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tracamiller's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This is a tale steeped in southern traditions, memorable characters, and good ol’ generational secrets and guilt. A dash of Creole beliefs and hoodoo, the ancient talisman of social/racial prejudices, a pinch of religious practices and dogma, and a whisper of magical realism provide all the ingredients needed to create beautiful literary gris gris!
Centered around the charming Bonaventure Arrow and his lack of speech, the author relies upon beautifully written prose to describe what he hears rather than what he says. Very descriptive, sometimes very graphic, but always engagingly told, the stories of each character come together in a way that will leave me thinking about them long after I’ve turned the last page.
Centered around the charming Bonaventure Arrow and his lack of speech, the author relies upon beautifully written prose to describe what he hears rather than what he says. Very descriptive, sometimes very graphic, but always engagingly told, the stories of each character come together in a way that will leave me thinking about them long after I’ve turned the last page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Death of parent, Abortion, and Classism
spinstah's review against another edition
5.0
This was great! I enjoyed how the magical realism was used, it was woven into the story very organically. I think the use of a third person omniscient narrator was a good choice, as the magical elements were presented without much fanfare. Anyway, this is the tale of a little boy who doesn't speak, but whose hearing is supernaturally acute. He uses this, along with help from another character, to heal some wounds I his family. The writing is wonderful, I recommend that you pick this up if it sounds at all intriguing.
lizaroo71's review
4.0
The protagonist is Bonaventure Arrow who can hear better than most people, but doesn't use his voice to share what he knows.
The story revolves around Bonaventure's life without his father. His mother and his paternal grandmother raise him in 1950's Louisiana. There is healing that needs to be done on everyone's part (except for Bonaventure) and the unfolding of these story lines is done with congruity.
I love the characters here and I love the lessons of acceptance and moving through grief to the other side and healing.
I am so glad I finally got around to this one. Thanks to Tasha for bringing it to my attention.
The story revolves around Bonaventure's life without his father. His mother and his paternal grandmother raise him in 1950's Louisiana. There is healing that needs to be done on everyone's part (except for Bonaventure) and the unfolding of these story lines is done with congruity.
I love the characters here and I love the lessons of acceptance and moving through grief to the other side and healing.
I am so glad I finally got around to this one. Thanks to Tasha for bringing it to my attention.
pebbles1984's review
3.0
3.5 stars
I started off loving the book, and I still love the idea of Bonaventure and the way he hears, and I loved the descriptions of the sounds things make. The 1950s New Orleans setting was great too! After a while though all the sweetness in the book got a bit too much, I wouldn't have minded if it was a hundred pages or so shorter, and all the christianity in the story started to work on my nerves..
I started off loving the book, and I still love the idea of Bonaventure and the way he hears, and I loved the descriptions of the sounds things make. The 1950s New Orleans setting was great too! After a while though all the sweetness in the book got a bit too much, I wouldn't have minded if it was a hundred pages or so shorter, and all the christianity in the story started to work on my nerves..
ryannkm's review
4.0
"The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow" is about a young boy growing up in Bayou Cymbaline in Louisiana. He is blessed with extra-sensitive hearing that Bonaventure uses to help his mom, Dancy, and grandma, Letice, move past traumatic events haunting each woman.
I love the magical realism in this book, especially how the author described Bonaventure's hearing. A beautiful, affecting book that moves delightfully slow. Highly recommended.
I love the magical realism in this book, especially how the author described Bonaventure's hearing. A beautiful, affecting book that moves delightfully slow. Highly recommended.
saram618's review
2.0
I'm not really sure what my opinion is of this book. On the one hand, the writing was well done and I just kept wanting to read it. On the other hand, nothing ever happened. I found myself 300 pages in and I was still waiting for something (anything) to happen. As person who really enjoys the story as much, if not more than, the writing I can't say I liked this book all that much. There were a lot of possible stories and backstories going on in this book, but none of them felt like there was any sense of urgency. I'd find myself just getting interested in a story line and then the book would shift focus (again and again). In the end I didn't feel like any of the side stories were necessary to the outcome of the book. The writing style was good, the characters were engaging (well, at least Bonaventure was. The others seemed peripheral), and I was even able to accept the magical realism. However, in the long run, I wanted a more engaging story! I'd give it 2.5, but I'm rounding down to 2.
foresturken's review
5.0
I loved this book! Yes, it was very sentimental, but oh so beautiful too. I've only read one other book that was described as "magical realism" and I got about 150 pages in and I still couldn't figure out what it was about. Not with this book, it was like a beautiful long poem that I got lost in. Each chapter was the perfect length and it had a wonderful ending. What a terrific debut by this author!
jenniferlyoung's review
3.0
Good, but not great. The book had such a long, slow build, I almost gave up on it. I loved all the characters, and I would say this is more magical realism than religion. I think my main issue was the hurry up and get it finished ending. Everything was wrapped up way too quickly! Fans of Sarah Addison Allen will probably enjoy this.
chicklit83's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
toastkid's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
hmm i have mixed feelings about this book. the prose is very nice to read, the descriptions of sound are so vivid, and overall it is a sweet, mostly feel-good story. but i feel like some liberties were taken and some tropes were relied upon a bit too heavily. like the idea of a town that ignored jim crow laws feels like the author wanted to avoid having to actually deal with racism in her story, but at the same time many of the black characters fall into the Magical Negro trope and Trinidad even teeters on the Mammy trope as well. i'm not entirely sure if the dialect stuff was accurate either. the author's descriptions of fetuses and abortion feel.... off, and i'm not sure whether her prose wrt that is being used to illustrate the perspective of the characters or to express her own views. overall a bit uncomfortable in this department.
i also feel like some allusions were a little heavy-handed or over-explained, as if the author was afraid we wouldn't get it. it worked okay with the style but i think it would have been better for the allusions to be left for the readers to pick up.
i did find the overall story very charming and easy to immerse myself in, and the writing was well-paced and had just the right amount of foreshadowing to allow me to piece together the story without feeling either impatient or spoon-fed. ultimately it was a surprisingly quick and enjoyable read but not without its problems.
i also feel like some allusions were a little heavy-handed or over-explained, as if the author was afraid we wouldn't get it. it worked okay with the style but i think it would have been better for the allusions to be left for the readers to pick up.
i did find the overall story very charming and easy to immerse myself in, and the writing was well-paced and had just the right amount of foreshadowing to allow me to piece together the story without feeling either impatient or spoon-fed. ultimately it was a surprisingly quick and enjoyable read but not without its problems.