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Loading... The Enchanted : A Novel (edition 2014)by Rene Denfeld (Contributor)
Work InformationThe Enchanted by Rene Denfeld
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. A lot to like here. The author deserves credit for a establishing a bleak yet hopeful mood and sustaining it with well-calibrated prose. Certain parts of the book are really quite sublime. However, some of the descriptive passages went on the point of approaching tedium - "I get/Get to the point already" - and the fantastical elements were grafted onto the main narrative in something less than a seamless manner, in my opinion. And yet, more good than not-so-good here, this is a worthwhile book and a promising debut. The Enchanted is viewed through the eyes of a death row inmate who finds escape in his books and in re-imagining life around him, weaving a fantastical story of the world he inhabits. Fearful and reclusive, he senses what others cannot. Though bars confine him every minute of every day, he marries magical visions of golden horses running beneath the prison, heat flowing like molten metal from their backs, with the devastating violence of prison life. Two outsiders venture here: a fallen priest, and the Lady, an investigator who searches for buried information from prisoners’ pasts that can save those soon-to-be-executed. Digging into the background of a killer named York, she uncovers wrenching truths that challenge familiar notions of victim and criminal, innocence and guilt, honor and corruption-ultimately revealing shocking secrets of her own. Beautiful and transcendent, The Enchanted reminds us of how our humanity connects us all, and how beauty and love exist even amidst the most nightmarish reality. It is a critical examination of mass incarceration, violence, and the meaning of justice and hope. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesHarper Perennial Olive Editions (2020 Olive) AwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
A wondrous and redemptive debut novel, set in a stark world where evil and magic coincide, The Enchanted combines the empathy and lyricism of Alice Sebold with the dark, imaginative power of Stephen King. "This is an enchanted place. Others don't see it, but I do." The enchanted place is an ancient stone prison, viewed through the eyes of a death row inmate who finds escape in his books and in re-imagining life around him, weaving a fantastical story of the people he observes and the world he inhabits. Fearful and reclusive, he senses what others cannot. Though bars confine him every minute of every day, he marries visions of golden horses running beneath the prison, heat flowing like molten metal from their backs with the devastating violence of prison life. Two outsiders venture here: a fallen priest and the Lady, an investigator who searches for buried information from prisoners' pasts that can save those soon-to-be-executed. Digging into the background of a killer named York, she uncovers wrenching truths that challenge familiar notions of victim and criminal, innocence and guilt, honesty and corruption-ultimately revealing shocking secrets of her own.Beautiful and transcendent, The Enchanted reminds us of how our humanity connects us all, and how beauty and love exist even amidst the most nightmarish reality. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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But the story, all of the overlapping stories are morally challenging. This book forces you to contemplate the death penalty, death, and what makes us yearn for death or for life.
It also explores the juncture of understanding, compassion and forgiveness. And that not all three necessarily happen together, nor do they need to in order to form deep human connections.
I have newfound great respect for anyone that does this job, investigating death row cases, with even a fraction of the compassion expressed in this book. ( )