed with the twist of information shared between father and son toward the end. I was deeply grateful for the hopeful ending, and the satisfied feeling I had having read this overall mostly wonderful book.
June 23, 2022
This story is about how unprocessed trauma can weigh you down. The A story follows Tommy as a boy after his sister discloses she is really his mother. She takes him to Hollywood to be a proper family with her new boyfriend, who happens to be Tommy's idol and the star of a cowboy show. This hurt a lot in the wake of the Amber Heard Trial.
The B story is grown-up Tommy trying to help his estranged son, Danny, after an incident with the Marines. It was mostly depressing and I didn't care for it.
I liked the ending.
There were a couple weird things. Tommy is an alcoholic. He hasn't had a drink in a decade but he keeps it in the house for guests. Danny's girlfriend discloses she got pregnant just in case the worst happened to him so she could always have that piece of him. The weirdest thing,
The B story is grown-up Tommy trying to help his estranged son, Danny, after an incident with the Marines. It was mostly depressing and I didn't care for it.
I liked the ending.
There were a couple weird things. Tommy is an alcoholic. He hasn't had a drink in a decade but he keeps it in the house for guests. Danny's girlfriend discloses she got pregnant just in case the worst happened to him so she could always have that piece of him. The weirdest thing,
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March 2, 2011Many readers will know this author from his bestselling book and subsequent movie "The Horse Whisperer." I never read that book, but on a whim I recently re-read "The Loop" and remembered why I was so fond of it the first time. When I returned that book, Evan's new book "The Brave" had just been released and I realize now that I should have started "The Brave" immediately, instead of putting it on my "to-read" list. This captivating story stayed with me long after putting it down each night.
We first meet a young Tom Bedford when he is being escorted in to see his mother just before her execution. I really felt like I was in the room with him... I was hooked for that point on. The story jumps backward and forward in time throughout the book, and takes you through Tom's life from his entrance and unhappy existence into boarding school in 1959 at age eight to dealing with his own son's military turmoil later in mid-life. The timeline shifts initially bothered me and made the story seem disjointed, but the story's structure really made me want more, and Evans ties up all the loose ends nicely by the end.
I don't want to give too much away but I can tell you that I highly recommend this book. It contains some powerful themes, including: how regret and negativity can sour a life, how family secrets color your existence, how childhood idols aren't always so great, and how forgiveness trumps all.
We first meet a young Tom Bedford when he is being escorted in to see his mother just before her execution. I really felt like I was in the room with him... I was hooked for that point on. The story jumps backward and forward in time throughout the book, and takes you through Tom's life from his entrance and unhappy existence into boarding school in 1959 at age eight to dealing with his own son's military turmoil later in mid-life. The timeline shifts initially bothered me and made the story seem disjointed, but the story's structure really made me want more, and Evans ties up all the loose ends nicely by the end.
I don't want to give too much away but I can tell you that I highly recommend this book. It contains some powerful themes, including: how regret and negativity can sour a life, how family secrets color your existence, how childhood idols aren't always so great, and how forgiveness trumps all.
September 5, 2011
I've enjoyed Nicholas Evans as a writer since The Horse Whisperer, mostly because he is unafraid to make human emotions the substantive thread of his books, but he writes as a thriller-writer or crime-writer might. In the real world, finding emotional breakthrough is an adventure, a mystery and a challenge, and does vex as as surely as a Morse or Poirot whodunnit - but few writers succeed in crafting an emotional journey as a page-turner. Most of the time, Evans does. I don't think The Brave is his best book, and it is perhaps let down by the bleakness of its outlook. There is some kind of redemption here, but the world is for the most part intolerably cruel.... a reflection of reality, or of Evans' own dark journey? Where he does succeed is in the precision with which he crafts a plot, sets a scene and sketches character. His years as a TV screenwriter pay dividends as in chapter after chapter he will jump to a new time and location and establish in just a few sentences where we are, who we're with and what's going on... with a pace of revelation and plot-development that keeps you guessing and keeps you going. So that whether you share Evans' dismal view of the world and relationships or not, you will find him good company ad a story-teller....
October 13, 2020
I gave this book four stars because the ending was a tad bit flat, but otherwise a very good character driven read. The story begins in England and moves to Hollywood where our main character, Tom Bedford, has his life transformed. This is a multi-layered story which moves back and forth from Tom's childhood to his adulthood. We see all aspects of his life and how they relate to what is happening in his life as an adult and in relation to what is happening with his son Danny.
As a young boy Tommy is obsessed with cowboys and westerns. His sister, Diane - a rising star of stage and screen, moves to Hollywood and takes Tommy with her. She falls in love with a real western TV star, Ray Montane. Life appears to be perfect, and then it begins to unravel. The 2nd story (Tom's adulthood) is about Tom now divorced, living alone, and estranged from his son Danny. Danny is a marine on trial who has been charged with a crime that occurred in Iraq. Tom must face his childhood demons to reconnect with his son and "save his son and himself from the mistakes of the past".
As a young boy Tommy is obsessed with cowboys and westerns. His sister, Diane - a rising star of stage and screen, moves to Hollywood and takes Tommy with her. She falls in love with a real western TV star, Ray Montane. Life appears to be perfect, and then it begins to unravel. The 2nd story (Tom's adulthood) is about Tom now divorced, living alone, and estranged from his son Danny. Danny is a marine on trial who has been charged with a crime that occurred in Iraq. Tom must face his childhood demons to reconnect with his son and "save his son and himself from the mistakes of the past".
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