The Douglas Notebooks: A Fable
by Christine Eddie
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Description
Romain was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. At 18, he leaves his family for a home in the forest, learning to live off the land rather than his family's wealth. Éléna flees a house of blood and mayhem, taking refuge in a monastery and later in the rustic village of Rivière-aux-Oies. One day, while walking in the woods, Éléna hears the melody of a clarinet and comes across Romain, who calls himself Starling and whom Éléna later renames Douglas, for the strongest and most show more spectacular of trees. Later a child named Rose is born. Fade to black. When the story takes up again, Douglas has returned to the forest, Rose is in the village under the care of others, and Éléna is gone. From these disparate threads, Christine Eddie tenderly weaves a fable for our time and for all times. As the years pass, the story broadens to capture others in its elegant web: a doctor with a bruised heart, a pharmacist who may be a witch, and a teacher with dark secrets. Together they raise this child with the mysterious heritage, transforming this story into an ode to friendship and family, a sonnet on our relationship with nature, and an elegy to love and passion. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
december 2012 -- this is an odd little book - part fairy tale, part novel. but,,,there's not quite enough magic/magical realism to transport the reader fully into the world eddie has created. another book oozing with potential that was (for me) not quite reached. there were too many dangling moments, or characters that never quite got fully developed.
january 2013 -- re-reading for work, before finishing up my review. i have been thinking about this slip of a book a lot since finishing it just after christmas. it had to percolate for a while before i went through it again.
beautiful. much, much better on second reading. wonderful translation from sheila fischman, who recently translated kim thúy's Ru.
january 2013 -- re-reading for work, before finishing up my review. i have been thinking about this slip of a book a lot since finishing it just after christmas. it had to percolate for a while before i went through it again.
beautiful. much, much better on second reading. wonderful translation from sheila fischman, who recently translated kim thúy's Ru.
Il était une fois Douglas, un grand pin rustique et un Mélèze aux aiguilles vert tendre et une petite Rose qui avait deux papa et deux maman ...
Laissez-vous porter le temps d'une sieste par ce conte canadien positif et frais, bien plus profond qu'il n'y paraît, bref, un vrai conte !
Laissez-vous porter le temps d'une sieste par ce conte canadien positif et frais, bien plus profond qu'il n'y paraît, bref, un vrai conte !
Aug 15, 2011French
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Author Information
6 Works 52 Members
Awards and Honors
Awards
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Les carnets de Douglas
- Original title
- Les carnets de Douglas
- Original publication date
- 2007 (french) (french)
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- General Fiction, Fiction and Literature
- DDC/MDS
- 843.6 — Literature & rhetoric French Literature French fiction Revolution and empire 1789–1815
- LCC
- PQ3919.3 .E33 .C3713 — Language and Literature French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese literatures French literature Provincial, local, colonial, etc.
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 32
- Popularity
- 877,662
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.95)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
