Cloven Hooves

Aspects of this book reminded me of both Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye and
Patricia McKillip's Stepping from the Shadows. All three books seem rather
autobiographical in some respects (although certainly not others).
In Cloven Hooves, a girl, growing up in wild Alaskan countryside,
independent but rather neglected, has as her playmate a faun, whom she
(rather unoriginally) calls Pan. When she gets older, she convinces
herself that this was an 'imaginary playmate' and struggles to 'fit in' to
society. She marries, and has a son. As the book opens, she's flying with
her family on an extended visit to her husband's family, where her husband
is needed to help out on the farm after his brother-in-law was injured.
However, once there, the family sets show more their claws in. She can't stand any
of them. They are trendily fashionable, have execrable taste, are bigoted
and controlling. But her husband seems to have no idea or no caring about
the depth of her misery, and sees no reason why they shouldn't stay - even
permanently. But then the faun comes back. He's been waiting for her...
and is absolutely, physically real. But it may take tragedy for events to
run their course.
Evelyn, the main character, is drawn amazingly well in this book. She
makes some decisions in her life that I certainly would not, but
everything she did was absolutely true to character. I believed that what
she did was how she would really behave at all times (as opposed to some
books, where you find yourself screaming 'just DTMFA!', etc.) ;-)
The style of storytelling here is frank and realistic. The themes are
rather similar to that of the other two Megan Lindholm books I've read so
far (The Reindeer People and Wolf's Brother): motherhood, wilderness
survival, and female independence and self-sufficiency, in the face of
controlling elements. (They really are quite different from the books she's published under the name Robin Hobb). show less

At the same time - June 2020 - as this re-issue of 'Le Dieu dans l'ombre', the English edition 'Cloven Hooves' was republished. The French title can be translated as 'The God in the Shadows'. It's a fantastic story about an introvert married woman, mother of Teddy, a five-year old boy. The little family, with husband Tom(my) as an equivalent of Brad Pitt (or so the descriptions told me), live in Fairbanks, Alaska. As it goes with Americans, they don't always live near their parents, but move to other states. So it happened with Evelyn, Tom, and Teddy.

Unfortunately, there's trouble at Tom's parents' farm: They need urgent help with the seasonal work and repairs, because that's what family's for, and Tom's brother-in-law is injured. So, show more they take the aeroplane and a bit of luggage for a short stay at Tom's parent's domain. Evelyn's not really keen on interrupting her job or even leaving the countryside in Alaska, but she doesn't have much of a choice.

The short stay will prove to be a clash of cultures and personalities. Tom's parents and sister are very much into fashion, trends, and lead a very extraverted life. Evelyn is the opposite of all that, prefers nature, poetry, ... In addition, Tom's parents are controlling and bigoting; Evelyn can 't do anything right, in their eyes. A clash of personalities, thus. Tom doesn't notice or refuses to go against his parents in defence of his wife. Evelyn has to undergo and stand up for herself, all by herself, also with regards to Teddy. But Tom loves her and she loves Tom. If you want a comparison: bonobos. Yes, especially because of that, the love-making.

The little family (Evelyn, Tom, Teddy) have to stay at the guest-house, not at the parents' house (heaven forbid!). While Tom has his hands full for weeks to come, Evelyn is soon bored as she has no feeling or connection with the life her in-laws lead. Luckily, there's a large forest nearby and when she ventures into this green zone, she's surprised to find a friend from her youth. Someone she got along with very well, but never expected to see again, as she thought he was a figment of her imagination. The name's Pan and he's a satyr, hence the hooves.

Alas, one day, as Tom takes his son to "work" - as a way to make the child enthusiastic about working at a farm -, and Evelyn has no choice but to make the best of another lonely day, dark clouds soon cover the sky. There was a severe accident with a tractor and Teddy; upon returning late that night, the family doesn't say a word. Neither does Tom. Evelyn tries to find out what happened while she was away - ah yes, away, another excuse for Tom's parents to condemn her - but to no avail. This will lead to her packing her things and going back home. On foot. Without much money. Not even by hitch-hiking or taking public transport, knowing full well she's thousands of kilometres from home. Luckily, there's Pan to the rescue and so a new chapter begins for Evelyn, one that will bring her home somehow (but not without offering Pan an heir, so his spirit can live, as it has for centuries; the circle of life must be completed, after all), but it will make her more determined to persevere and get her life back on track through hardship and a strong will.

Ultimately, all's well that ends well, but Evelyn's life has gone through serious changes, changes that will have had an impact on how she perceives life, her fellow human being, and how to follow a certain, personal course.

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The stories written by Megan Lindholm have a more realistic character, this one more than her other stories (see below). I'm not an avid fan of romance(-infused) stories, but this one is different. one aspect being the introvert-extravert conflict. Evelyn is not one to live in a modern society, where extraverts are in command. 'Le Dieu dans l'ombre' or 'Cloven Hooves' is a story of hardship, of being different from the masses, of finding (or trying to find) your place in the world, of coping with chances and changes, and longing for shelter, for solace when times get rough.

Evelyn's character was very realistic and at times very annoying, also because of her behaviour, her whining. But maybe that was the whole point of Mrs Lindholm, to describe how an - not all, of course - introvert behaves under certain circumstances and what Evelyn's purpose in this life was.

And as Mark Monday wrote: "The faun or satyr exists throughout many mythologies, but it is in Greek mythology where it most likely found lasting fame, where its cloven hooves and curling horns and randy nature were celebrated. And feared. The god Pan is of course the root of the word "panic". This is a book about Pan.
(...)
['Le Dieu dans l'ombre'] is about the relationship between a faun and a human. The faun's nature is completely described, including its sexuality and its life cycle, its special abilities that set it apart, that protect and endanger it. It is clear that this creature, this person, is no human off-shoot. As realistically as Pan is portrayed, Pan and his ilk do not exist in our world." This of course explains better why the French version was given thís title and not 'Sabots Fendus', for example.

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I was sent this book by Éditions ActuSF for review. Many thanks to them for the trust.

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Other works by Megan Lindholm that I've read:

* [b:Alien Earth|2037610|Alien Earth|Megan Lindholm|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1408926924l/2037610._SY75_.jpg|1590168] (my review)
* [b:The Reindeer People|11297113|The Reindeer People|Megan Lindholm|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334087509l/11297113._SY75_.jpg|281793] (my review)
* [b:Wolf's Brother|11297112|Wolf's Brother|Megan Lindholm|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334087883l/11297112._SY75_.jpg|1193400] (my review)
* [b:Liavek|40221834|Liavek|Megan Lindholm|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527441099l/40221834._SX50_.jpg|40226123] (my review) show less

Absolutely loved this book. It's impossible fantasy grounded in reality, if that makes any sense. That is, it's not a romp in faerie, or a quest for the magic sword. It starts out very mundane, and then slides into the impossible. It has a powerful female character, which I like, too.

A wise and subtle book about what it's like to grow up female in our world, and one of those rare books that gains a new layer of depth upon every rereading.

see http://www.sfsite.com/11b/cl140.htm

Ce roman de Robin Hobb, paru sous le nom de Megan Lindholm, est très original. Il a pour thème la nature, dans son aspect le plus sauvage, et l'attrait qu'elle peut avoir pour certaines personnes. Cette nature s'incarne ici dans une créature sauvage, Pan, un faune qui est présent durant la jeunesse d'Evelyn, l’héroïne, qui disparaît ensuite durant son adolescence et une partie de sa vie d'adulte, pour réapparaître ensuite à un moment où Everlyn fait face à des problèmes familiaux.La plume de l'auteur est des plus inspirée quand elle s'attarde sur Pan, sur la nature ; une grande poésie s'en dégage. À l'inverse, quand Evelyn évolue au sein de sa belle famille, tout sonne faux, les situations comme les réactions des show more personnages. L'auteur peine à y décrire des situations crédibles, peine à faire avancer son intrigue. C'est vraiment dommage car dès qu'Evelyn retrouve la nature, on est de nouveau transporté par l'auteur dans ce monde bien particulier, en compagnie du faune qui donne son nom à ce roman. Un roman à deux facettes, une parfaitement maîtrisée et la seconde bien trop laborieuse. Dommage. show less