Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
NYRB Classics (2007), Paperback, 414 pages
Description
Ebenezer Le Page, cantankerous, opinionated, and charming, is one of the most compelling literary creations of the late twentieth century. Eighty years old, Ebenezer has lived his whole life on the Channel Island of Guernsey, a stony speck of a place caught between the coasts of England and France yet a world apart from either. Ebenezer himself is fiercely independent, but as he reaches the end of his life he is determined to tell his own story and the stories of those he has known. He writes of family secrets and feuds, unforgettable friendships and friendships betrayed, love glimpsed and lost. The Book of Ebenezer Le Page is a beautifully detailed chronicle of a life, but it is equally an oblique reckoning with the traumas of the twentieth century, as Ebenezer recalls both the men lost to the Great War and the German Occupation of Guernsey during World War II, and looks with despair at the encroachments of commerce and tourism on his beloved island. G.B. Edwards labored in obscurity all his life and completed The Book of Ebenezer Le Page shortly before his death. Published posthumously, the book is a triumph of the storyteller's art that conjures up the extraordinary voice of a living man.… (more)
Media reviews
IN his introduction to this posthumous novel by a writer hitherto unknown, John Fowles says, ''There may have been stranger recent literary events than the book you are about to read, but I rather doubt it.'' Gerald Basil Edwards (1899-1976) finished this book in 1974, only to have it turned down -
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incredibly -by publisher after publisher. Yet ''The Book of Ebenezer Le Page'' is one of the best novels of our time. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member rmckeown
Sometimes a book we read loses something over the years, and sometimes, a book loses nothing. However, once in a great while, a book comes along which ages like a fine wine kept at exactly the right temperature. Since I first read The Book of Ebenezer Le Page back in the early 80s, I have thought
I loved this book then, and I am even fonder of it now. My book club meets this coming Thursday (8/26/10), and I can’t wait to hear what the others thought of it.
Not much information about Edwards has survived. He was a teacher of literature, and no one knew about this novel until the manuscript turned up after his death.
Ebenezer Le Page was born and spent his entire life on the Island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands group off the coast of France, which became the only British territory occupied by the Germans during World War II. He tells the story of the island as it struggled with World War I and its aftermath, through World War II and the occupation, and on into the 60s with the changes wrought by that turbulent period. Ebenezer is a kindly gent, but he does edge toward the curmudgeon in his later years, trying to deal with automobiles, tourists, banks, and television.
I did not so much read this book, but rather sat and listened by the fire as an old timer told me of his life. He says, as he explains his book to a friend, “‘I have tried to put down the worst as well as the best, but you got to read between the lines’” (374). The honesty, the humor, the passion, the folly, the hard work, the play, all have the feel of immediacy and truth found in few books. Ebenezer writes, “I didn’t want to wake up and find myself dead” (369), and “‘It take all sorts to make a world, my boy; or you, for one, wouldn’t be allowed to live in it’” (335).
Ebenezer has and recalls opinions of others on everything, and one of his funnier moments came in a talk with his friend, Paddy, who worked as a tour guide for the islands. “The most to be dreaded was widows on the loose. Once her husband is dead, a woman gets a new lease of life,’ he said: ‘and she knows all the tricks. Middle-aged couples was easy: the husband did what he was told, or she had to keep watch on him. In either case the woman had her hands full. The lonely hearts was a bloody nuisance’” (311). Ebenezer has his opinion of women, too. “A man got to be careful what he say to a woman; or she will turn it upside-down and inside-out and use it as evidence against him” (186).
Ebenezer always has a thoughtful streak, and really keeps his cards close to his chest. But he did pour everything into his book. He writes, “I doubt everything I hear, even if I say it myself; and, after things I have been through and seen happen to other people on this island and known to have happened in the world, I sometimes wonder about the existence of God: but I know I am Ebenezer Le Page” (143).
This novel requires a leisurely read. The prose is mesmerizing, and a reader can easily become lost in the mind of Ebenezer. I forced myself to put it down at critical periods to relax and reflect on what happened in the last section I read. Sometimes, I would go back a few pages and re-read before jumping into the next chapter. I will read the story of Ebenezer Le Page again one of these days, and I am sure it will only continue to improve. (5 stars)
--Jim, 8/22/10
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about it many times – when I was with my friend Bob (this was the first book he recommended I read), both times when I saw the PBS special, Island at War (a fictional account of the German occupation of the Channel islands from 1940 to 1945), and when my book club recently read The Guernsey Literary and Potato-Peel Pie Society (a memoir of a woman who lived through the occupation). Many of the incidents in the last two appear in Edwards’ fictional memoir. The patience, independence, and cleverness of the islanders showed through in all these works, but G.B. Edwards’ work has the distinction of the voice of an islander who uses his own patois – mixed in with some German, French, and curious phonetic transcriptions. A helpful glossary appears at the end of most editions I have seen.I loved this book then, and I am even fonder of it now. My book club meets this coming Thursday (8/26/10), and I can’t wait to hear what the others thought of it.
Not much information about Edwards has survived. He was a teacher of literature, and no one knew about this novel until the manuscript turned up after his death.
Ebenezer Le Page was born and spent his entire life on the Island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands group off the coast of France, which became the only British territory occupied by the Germans during World War II. He tells the story of the island as it struggled with World War I and its aftermath, through World War II and the occupation, and on into the 60s with the changes wrought by that turbulent period. Ebenezer is a kindly gent, but he does edge toward the curmudgeon in his later years, trying to deal with automobiles, tourists, banks, and television.
I did not so much read this book, but rather sat and listened by the fire as an old timer told me of his life. He says, as he explains his book to a friend, “‘I have tried to put down the worst as well as the best, but you got to read between the lines’” (374). The honesty, the humor, the passion, the folly, the hard work, the play, all have the feel of immediacy and truth found in few books. Ebenezer writes, “I didn’t want to wake up and find myself dead” (369), and “‘It take all sorts to make a world, my boy; or you, for one, wouldn’t be allowed to live in it’” (335).
Ebenezer has and recalls opinions of others on everything, and one of his funnier moments came in a talk with his friend, Paddy, who worked as a tour guide for the islands. “The most to be dreaded was widows on the loose. Once her husband is dead, a woman gets a new lease of life,’ he said: ‘and she knows all the tricks. Middle-aged couples was easy: the husband did what he was told, or she had to keep watch on him. In either case the woman had her hands full. The lonely hearts was a bloody nuisance’” (311). Ebenezer has his opinion of women, too. “A man got to be careful what he say to a woman; or she will turn it upside-down and inside-out and use it as evidence against him” (186).
Ebenezer always has a thoughtful streak, and really keeps his cards close to his chest. But he did pour everything into his book. He writes, “I doubt everything I hear, even if I say it myself; and, after things I have been through and seen happen to other people on this island and known to have happened in the world, I sometimes wonder about the existence of God: but I know I am Ebenezer Le Page” (143).
This novel requires a leisurely read. The prose is mesmerizing, and a reader can easily become lost in the mind of Ebenezer. I forced myself to put it down at critical periods to relax and reflect on what happened in the last section I read. Sometimes, I would go back a few pages and re-read before jumping into the next chapter. I will read the story of Ebenezer Le Page again one of these days, and I am sure it will only continue to improve. (5 stars)
--Jim, 8/22/10
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LibraryThing member RodV
A semi-autobiographical novel written as the memoir of a crusty (yet kindhearted) old bachelor who has lived his entire life on the island of Guernsey, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page is the only novel completed by G.B. Edwards, who didn't begin writing the novel until he was in his seventies.
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Discursive and digressive to the point that you begin to wonder if there is a point (hint: there is), Ebenezer's tale is nonetheless enthralling as you become swept up in his reminiscences of friends, family, loved ones and enemies over the course of an eighty-year lifespan. The German occupation of Guernsey during World War II is at the center of the novel, but that is only a relatively minor part of the story (although its repercussions are felt throughout the rest of the book). The book is really about Ebenezer's relationship to the island home that he loves and to his friends and relations, and his desire to leave a legacy behind now that he is reaching the end of his life. Funny, joyous and sad, Ebenezer Le Page is one of a kind, a truly special book. I've never read anything quite like it before, and I don't expect I ever will. Show Less
LibraryThing member AlisonY
It doesn't happen very often, but every now and again you come across writing that is so unexpectedly honest, true and life affirming that it feels like it leaves a permanent stamp on your soul.
Written as a three-part fictional (or was it???) memoir, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page is like nothing
The first line of the blurb on the jacket calls our narrator Ebenezer 'cantankerous', which had been putting me off picking it up for a long while. I expected a book with a spiky, unlikeable narrator who would spew endless vitriol and complaints. Instead, however, I found him to be a wonderfully forthright but steadfast character, quietly capable of immense depths of love and compassion.
This is not a book with shouty plot moments clambering for attention, but rather it sews together the tapestry of memories and relationships and people that make up the story of a long life and ultimately shape the person whose life it is.
At times in the first half of the book I got muddled on the characters and I found it needed my close attention to keep up with it. I also wasn't mad about this NYRB edition, which was printed with narrow line spacing in a small font which seemed to slow my reading speed per page right down. Despite that, it would be criminal of me to give this novel anything less than 5 stars.
G.B. Edwards' writing was nothing short of genius, and it's desperately sad that this was the only book he left us with. But then again, perhaps it's just perfect that this hugely reclusive and private man should, like the wonderful Ebenezer, leave us with this glorious swan song to enjoy once he was long gone.
5 stars - a very, very special novel.
Written as a three-part fictional (or was it???) memoir, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page is like nothing
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I've read before. Written in the timbre of the anglicised Guernsey patois, this is a novel of enormous heart which leaves the reader with a firm reminder of the extraordinary specialness of an ordinary life.The first line of the blurb on the jacket calls our narrator Ebenezer 'cantankerous', which had been putting me off picking it up for a long while. I expected a book with a spiky, unlikeable narrator who would spew endless vitriol and complaints. Instead, however, I found him to be a wonderfully forthright but steadfast character, quietly capable of immense depths of love and compassion.
This is not a book with shouty plot moments clambering for attention, but rather it sews together the tapestry of memories and relationships and people that make up the story of a long life and ultimately shape the person whose life it is.
At times in the first half of the book I got muddled on the characters and I found it needed my close attention to keep up with it. I also wasn't mad about this NYRB edition, which was printed with narrow line spacing in a small font which seemed to slow my reading speed per page right down. Despite that, it would be criminal of me to give this novel anything less than 5 stars.
G.B. Edwards' writing was nothing short of genius, and it's desperately sad that this was the only book he left us with. But then again, perhaps it's just perfect that this hugely reclusive and private man should, like the wonderful Ebenezer, leave us with this glorious swan song to enjoy once he was long gone.
5 stars - a very, very special novel.
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LibraryThing member lisapeet
Beautiful fine focus on one man's life. I'd say a small life, but no life is small, and Edwards proves this amply. Warm, compassionate, never sentimental... not a feel-good book, but the right thing to read when nothing in the world feels good.
A friend borrowed this years ago, and I'm feeling the
A friend borrowed this years ago, and I'm feeling the
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need to get it back. Show Less
LibraryThing member JimmyChanga
I feel inadequate to the task of reviewing this book. It's like asking me to review a person, which is impossible. But that's what this book is. More than any other character I've encountered in a book, Ebenezer comes fully fleshed. I loved him deeply, despite his flaws (or because of them), and
The book is divided into three parts, and each with 20 chapters, and each chapter is almost OCD-like in their exact length. I imagined Ebenezer scrawling in his notebook, night after night and story after story, and just stopping when he got to the end of the page. Obviously Edwards (the author of this incredible book) was not Ebenezer, but he created a character through which the book is so real that it feels more a product of this character's handwriting and temperament than the author's own. Which is no easy task because Ebenezer is a complete outsider. He is not someone who's read Literature with a capital L. He's lived his entire life on a small island, and that's a refreshingly wonderful perspective in the world of smart, witty, worldly narrators.
The voice here is meandering and charming. It reminded me of listening to my own grandfather recount stories of his youth. They are almost inconsequential in that the stories don't seem to build into a grander narrative. But precisely because of this inconsequentiality they are rich with characterization and unhurried in their depiction of place, speech, customs, and people. But in part two, we see more of a bigger story building. And by part three, most of the important things in his life have already happened, and we are left with the feeling of being out of time--we are stranded on an island with Ebenezer, looking for a bit of humanity when everyone we love has gone. Stranded on an island with strangers, living in the past.
I related on so many levels with Ebenezer. Like me, he's super critical of others, but when he finds someone he really likes, he goes soft and will walk to the ends of the earth for them. The idea of innocents, Horace in Raymond's eyes, and Jim in Ebenezer's eyes--I am not sure if Ebenezer is not himself one of the innocents, in my eyes.
My review truly does not do this book justice. This is one of the most alive books I've read, and I couldn't help laughing and sobbing (sometimes simultaneously!) through parts of it. It really is that good. Or rather, it is beyond good or bad, it breathes. Now is probably a good time to stop reading this stupid fucking inarticulate review, and go get a copy of this book. NOW!
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because he doesn't bullshit. He has lived eighty odd years and he has no time for bullshit, his or anyone else's, and no reason to either. His language is rich, colloquial. Some will say quaint with a negative connotation, but quaint can also be a positive quality in a world where we are pulled apart by technology, tourism, and material goods, so much so that we can't truly see each other for who we are underneath all that.The book is divided into three parts, and each with 20 chapters, and each chapter is almost OCD-like in their exact length. I imagined Ebenezer scrawling in his notebook, night after night and story after story, and just stopping when he got to the end of the page. Obviously Edwards (the author of this incredible book) was not Ebenezer, but he created a character through which the book is so real that it feels more a product of this character's handwriting and temperament than the author's own. Which is no easy task because Ebenezer is a complete outsider. He is not someone who's read Literature with a capital L. He's lived his entire life on a small island, and that's a refreshingly wonderful perspective in the world of smart, witty, worldly narrators.
The voice here is meandering and charming. It reminded me of listening to my own grandfather recount stories of his youth. They are almost inconsequential in that the stories don't seem to build into a grander narrative. But precisely because of this inconsequentiality they are rich with characterization and unhurried in their depiction of place, speech, customs, and people. But in part two, we see more of a bigger story building. And by part three, most of the important things in his life have already happened, and we are left with the feeling of being out of time--we are stranded on an island with Ebenezer, looking for a bit of humanity when everyone we love has gone. Stranded on an island with strangers, living in the past.
I related on so many levels with Ebenezer. Like me, he's super critical of others, but when he finds someone he really likes, he goes soft and will walk to the ends of the earth for them. The idea of innocents, Horace in Raymond's eyes, and Jim in Ebenezer's eyes--I am not sure if Ebenezer is not himself one of the innocents, in my eyes.
My review truly does not do this book justice. This is one of the most alive books I've read, and I couldn't help laughing and sobbing (sometimes simultaneously!) through parts of it. It really is that good. Or rather, it is beyond good or bad, it breathes. Now is probably a good time to stop reading this stupid fucking inarticulate review, and go get a copy of this book. NOW!
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LibraryThing member SimonW11
Cranky old Ebenezer recounts his life story. The flat simple and laconic sentences in Gurnesey English. Seem oddly formal at first carrying little emotional weight. but as they build up into a complete picture of his life with the major events foreshadowed again and again in asides. we gradually
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see inside the man, what he is and what made him Show Less
LibraryThing member HenryKrinkle
A crabby old man looks back on his life. Narrated in the Guernsey dialect, it's hard to follow until you get used to Ebenezer's way of speaking. Odd and wonderful book with a heartbreaking ending.
LibraryThing member deebee1
Ebenezer Le Page is a grumpy,rough, and fiercely independent 80-year old bachelor who lived in Guernsey Island all his life. In his old age, he decides to write his life story and living where he did, in a tiny crop of island, that meant writing about almost everybody.
Rather than an idle rambling
The Book of Ebenezer Le Page is the only novel by G.B. Edwards, who was born in Guernsey in 1899. After his retirement as professor of literature, he chose to live a recluse's life. Edwards wrote this book when he was in his sixties, and it was published posthumously. Not much is known about him.
Rather than an idle rambling
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or a sentimental reminiscing of times and people long gone, Ebenezer's journal is as vivid and as colourful as the characters he writes about. He has seen a lot of comings and goings in his day, the island itself was no longer the same -- it has gone through two "invasions" -- the German occupation during World War II, and the hordes of British tourists in summer. Apart from this, nothing much seems to have happened in Ebenezer's life, other people's lives always seemed much more interesting than his, but he is an astute collector of memories, and what can easily pass as commonplace, takes on a larger than life quality in his narration. He writes about his early life, about members of his large extended family, the gossips which fueled fierce family feuds, the loyalty of friends, births and deaths, betrayal, love lost, Guernsey-men and -women, disillusionment and remembrance. Along all this, we glimpse how an island that was "neither English nor French", lived out the influences of these two cultures on their daily lives -- on the language, religion, on temperament. Good as well as nasty things happened to people Ebenezer cared about, new things arrived on the island that were strange and unfamiliar, and he rejoiced and suffered accordingly in his quiet, stern way. For all his tough exterior, Ebenezer's writing reflects his deep understanding of the human heart, and love for the island which was world enough for him. Ebenezer is at turns tender and funny and acerbic, and just like most old men, he goes on and on and on, but as a good storyteller does, he already has you captured well before, and it is with regret that you reach the end. The Book of Ebenezer Le Page is the only novel by G.B. Edwards, who was born in Guernsey in 1899. After his retirement as professor of literature, he chose to live a recluse's life. Edwards wrote this book when he was in his sixties, and it was published posthumously. Not much is known about him.
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LibraryThing member CarolynSchroeder
This is one of those books that is best summed up as a reading "experience" ~ about the life of one man, and the world around him. Since this is really a fictional memoir of sorts, it does not follow any particular format and that is both its frustration and enjoyment. It is a very plodding book,
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and very dense of prose, but I think much of that was necessary to bring about the nuances of life on Guernsey and to capture the feel of the island. I spent weeks reading this book and ultimately, loved being enmeshed in this unique world. Ebenezer is a character of great fiction, at first blush crabby and against all things progress/technology, but as we get to know him, he is a surprisingly gentle soul with a generous, creative heart. He is just very particular who he gives those things to. Highly recommended, but not a book to zip through, an investment ~ will take plenty of good cups of tea, a few fires and a nice, quiet room (oh, and a cat, or dog, of choice). Show Less
LibraryThing member MSarki
I am going to let this book gestate a bit before commenting too much about it. I will say it is one of the most heartwarming books I have ever read. Though there are many characters in the book it is apparent latter on that the reader becomes somewhat intimate with the ones worthy of the warmest
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feelings. The written quality of the book sneaks up on you. I am giving the book five stars because the book was composed from the author's heart and he didn't much care if we liked it, read it, or not. I am glad he held steadfast in his refusal to change anything. It is perfect in its own special way. I am also appreciative of all my goodreads friends who first made me aware of this book as well as their encouraging remarks that helped in my finishing it. It is an easy book to discount at first glance, but it is a grave mistake if you do so enough to set it down for good. The reward for completing this historical novel is magnificent and is all I can really say. It is a story of a life, and in ways unimaginable, you get to live your own way through it. Show Less
LibraryThing member robertgriffen
A fascinating book, written in a manner which reflects very well the characters in the story. It also gives a first hand account of life in the Channel Islands in the twentieth century. At times it is quite difficult to follow the storyline because characters appear then disappear for some time
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then reappear later in the narrative. Show Less
LibraryThing member BooksForDinner
I am always fascinated by books written from such a personal, opinionated (not in a bad way) first-person POV. I love trying to piece together what other characters in the book think of the narrator, how he is viewed. Do the people of Guernsey think Ebenezer is crazy? A crackpot? WIse?
I often find
I often find
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myself not caring for the endings of novels. Maybe they feel incomplete, maybe tacked on, etc. But this one was perfect; Ebenezer's entire life plays out in the the book and maybe he finds what he was looking for in the end after all. Show Less
LibraryThing member starbox
This is like nothing else I've ever read. The solitary, curmudgeonly old Ebenezer le Page looks back on his life in Guernsey...World War I; the halcyon years before tourism; the German occupation- slave labor and starvation...and then the modern world. Edwards writes in colloquial language- Le Page
There are some pretty horrendous marriages; there is pure platonic friendship of the highest order....it's long, it meanders, but you can't put it down.
How could it end? I wondered. There didnt seem any possible kind of resolution. The end is the best bit....
Utterly superb.
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is just an agricultural worke- yet the characters are so BRILLIANTLY described, that the reader feels he largely "gets" them....even the intensely complex Raymond, who struggles with religion, love and his sexuality...There are some pretty horrendous marriages; there is pure platonic friendship of the highest order....it's long, it meanders, but you can't put it down.
How could it end? I wondered. There didnt seem any possible kind of resolution. The end is the best bit....
Utterly superb.
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LibraryThing member PollyMoore3
Love this shifty old character's colourful story, which covers many years and massive changes in the islanders' lives. As William Golding's cover quote has it "not like reading, but living."
LibraryThing member japaul22
This book was a surprise. It sounds a little boring - an elderly man telling about his life on the island of Guernsey. But the time period, which spans early 1900s through the 1960s, and the unique setting of Guernsey, which changes from an isolated and unique island to a tourist destination that
Ebenezer Le Page describes his deep friendships beautifully and thoroughly, without being sappy or sentimental. He describes the beauty and uniqueness of the island itself without using travel guide language or much landscape description - instead describing how the locals interact with the terrain. He reacts to two world wars without creating a war novel, but by absorbing the deaths and German occupation into the story of Guernsey instead.
It's truly brilliant. The emotions underneath a matter of fact telling run deep. It's both a simple and complex narrative. I really loved it.
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begins to lose its identity is fascinating. Ebenezer Le Page describes his deep friendships beautifully and thoroughly, without being sappy or sentimental. He describes the beauty and uniqueness of the island itself without using travel guide language or much landscape description - instead describing how the locals interact with the terrain. He reacts to two world wars without creating a war novel, but by absorbing the deaths and German occupation into the story of Guernsey instead.
It's truly brilliant. The emotions underneath a matter of fact telling run deep. It's both a simple and complex narrative. I really loved it.
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LibraryThing member tessamatthey
Loved dwelling on this island with the insular narrator, Ebenezer Le Page. What a glorious read! Atypical structure (compared to what I usually read, I guess). I have an affinity for British authors but the voice, which is marvelous, does not feel particularly British. The voice is great but even
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better than the great voice ... what a sense of place! Show Less
LibraryThing member vanjr
I will get straight to it-best book I have ever read. By far. I am not sure any other books come close. It is not just a book about an elderly old coot or a book of aging or retrospection-although all that is clearly present. I don't think it is a book of nostalgia. It is a book about life-a
Thank you Mr. Edwards !!!
PS Who are the Ebenezer Le Pages living around me? Who are the ones around you?
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picture of a recently by-gone era that will never return. It is a book of life-mostly about our shortcomings and failures, but also our pride. I went from laughing to crying in the course of a paragraph. Masterfully written, it is also a story of place. How many move and transfer without appreciating where they are from or the deep richness of "home." From early on till the last chapter there are delights between the lines. In fact, this is the best "between the lines" writing I have ever seen. Finally I should add that while some obvious conclusions and premises of ole Mr. Le Page are absolutely wrong in my opinion, I still love it.Thank you Mr. Edwards !!!
PS Who are the Ebenezer Le Pages living around me? Who are the ones around you?
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LibraryThing member TimBazzett
I spent about a week reading this book, and I was sorry to come to the end of it. I was completely absorbed by and caught up in THE BOOK OF EBENEZER LE PAGE, which was G.B. Edward's only book, and was not published until a few years after his death. Ebenezer's plain and unadorned story of his life,
Footnote: I was one of those rare students who enjoyed George Eliot's SILAS MARNER, assigned reading in high school, nearly sixty years ago now, and I thought about Silas and his gold as I made my way through Ebenezer's story, because a lot of interesting parallels could be drawn between the two books. I thought too of TOM WEDDERBURN'S LIFE, an obscure, self-published novel by Theodore Judson, a Wyoming school teacher better known for his sci-fi nvels. It's a book I loved and try to promote at every opportunity. Both Tom and Ebenezer expressed doubt that anyone would ever read their stories. And yet one more book that came to mind as I read Ebenezer's story was Australian A.B. Facey's classic outback memoir, A FORTUNATE LIFE. Loved that one too.
But enough, I suppose. But hey, I should also thank author/bookman James Mustich, whose extraordinary book, 1,000 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU DIE, alerted me to this G.B. Edwards classic. THE BOOK OF EBENEZER LE PAGE is just so damn GOOD! Read this book! My very highest recommendation.
- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
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all lived on the British Channel isle of Guernsey, encompasses both World Wars and up into the 1960s and the commercialization of the tiny island, and is told in the mixed English-French patois of a Guernsey man. (A useful glossary is provided.) Looking back on his life, Ebenezer, a lifelong bachelor, tells of his closest friendships (some with homoerotic overtones), his various experiences with women and the one great love of his life, his enduring close ties to his mother and sister, and more. A "grower" by profession, he owns his own greenhouse, where he slowly amassed a small fortune in gold sovereigns, which he buries during the Second World War, to hide it from the occupying Germans. (Guernsey was the only part of Britain to be occupied by the Germans.) Ebenezer has much to tell too about friends and multiple cousins, close and distant, on an island small enough to make almost everyone relatives by blood or marriage. He tells of dear friends and relatives lost in the Great War, and the hunger, cruelties and privations endured under German occupation during the Second War. And, finally, of the loneliness of his last years as he reaches out for connections, trying to find meaning in his long life.Footnote: I was one of those rare students who enjoyed George Eliot's SILAS MARNER, assigned reading in high school, nearly sixty years ago now, and I thought about Silas and his gold as I made my way through Ebenezer's story, because a lot of interesting parallels could be drawn between the two books. I thought too of TOM WEDDERBURN'S LIFE, an obscure, self-published novel by Theodore Judson, a Wyoming school teacher better known for his sci-fi nvels. It's a book I loved and try to promote at every opportunity. Both Tom and Ebenezer expressed doubt that anyone would ever read their stories. And yet one more book that came to mind as I read Ebenezer's story was Australian A.B. Facey's classic outback memoir, A FORTUNATE LIFE. Loved that one too.
But enough, I suppose. But hey, I should also thank author/bookman James Mustich, whose extraordinary book, 1,000 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU DIE, alerted me to this G.B. Edwards classic. THE BOOK OF EBENEZER LE PAGE is just so damn GOOD! Read this book! My very highest recommendation.
- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
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LibraryThing member Esta1923
This splendid novel was published in 1981, several years after its author's death. It is the only book he wrote, and an unusually vivid portrait of an island and its people.
G. B. Edwards describes life on Guernsey as seen in retrospect by Ebenezer Le Page. He gives Ebenezer a wonderfully resonant
He says he has "lived too long," but this longevity enables him to review and assess complicated relationships. There have been many during his lifetime.
The years 1890-1970 saw great changes all over the world. Two major wars, the transition from horse to motor, the acceleration of communication: these impacted people everywhere. The island of Guernsey was drastically impacted. Ebenezer does not think all changes are progress. He especially resents Guernsey's loss of isolation when it becomes a tourist haven.
G. B. Edwards writes: "The Book of Ebenezer Le Page ends sometime in the mid 1960s. . . He is stingy with dates." To his author, and to his readers, Ebenezer is real. He lives even now in the pages of his book.
G. B. Edwards describes life on Guernsey as seen in retrospect by Ebenezer Le Page. He gives Ebenezer a wonderfully resonant
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voice. Although others might view things differently, Eb is a determined man, writing secretly in notebooks his account of events (and his firm opinions). He has on a mantelpiece two china dogs (Family Keepsakes). "When I write down anything wicked, one of them looks very serious; but the other one, he wink."He says he has "lived too long," but this longevity enables him to review and assess complicated relationships. There have been many during his lifetime.
The years 1890-1970 saw great changes all over the world. Two major wars, the transition from horse to motor, the acceleration of communication: these impacted people everywhere. The island of Guernsey was drastically impacted. Ebenezer does not think all changes are progress. He especially resents Guernsey's loss of isolation when it becomes a tourist haven.
G. B. Edwards writes: "The Book of Ebenezer Le Page ends sometime in the mid 1960s. . . He is stingy with dates." To his author, and to his readers, Ebenezer is real. He lives even now in the pages of his book.
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LibraryThing member stef7sa
stopped at about a third, after having finished part one. the book lacks structure and meanders on without a clear line or plot. it is more of a diary than a novel, entertaining for a while, but too monotonous in the end.
LibraryThing member Rebeck
Completely original. Spectacular language. Fiction. Takes place on Channel Island of Guernsey. Old man, Ebenezer, tells story of his life and of others on the island.
LibraryThing member Widsith
My impression of Guernsey, from spending a few weeks there as a journalist some years back, was that it was an island with sixty-five thousand people and barely a dozen surnames between them. You get the same idea reading The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, all the characters of which are continually
It has the feel of a sprawling family saga, even though it only covers the lifespan of one (enviably long-lived) Guernseyman down to the 1960s. The narrative mode is simple and declarative, and a good example (pace the advice of countless writers' groups) that telling rather than showing can be a nicely effective way of writing a novel when the narrative voice is sufficiently interesting. Themes and encounters occur and recur in different iterations through the story as Ebenezer circles around the things that seem to have had the most meaning for him. Although he is not a big thinker – he's a practical person rather than a philosopher – he still reasons his way to a kind of simple epiphany at the end, and in fact the ending is one of the most accomplished and moving parts of the book. The language throughout is simple but endearing, larded with Guernsey terms like ‘ormering’, ‘terpid’ or ‘green-bed’ as well as with flashes of that peculiar Romance dialect called by Ebenezer patois and known to linguists as Guernésiais. It's certainly the most interesting novel to come out of Guernsey since Hugo's Les Travailleurs de la Mer, and contains an interesting potted history of the island through two world wars and the start of the tourism boom. It's a good old-fashioned novel — wise, gentle, engaging, and a window on a part of Europe and a style of life that doesn't usually get much literary attention.
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discovered to be distant third or fourth cousins of each other. I like this novel, but it didn't make quite the impreession on me that it seems to have made on others – I wonder if the dramatic story of how it came to light at the very end of the author's life just made me want it to be more than it is. What it is is enough – a good book with a likeable and genuine central character.It has the feel of a sprawling family saga, even though it only covers the lifespan of one (enviably long-lived) Guernseyman down to the 1960s. The narrative mode is simple and declarative, and a good example (pace the advice of countless writers' groups) that telling rather than showing can be a nicely effective way of writing a novel when the narrative voice is sufficiently interesting. Themes and encounters occur and recur in different iterations through the story as Ebenezer circles around the things that seem to have had the most meaning for him. Although he is not a big thinker – he's a practical person rather than a philosopher – he still reasons his way to a kind of simple epiphany at the end, and in fact the ending is one of the most accomplished and moving parts of the book. The language throughout is simple but endearing, larded with Guernsey terms like ‘ormering’, ‘terpid’ or ‘green-bed’ as well as with flashes of that peculiar Romance dialect called by Ebenezer patois and known to linguists as Guernésiais. It's certainly the most interesting novel to come out of Guernsey since Hugo's Les Travailleurs de la Mer, and contains an interesting potted history of the island through two world wars and the start of the tourism boom. It's a good old-fashioned novel — wise, gentle, engaging, and a window on a part of Europe and a style of life that doesn't usually get much literary attention.
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LibraryThing member overthemoon
For the past few weeks I have been spending my evenings with old Ebenezer at his kitchen table, listening to him reminiscing about the Guernsey of his childhood, about his friends and family, the people he liked and those he didn't, the changes wrought by World War I and then the German Occupation
Of course I didn't really listen to him; I was reading the three books he wrote when he found himself alone after his sister Tabitha died. But it felt as if I could hear his voice, with his quaint turns of speech,his humbleness and his determined attitude.
And then, what is remarkable, is realising that it is not Ebenezer writing at all, but the mysterious G.B. Edwards who has slid under the skin of this venerable and only slightly curmudgeonly Guernseyman.
This publication, by Extraordinary Editions, is very beautiful, with careful typesetting, an insightful introduction, a glossary of terms, and perfect illustrations by Charlie Buchanan. I thought at first that Tabitha looked too young, then turned the page to see that Ebenezer described her face as that of a young girl. I did notice a few minor flaws: uncomfortable word splits such as an-yone and re-ally, a font size mistake in the cascading first lines of one of the early chapters, and though Ebenezer says quite clearly that he wrote THE PROPERTY OF NEVILLE FALLA in capital letters, the dedication page has it hand-written in cursive. Well, there has to be an imperfection through which our soul can escape and fly to heaven. I'd like to meet Ebenezer up there.
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of the island, and the more recent invasion of tourists, modern housing, roads, cars and the dreaded T.V. Ebenezer contented himself without any of these mod cons. I travelled with him on foot or by island bus to visit vague relatives, in an attempt to find someone to inherit his house, greenhouses, land, the money stashed away under a board in the grandfather clock and the gold sovereigns buried in a tin beneath the apple tree. I cried with him, sometimes not at the things he said, but what he didn't say. And he made me laugh, for instance when he decided it was time for bed but hoped he wouldn't wake up in the morning and find himself dead.Of course I didn't really listen to him; I was reading the three books he wrote when he found himself alone after his sister Tabitha died. But it felt as if I could hear his voice, with his quaint turns of speech,his humbleness and his determined attitude.
And then, what is remarkable, is realising that it is not Ebenezer writing at all, but the mysterious G.B. Edwards who has slid under the skin of this venerable and only slightly curmudgeonly Guernseyman.
This publication, by Extraordinary Editions, is very beautiful, with careful typesetting, an insightful introduction, a glossary of terms, and perfect illustrations by Charlie Buchanan. I thought at first that Tabitha looked too young, then turned the page to see that Ebenezer described her face as that of a young girl. I did notice a few minor flaws: uncomfortable word splits such as an-yone and re-ally, a font size mistake in the cascading first lines of one of the early chapters, and though Ebenezer says quite clearly that he wrote THE PROPERTY OF NEVILLE FALLA in capital letters, the dedication page has it hand-written in cursive. Well, there has to be an imperfection through which our soul can escape and fly to heaven. I'd like to meet Ebenezer up there.
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Subjects
Awards
Language
Original publication date
1981
Physical description
432 p.; 7.96 inches
ISBN
1590172337 / 9781590172339