Status
Available
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Publication
New York : Ticknor & Fields, 1988.
Description
The author of the bestseller The Beans of Egypt, Maine brilliantly captures the vicious circle of poverty as well as the humanity that binds people together in this bittersweet novel set in a small town in Maine.Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.
User reviews
LibraryThing member abirdman
Difficult and maybe under achieved. There are some haunting characters here. Sad, really, and a worthwhile book.
LibraryThing member AnesaMiller
Chute concerns herself with degradations of the working class and working poor in northern New England. Amid material hardships, the message for the female half of the human race seems to be: "Latin men will never be cruel, but they'll sleep with every woman they can get their hands on." This
By contrast, Anglo Saxon men may appear faithful and steady, but they are unabashed sadists prone to molest their daughters (the Blackstone type). As for the protagonists of Chute's previous novel THE BEANS OF EGYPT, MAINE, they seem to possess the worst of both traits. While the earlier book came as a postcard from the southside of Hell, Letourneau's world portrays a mythic hero.
The title character appears only in the final paragraph and there reveals himself as a small, unimposing man, but through the book we've known him as "the Man of Gold"—a deserving patriarch, not a petty Bean tyrant. Letourneau might (probably would) disappoint a woman with unrealistic expectations, but he would never abuse her or her children. Would never leave a friend in the lurch or an unfortunate without a roof over his or her head.
The web of human interactions that characterizes Chute's stories is one I found totally engrossing, even if it draws upon generalizations like those I've tried to sketch above. I would say her work suggests that forgiveness and reconciliation await those who hang on long enough. As for economic improvements, there's a bit less optimism.
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proves true of the Letourneau men and others of Acadian descent. By contrast, Anglo Saxon men may appear faithful and steady, but they are unabashed sadists prone to molest their daughters (the Blackstone type). As for the protagonists of Chute's previous novel THE BEANS OF EGYPT, MAINE, they seem to possess the worst of both traits. While the earlier book came as a postcard from the southside of Hell, Letourneau's world portrays a mythic hero.
The title character appears only in the final paragraph and there reveals himself as a small, unimposing man, but through the book we've known him as "the Man of Gold"—a deserving patriarch, not a petty Bean tyrant. Letourneau might (probably would) disappoint a woman with unrealistic expectations, but he would never abuse her or her children. Would never leave a friend in the lurch or an unfortunate without a roof over his or her head.
The web of human interactions that characterizes Chute's stories is one I found totally engrossing, even if it draws upon generalizations like those I've tried to sketch above. I would say her work suggests that forgiveness and reconciliation await those who hang on long enough. As for economic improvements, there's a bit less optimism.
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LibraryThing member memccauley6
I guess you can include me in the list of unwashed heathens who didn’t think this book was a work of literary genius. I found the non-exploits of the Letourneaus and the Babbidges to be beyond boring, and I could not force myself to finish.
Language
Physical description
244 p.; 22 inches
ISBN
0899195008 / 9780899195001