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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
A literary masterpiece that I deeply enjoyed. It wasn't Proulx at her finest (I reserve that for the Shipping News) but to write a story of this scale and depth is a true feat of storytelling.
Though primarily about trees, logging, and later conservation, Barkskins also charts the history of North America (and a few other territories) from colonial settlement to the late 20th Century. It's a fascinating journey through the growth of the New World, but Proulx never strays from the central subject of forests. This is no Accordian Crimes, where come the latter half of the book a tree is casually mentioned: forests always remain at the heart of this story, and Proulx writes of them with such rich language that excites the imagination.
Though this isn't a character study in the way some of her other novels are, every single person in Barkskins is so well-developed and integral to the plot. As the novel tracks families through generations, I felt a really intimate connection with the characters rather than feeling like I had just seen a snapshot of their lives. There are few "incidental" characters, and even those that are feel so whole and fleshed out.
There were a few things I struggled with. The flow of time is quite jumpy: on some places, stories run in parallel, whereas other chapters capture several generations in a few pages. Additionally, it was at times uncomfortable to see the lives of Indigenous peoples written about so intimately by a white person, in particular the sections around residential schools and their impact. However, I don't think these issues detracted too much from the book.
Though primarily about trees, logging, and later conservation, Barkskins also charts the history of North America (and a few other territories) from colonial settlement to the late 20th Century. It's a fascinating journey through the growth of the New World, but Proulx never strays from the central subject of forests. This is no Accordian Crimes, where come the latter half of the book a tree is casually mentioned: forests always remain at the heart of this story, and Proulx writes of them with such rich language that excites the imagination.
Though this isn't a character study in the way some of her other novels are, every single person in Barkskins is so well-developed and integral to the plot. As the novel tracks families through generations, I felt a really intimate connection with the characters rather than feeling like I had just seen a snapshot of their lives. There are few "incidental" characters, and even those that are feel so whole and fleshed out.
There were a few things I struggled with. The flow of time is quite jumpy: on some places, stories run in parallel, whereas other chapters capture several generations in a few pages. Additionally, it was at times uncomfortable to see the lives of Indigenous peoples written about so intimately by a white person, in particular the sections around residential schools and their impact. However, I don't think these issues detracted too much from the book.
Do not complete. Gave up after a month of unhappy reading. Just did not find it enjoyable, nor were the characters relatable or compelling to me. The only quality that kept me going so long was the presence of so many interesting historical details.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a story that just got away from the author. Annie Proulx, whose compact and concise prose works so well for Westerns, lost her way here. This multi-generational story, of loggers and the people who love them, is just not terribly interesting.
Well-researched historical fiction saga of two families who arrive in North America. Two French men, Charles Duquet and René Sel, arrive in "New France" in 1693 as indentured servants to another French man and from there their paths diverge. The novel covers the saga of the two families, and their relationship to the forests of North America, for over 300 years.
At over 700 pages, I thought the book was too short. I wanted more, but I suppose that is not an awful criticism.
If you're interested in reading this book, I'd recommend that you read some of the other more detailed reviews here, such as Will Byrne.
At over 700 pages, I thought the book was too short. I wanted more, but I suppose that is not an awful criticism.
If you're interested in reading this book, I'd recommend that you read some of the other more detailed reviews here, such as Will Byrne.
Three stars because I admire the undertaking that writing this novel must have been. It's a sweeping epic that follows two men and their descendants from Maine (nee New France) to Europe and back again.
THAT SAID, this book could not have been more of a drag to read. I had to force myself to get through it and it must be said that by the end I was skimming.
I'm not afraid of a 700 page book. But this 700 page book made me want to pull out my hair. Even with the detailed family tree at the end, I kept saying "who?" every third page. Sometimes we can just...say less.
THAT SAID, this book could not have been more of a drag to read. I had to force myself to get through it and it must be said that by the end I was skimming.
I'm not afraid of a 700 page book. But this 700 page book made me want to pull out my hair. Even with the detailed family tree at the end, I kept saying "who?" every third page. Sometimes we can just...say less.
I have just finished Barkskins, I started reading this book on February 1st, before Covid 19 struck the world full force. This is without a doubt the most difficult book I’ve ever read, possibly because of the time I’ve read it in. It is my first-time reading Annie Proulx, and up until half an hour ago, I swore it would be my last. Reading Barkskins have been a harrowing experience. It took me 99 days to finish, 712 pages, which I could easily finish in 28 days whilst working full time.
I confessed to only starting to mildly like the book after page 200, a sentiment that changed again within 20 pages or so. I am convinced that Annie Proulx is an even bigger misanthropist than I am. The only light point in this book are those paragraphs of poetic beauty in which she speaks of the forest, the forest as character, as living breathing, threatened entity is the only beautiful thing about this book. Those paragraphs, only about a dozen of them up to page 686 are the only thing that kept me reading… Never before have I read or witnessed such a frightfully accurate portrayal of mankind as merciless, consumers of nature. The humans in this book are awful; they are either complete and utter monsters or deeply tragic beings without freewill at the mercy of the cruelty of this world. I often wished that everyone would die and allow the forest to restore itself. If I had a smidgeon less self-control, I would’ve stopped reading at page 202. Therefore, I want to perform an act of complete sacrilege by saying: “If you read this book, and you start hating it, and humanity and everything around you, turn to page 686, read the last 26 pages of this book” – you won’t spoil the ending, but it will give you some hope, a great deal of beauty, and a sense of perseverance to finish this book ( and this life). Because those 26 pages, along with those scattered forest paragraphs are the beacons of light sparkling in the utter darkness that is existence which give us the motivation to keep going, to work for good to have hope for a future.
I confessed to only starting to mildly like the book after page 200, a sentiment that changed again within 20 pages or so. I am convinced that Annie Proulx is an even bigger misanthropist than I am. The only light point in this book are those paragraphs of poetic beauty in which she speaks of the forest, the forest as character, as living breathing, threatened entity is the only beautiful thing about this book. Those paragraphs, only about a dozen of them up to page 686 are the only thing that kept me reading… Never before have I read or witnessed such a frightfully accurate portrayal of mankind as merciless, consumers of nature. The humans in this book are awful; they are either complete and utter monsters or deeply tragic beings without freewill at the mercy of the cruelty of this world. I often wished that everyone would die and allow the forest to restore itself. If I had a smidgeon less self-control, I would’ve stopped reading at page 202. Therefore, I want to perform an act of complete sacrilege by saying: “If you read this book, and you start hating it, and humanity and everything around you, turn to page 686, read the last 26 pages of this book” – you won’t spoil the ending, but it will give you some hope, a great deal of beauty, and a sense of perseverance to finish this book ( and this life). Because those 26 pages, along with those scattered forest paragraphs are the beacons of light sparkling in the utter darkness that is existence which give us the motivation to keep going, to work for good to have hope for a future.
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A monumental, ambitious novel that doesn't always work. What is undeniably amazing is how Proulx creates so many vignettes of characters, charting two family lines from the days of the early Canadian settlers all the way to the modern day.
While its overriding theme is clearly deforestation, Barkskins also looks at the displacement of Native Americans, colonialism and the burgeoning commerce of the lumber trade in the New World. It does not judge too sententiously on the whole (aside from in the rather damp squib of an ending), but grieves for the wonder of the bounty North America once contained; a bounty that is no longer known to mankind.
The way the families begin to sprawl from small seeds is a clear metaphor for the swollen mass of humanity that now fills the world, but it is the individual buds of the family tree that nurture the novel and are its greatest strength. A curious collection of characters, each with their own idiosyncrasies that are either more or less eccentric, parade through the pages, from the humble and simple woodcutter Renee, to the advent of the fiercely intelligent Lavinia, the first woman to work in the Duke family business.
As tends to happen with the passing of time innumerable people die, some of natural causes but plenty of others by violent means.
The trouble is that it's hard to keep track of what's going on from generation to generation, especially as the novel jumps between two separate (but intertwined) families. Barkskins feels like it's trying to do too many things, and even with a diagram of the family trees I could barely keep up - and that was without the encroaching complexity of the modern world which begins to choke the novel in legalese and technical terminology. By the end I was definitely becoming bored.
While its overriding theme is clearly deforestation, Barkskins also looks at the displacement of Native Americans, colonialism and the burgeoning commerce of the lumber trade in the New World. It does not judge too sententiously on the whole (aside from in the rather damp squib of an ending), but grieves for the wonder of the bounty North America once contained; a bounty that is no longer known to mankind.
The way the families begin to sprawl from small seeds is a clear metaphor for the swollen mass of humanity that now fills the world, but it is the individual buds of the family tree that nurture the novel and are its greatest strength. A curious collection of characters, each with their own idiosyncrasies that are either more or less eccentric, parade through the pages, from the humble and simple woodcutter Renee, to the advent of the fiercely intelligent Lavinia, the first woman to work in the Duke family business.
As tends to happen with the passing of time innumerable people die, some of natural causes but plenty of others by violent means.
The trouble is that it's hard to keep track of what's going on from generation to generation, especially as the novel jumps between two separate (but intertwined) families. Barkskins feels like it's trying to do too many things, and even with a diagram of the family trees I could barely keep up - and that was without the encroaching complexity of the modern world which begins to choke the novel in legalese and technical terminology. By the end I was definitely becoming bored.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes