Barkskins
Ratings14
Average rating4.2
"Bark Skins open in New France in the late 18th century as Rene Sel, an illiterate woodsman makes his way from Northern France to the homeland to seek a living. Bound to a "seigneur" for three years in exchange for land, he suffers extraordinary hardship and violence, always in awe of the forest he is charged with clearing. In the course of this epic novel, Proulx tells the stories of Rene's children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, as well as the descendants of his friends and foes, as they travel back to Europe, to China, to New England, always in quest of a livelihood or fleeing stunningly brutal conditions--war, pestilence, Indian attacks, the revenge of rivals. Proulx's inimitable genius is her creation of characters who are so vivid--in their greed, lust, vengefulness, or their simple compassion and hope--that we follow them with fierce attention. This is Proulx's most ambitious novel ever, and her master work"--
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I'm a little late in getting to this book was determined as I loved The Shipping News. This one not as much. It's a family saga spanning about 300 years that began with 2 men emigrating from France to Canada as tree hewers. The men went their separate ways, one marrying a native Indian and the other becoming a well-to-do land baron himself. Their stories are told in alternating sections until at the end there is a connection in the present day. I kept reading because I was interested in the characters but also the history of the logging business and ruination of virgin land in Canada, the US and other countries was fascinating. Proulx's research appeared to be quite in-depth and also gave a focus to reforestation and climate change, etc.
Moments of brilliance and fluidity, surrounded by quite a bit of meandering. I felt let down tremendously by the ending. But overall, an epic, aweinspiring work of a lifetime.
I had to DNF this book at around the 400 page mark. I will explain further in my May Wrap Up Video.
