Prudence

by David Treuer

Paper Book, 2015

Call number

FIC TRE

Collection

Publication

[S.l.] : Riverhead Books, 2015.

Description

Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML:A haunting and unforgettable novel about love, loss, race, and desire in World War II�era America.   On a sweltering day in August 1942, Frankie Washburn returns to his family�s rustic Minnesota resort for one last visit before he joins the war as a bombardier, headed for the darkened skies over Europe. Awaiting him at the Pines are those he�s about to leave behind: his hovering mother; the distant father to whom he�s been a disappointment; the Indian caretaker who�s been more of a father to him than his own; and Billy, the childhood friend who over the years has become something much more intimate. But before the homecoming can be celebrated, the search for a German soldier, escaped from the POW camp across the river, explodes in a shocking act of violence, with consequences that will reverberate years into the future for all of them and that will shape how each of them makes sense of their lives.   With Prudence, Treuer delivers his most ambitious and captivating novel yet. Powerful and wholly original, it�s a story of desire and loss and the search for connection in a riven world; of race and class in a supposedly more innocent era. Most profoundly, it�s about the secrets we choose to keep, the ones we can�t help but tell, and who�and how�we�re allowed to love.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Cherylk
Another book that disappointed me. I was very intrigued to see how the author's point of view on the WWII era involving the Indians and Germans. Seeing as to the author is Ojibwe. I thought he would have a great point of view. I got about half way and this was a long fought half way and sadly put
Show More
the book down. The authors were alright but they did not pull me in. In fact the first half of the story was hazy. I can't remember what happened. The characters are unmemorable. There was not much happening in the first half. The meat of the story seemed to come in the middle but again without memorable characters and there was a lot of cursing that I was not expecting, I could not keep reading. This story was more fluffy then I was expecting I wanted more hard core substance.
Show Less
LibraryThing member muddyboy
A very well constructed story set in rural Minnesota during the period of World War 2. A German prisoner escapes from a nearby prisoner of war camp and the search is on to find him. During the search, there is a tragic accidental shooting of a young native American girl and the novel takes off from
Show More
there and we become deeply involved with the lives of the young girl's sister who was with her that day as well as the group of people who were in the search party. This is a well written captivating book with many unexpected twists.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bibliophile_pgh
Overall the book was good. There were some parts that were difficult to follow as there were parts that seemed disjointed. I had read a review that talked about WWII, race relationships, homophobia etc. The author touches on these but it never seemed to relate as well to the storyline. The
Show More
character Prudence didn't seem to have as strong of a role in the story as would have been expected since that is the title of the book, until the very end of the book. The ending did catch me by surprise.
Show Less
LibraryThing member flourgirl49
This story takes place in Minnesota, which interested me since that's where I live. It started off promisingly, but by the end of the book I was somewhat disappointed. I'm not totally sure why the book was entitled "Prudence" since she plays a small role until the very end. She then takes a major
Show More
role and the people we were introduced to earlier are dealt with summarily - it just didn't fall into place very well, unfortunately, and it left me unsatisfied.
Show Less
LibraryThing member tututhefirst
Set in Minnesota, "Prudence" is a story beginning and ending with a young Native American orphan girl. This framework surrounds the stories of several men of various races, sexual orientations, and educational and vocational backgrounds. The author manages to pack incredible character studies into
Show More
a short 200 pages. The writing style is a bit disorienting, but his use of both first and third person narrators seems to fit the story being told. The setting is world war II, the story is inter-racial relationships, but bottom line it's about love, despair, and growing up without guidance. It's not a happily ever after story, but neither is it so dark and dreary that the reader loses hope. I found it a quick and engrossing read leaving more positive than negative reactions than I expected from the publisher's blurb and other reviewers.
Show Less
LibraryThing member DrFuriosa
A poor adaptation of Atonement-meets-Brokeback-Mountain. Some of the major events are telegraphed so far in advance that you feel no surprise at any of the shocking plot twists whatsoever. The story itself is somewhat interesting, but it's not well handled. Further, the character of Prudence is
Show More
badly developed, which makes her constant sexualization both troubling and suspicious, especially because the men are treated in a way that makes them "helpless" to her wiles and passive in her wake.
Show Less

ISBN

9781594633089
Page: 0.7727 seconds