This was Canadian author Marie-Claire Blais’s first book. It was published in 1959 and translated from the French by Daphne Marlatt in 1960. Blais was a winner of the French language Governor General’s award in 1996 for Soifs.
Apparently this was made into a film last year with its French title, La Belle Bête. I wish they would have kept this title, The Beautiful Beast, for the English version of the book rather than using Mad Shadows. The Beautiful Beast is much more fitting.
She thought of the approaching marriage of this pair of dolls, a male doll and a female doll. She would have to live in the midst of this depravity-the artificial depravity of faces in the movies. How sad, she thought, they have no souls.
This is a story of a very dysfunctional family. Louise is a beautiful, but aging mother who is trying her best to hold on to her beauty. Aside from the usual ways, she also does this by nearly worshipping her son Patrice, who is beautiful but retarded. She sees her own beauty in him and thus is blind to his mental condition. In contrast to her extreme over-affection for her son is her disdain for her daughter Isabelle-Marie. She is not loved by her mother simply because she is not beautiful. This sets up a series of events that is catastrophic for the family.
To be frank, I read this book because it was short (130 pages), and I could use it for the Canadian Challenge. While not ‘enjoyable’ because of the subject matter, it was thought-provoking, and I’m very glad I did read it. I would recommend it to anyone, not just those participating in the Canadian Challenge.
It’s very hard to describe Messenger without giving away parts of The Giver and Gathering Blue. This is the third book in that trilogy. So I’m not going to say anything about the book, other than I enjoyed it very much but consider it to be the weakest of the three. It was nice to have a sequel that wrapped up (somewhat) the other two titles.
My Sister’s Keeper is about a family with a deathly sick child and how that illness colors every decision they make. How far would you go to keep your child alive? Would you have another baby–even make it a “designer baby” that would be a perfectly matched donor for your sick child?
These questions are explored in the novel from all sides. There are multiple narrators. We get to hear from the mother, father, each sister, the brother, and others important to the story. I really liked the multiple points of view. Picoult takes a tough ethical issue and represents each side quite well. This was my first Picoult novel, and I look forward to reading more.
MyUtopia – June 5, 2007
I liked this book though it totally made me cry much like her other works.
J at www.jellyjules.com – July 5, 2007
I read this book last year, and I was really enjoying it, to the point where I wanted to buy it as a gift for a friend…but the end, I HATED. Seemed too soap operaish to me.Here’s my review, if you’re interested. http://jellyjules.com/?p=443
I’m wondering if I want to read any other of her books, since I felt SO let down.
I was impressed by this book, and especially so as it was the author’s debut.
The following paragraph isn’t really a “spoiler” as it happens in the first few pages of the book.
Dr. David Henry and his wife Norah can’t get to the hospital in time to have their baby, so they go to his own doctor’s office. The birth goes fine and a healthy baby boy named Paul is born. However, they unexpectedly have twins (it’s 1964), and there is a “problem” with their daughter–she has Down’s Syndrome. Due to his own family background of having a chronically ill sister, David tells the nurse Caroline to take it to a “home”. Meanwhile, he tells his wife that their daughter Pheobe has died. The rest of the book goes into their marriage and family relationships in the aftermath of this “secret”.
I loved the story for several reasons. First, it was very well written and was a very easy read. I read the book in a 24 hour period. Also, it is mostly set in Lexington, Ky, and I live only an hour from there. Many of the descriptions of the bluegrass area were things I recognized and appreciated. I related to almost all the main characters for personal reasons. In fact, this book was one I chose to offer about myself for the Something About Me Challenge. David feels like an “imposter” in his professional life, Norah has postpartem depression, and Paul is kept from the knowledge that his sister is alive. These were all issues that I have experienced as well.
The book is a little sad and explores the consequences of family secrets, but it is also hopeful. I look forward to Kim Edwards’ next novel.
I really wanted to love this book, but I ended up only liking most of it and despising parts of it.
March tells the story of Mr. March. You know, the father in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. We didn’t know much about him from Little Women, and really, maybe we were better off that way than reading Brooks’ reimagined version. I did not like her “version” of Marmee, either.
Some of this book is extremely well done. The civil war scenes and the descriptions of the plight of the slaves were excellent. The characters of Mr. and Mrs. March were not. Although they both do have their admirable moments, their “reputation” is severely tarnished in this book and neither is very likable at all. Their “conflicts” felt like they were from a soap opera. I am not one who cares for soap operas and certainly do not wish to feel like I’m “reading” one in a Pulitzer Prize winning book.
I recommend it solely to those who like to read “prize winners” or to those who are Little Women enthusiasts. But be warned: you may wish you did not have these new visions of the Marches competing with the original.
katrina – April 20, 2007
I actually quite enjoyed this book when I read it last year, I think that it helped that although I remember Little Women fairly well I seem to have no recollection of the parents.
"Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." (John 6:27, ESV)
This was Canadian author Marie-Claire Blais’s first book. It was published in 1959 and translated from the French by Daphne Marlatt in 1960. Blais was a winner of the French language Governor General’s award in 1996 for Soifs.
