Library Journal
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Crace (Being Dead) here tells the story of an unnamed English village located out of time. Walter Thirsk, who lives in the village but is not "of" the village, is the narrator, and his rich, lyrical voice draws the reader into this extraordinary novel. Part allegory, part sharp-eyed commentary on the human condition, this work, which was long-listed for the 2013 Man Booker Prize, finds its match in veteran performer John Keating. His reading is as evocative as Crace's prose. VERDICT This rewarding book is recommended for all listeners.-Wendy Galgan, St. Francis Coll., Brooklyn (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Crace (Being Dead) is a master at creating worlds at once familiar and startlingly sui generis. In a premodern English village, the biblical caution "As ye reap, so ye shall sow" proves true both literally and figuratively; with the hard work of planting and harvesting as backdrop, we see the villagers move inexorably toward a tragedy they've provoked. One morning, Master Kent's stable is found burning, and strangers who have peaceably signaled their presence by sending up the customary smoke plume are blamed; their heads are shaved, and the two men are put in stocks. The only one to show them sympathy is odd Mr. Quill, hired to map the village lands. As suggested by the narrator, Walt-himself an outsider brought to the manor by Master Kent-that mapping heralds a foreboding shift in the village's future that parallels its current troubles. -VERDICT A quietly breathtaking work revealing how fate plays with us as we play with fate; highly recommended. [Prepub Alert, 8/27/12]-Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
The order and calm of a preindustrial village in England is upset by a mysterious fire and the simultaneous appearance of three strangers. The insular community strikes out against the newcomers but turns on itself in a fit, literally, of witch hunting. As slowly paced as the feudal England in which it is set, this latest by the highly acclaimed Crace, winner of the Man Booker Prize for Quarantine (1998), is a tour de force written in the precise but simple indeed, medieval language of its resident narrator, Walter Thirsk. His eye is keen, his observations insightful, and his fundamental compassion evident as he experiences the passing of his and his community's pastoral quiet. This is a spare, disquieting, unique, and ultimately haunting and memorable little novel. Its limited accessibility may restrict its audience, but followers of literary fiction will be reading and talking about it.--Levine, Mark Copyright 2010 Booklist
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Rarely does language so plainspoken and elemental tell a story so richly open to interpretation on so many different levels. Is this a religious allegory? An apocalyptic fable? A mystery? A meditation on the human condition? With economy and grace, the award-winning Crace (The Pesthouse, 2007, etc.) gives his work a simplicity and symmetry that belie the disturbances beneath the consciousness of its narrator. It's a narrative without specifics of time or place, in the countryside of the author's native England, following a harvest that will prove different than any the villagers have ever experienced, in a locale where, explains the narrator, "We do not even have a title for the village. It is just The Village. And it's surrounded by The Land." In the beginning, the narrator speaks for the community, "bounded by common ditches and collective hopes," yet one where "[t]heir suspicion of anyone who was not born within these boundaries is unwavering." The "they" proves crucial, as the narrator who initially speaks for the collective "we" reveals that he is in fact an outsider, brought to the village 12 years earlier by the man who is the master of the manor, and that he is someone who has become a part of the community, yet remains apart from it. There has been a fire following the harvest, disrupting the seasonal cycle, and although evidence points to three young men within the community, blame falls on two men and a woman who have recently camped on the outskirts. There is also someone making charts of the land and an issue of succession of ownership. There is a sense that this harvest may be the last one for these people, that the land may be converted to different use. "[P]lowing is our sacrament, our solemn oath, the way we grace and consecrate our land," yet that way of life may soon be over. "There isn't one of us--no, them--who's safe," declares the narrator, who must ultimately come to terms with the depths of his solitude. Crace continues to occupy a singular place in contemporary literature.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
In his previous 10 novels, the versatile Crace has been heralded for his firmly rooted, painstakingly detailed impressions of time and place, and his latest work is no exception. In fact, the setting-an isolated English farming village, in an unspecified past, with its "planched and thicketed" inhabitants-is so imaginatively described that it stands as the book's richest character. Over the course of seven days following the harvest, the hamlet is alight with sudden change. A mysterious fire has set Master Kent's manor stables and dovecote ablaze. Three newcomers-two men and an ominously alluring woman-who arrived that same night are hastily blamed for the fire. All three have their heads shaved as punishment, and the men are shackled for a week to a pillory. When one of them dies and the master's favorite horse is later found bludgeoned to death, accusations of witchcraft erupt from within the townsfolk's ranks and nothing, not even the secretive Master Kent's halfhearted attempt at rooting out the truth and delivering justice, can quell the thirst for revenge that rattles the once principled town to its foundation. Walter Thirsk plays the perfect unreliable narrator; his deliberations about Master Kent's true intentions, his neighbors' guilt, and his own role in the events deepen an already resonant story. Crace's signature measured delivery and deliberate focus create unforgettably poetic passages that quiver with beauty. An electrifying return to form after All That Follows. Agent: David Godwin, DGA, U.K. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
In his previous 10 novels, the versatile Crace has been heralded for his firmly rooted, painstakingly detailed impressions of time and place, and his latest work is no exception. In fact, the setting¿an isolated English farming village, in an unspecified past, with its ¿planched and thicketed¿ inhabitants¿is so imaginatively described that it stands as the book¿s richest character. Over the course of seven days following the harvest, the hamlet is alight with sudden change. A mysterious fire has set Master Kent¿s manor stables and dovecote ablaze. Three newcomers¿two men and an ominously alluring woman¿who arrived that same night are hastily blamed for the fire. All three have their heads shaved as punishment, and the men are shackled for a week to a pillory. When one of them dies and the master¿s favorite horse is later found bludgeoned to death, accusations of witchcraft erupt from within the townsfolk¿s ranks and nothing, not even the secretive Master Kent¿s halfhearted attempt at rooting out the truth and delivering justice, can quell the thirst for revenge that rattles the once principled town to its foundation. Walter Thirsk plays the perfect unreliable narrator; his deliberations about Master Kent¿s true intentions, his neighbors¿ guilt, and his own role in the events deepen an already resonant story. Crace¿s signature measured delivery and deliberate focus create unforgettably poetic passages that quiver with beauty. An electrifying return to form after All That Follows. Agent: David Godwin, DGA, U.K.