∎ Download FAR NORTH therouxmarcel 9780571237777 Books

FAR NORTH therouxmarcel 9780571237777 Books

Download As PDF : FAR NORTH therouxmarcel 9780571237777 Books

FAR NORTH therouxmarcel 9780571237777 Books

I dislike giving authors even mediocre reviews because what some might dislike often will appeal to others; and I certainly can't write as well as Mr. Theroux. Additionally what appeals to me at different points in my life, will not at others and I wonder if I was in the right state of mind to tackle this one right now. That being said Far North is a good book. Its about a western-style sheriff, scraping by in a post-world-catastrophe, arctic circle, religious settlement. For me the central theme of the book is this character's struggle with their place in a bleak, brutal, slowly-emptying landscape. I appreciated the world-building, and the author's expertise at developing a unique protagonist but I just couldn't connect. Something about the pacing of the plot felt plodding to me, and even the few moments of excitement felt hindered by the main character's constant internal, existential dialogue. However, the running narration is also where this book shines. The questions the author offers through the main character's perspective are often engaging and left me thinking long after I'd close the book. Its certainly worth reading if you enjoy dark, yet philosophical journey stories.


Tags : FAR NORTH [theroux-marcel] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Unusual book,theroux-marcel,FAR NORTH,FABER AND FABER,0571237770

FAR NORTH therouxmarcel 9780571237777 Books Reviews

I'm not sure exactly how to categorise this well-wrought narrative of life after civilisation as you and I know it has, somehow, dissolved. I simply dislike the loaded terms "dystopian" as well as "post-apocalyptic". They're altogether too freighted with the baggage of other works. Simply put The novel is told in a matter-of-fact first person narrational style that befits the Siberian landscape in which the woman who tells the story of her life has dwelt. It is a post-civilised world, but how it came to be so is none too clear. The narrator doesn't know, nor does anyone she meets on her travels, for certain. There are hints at climate change, overpopulation and a viral/bacterial outbreak, whether natural or man-made is not specified, though Makepeace Hatfield, our narrator, takes pains to let us know that she doesn't care two figs about this distinction without - for her - a difference.

What makes the novel work so well, and makes the story so credible and hit home with such a punch is, again, the extremely well-wrought prose, the fact that the narrator doesn't have some post-apocalyptic axe to grind and the condition of the world depicted being all too credible. The "glass cities" of Makepeace's childhood - the ones in which you and I now dwell or to which we at least live within hail of - are, in point of fact, not going to last forever, as certainly as we ourselves are not going to last forever. It's just a matter of time before somebody, mutatis mutandis, lives out the life described herein.

The book has a, perhaps appropriate, distant feel to it much of the time that leaves the reader detached from what is being narrated rather than feeling pulled into it. That is its only fault, if it is a fault. But the descriptions can be both distant and exquisite

"Around three that morning it started to snow again. It can't have been the sound that woke me up, because there was none. Maybe it was the change of light in the room. It poured out of the sky like feathers from a split pillow big warm-weather flakes."

Though not perfect, Theroux has written a chilly, taut narrative well worth the read.
Sheriff Makepeace Hatfield is a softer, gentler, just-as-dangerous lawman as Mad Max. An outsized narrator, this intrepid survivor delivers a forceful chronicle of a civilization that’s been dismantled by the combustive combination of changing climate, human greed, and resource scarcity. In this exceptional storytelling, Theroux captures dark human foibles along with unexpected acts of goodness. To me the most moving passage is when Makepeace describes Shamsudin, "the value of him, a man who traveled and knew languages, who knew the name of every muscle in the human body..." To drive the plot in a certain direction, the writer inserts several characters with minor roles. They may appear for a short time, but they are never discarded. Every scene, character, or trope is placed with purpose. From seeing the airplane in the cover art, I knew it would feature significantly in this cautionary tale. Theroux channels Atwood in staging technology (science) and religion, those totems that alternately intertwine in reluctant agreement and thrash in opposition. But, the warning delivered through Makepeace is more ominous in its immediacy. In Far North, the action is not reflective of a distant tomorrow. It is now.
Just a brutal, dark, dank, horrible, wretched, depressing tale with such a beautiful ending. I loved the very noteworthy prose that had me e-highlighting throughout. For instance there was this gem, "It was hope. As much as I badmouth people in general and think the worst of them, I'm secretly waiting for them to surprise me. Try as I might, I haven't been able to give up on them wholly. Even though they are nine and nine-tenths dirt, now and again they are capable of something angelic." Or this one mayhap, "He said the truth of a man is the opposite of what he wants you to know about him. If you want to understand someone, you have to find a way to catch hold of his shadow. By Bill's reckoning, the man to fear is the one always harping on about goodness." I'm not so sure I'd recommend this book to just anyone. I think most peoople tend to be less misanthropic than I am and I have never heard anyone else fess up to a last man on earth fantasy as their oldest dream in life. Who knows though, maybe someday I will cross paths with my spiritual doppelganger reading a book in between innings at the World Series with me or something. I came close in game two of the playoffs but this joker was reading, and enjoying the Martian.
I dislike giving authors even mediocre reviews because what some might dislike often will appeal to others; and I certainly can't write as well as Mr. Theroux. Additionally what appeals to me at different points in my life, will not at others and I wonder if I was in the right state of mind to tackle this one right now. That being said Far North is a good book. Its about a western-style sheriff, scraping by in a post-world-catastrophe, arctic circle, religious settlement. For me the central theme of the book is this character's struggle with their place in a bleak, brutal, slowly-emptying landscape. I appreciated the world-building, and the author's expertise at developing a unique protagonist but I just couldn't connect. Something about the pacing of the plot felt plodding to me, and even the few moments of excitement felt hindered by the main character's constant internal, existential dialogue. However, the running narration is also where this book shines. The questions the author offers through the main character's perspective are often engaging and left me thinking long after I'd close the book. Its certainly worth reading if you enjoy dark, yet philosophical journey stories.