⇒ Download Gratis The Cure for Death by Lightning Gail AndersonDargatz 9781860493874 Books

The Cure for Death by Lightning Gail AndersonDargatz 9781860493874 Books

Download As PDF : The Cure for Death by Lightning Gail AndersonDargatz 9781860493874 Books

The Cure for Death by Lightning Gail AndersonDargatz 9781860493874 Books

This small novel could be a simple coming-of-age story. Or it could be a more complex structure of Canadian farm life, circa WWII, a small town, reservation Indians and common prejudice, nature's random cruelties and the vagaries of family dynamics.
The Weeks family depends upon one another for all their needs, in a daily battle for survival, caring for sheep and cows, planting fields, and other continuous farm chores, with the help of two hired hands. At a time when most young men have enlisted, the Weeks farms is envied, their son still at home, as well as two young Indian field workers, also of recruitment age. Nearby farms are plagued by marauding coyotes, as well as another "coyote", an animal, according to local lore, that inhabits weak men, causing brutal and barbarous acts against innocent victims, often helpless children. Whether this is fact or rumor, remains a mystery, and no easy explanation is suggested. Further complicating the churning sense of physical and mental exhaustion of farm life is an escalating boundary feud between Beth Week's father and a neighbor, "the Swede".
Beth confronts her own demons and sexual awakening, and discovers an inner core of strength, gleaned from her mother's own stolid self-reliance, a more defined sense of self. Eventually Beth fights off her father's unwanted attentions, and turns her frustration and hate for him into self-determination. He loses the power to stalk her days and nights, as does the frightening specter of the "coyote", a metaphor for the unknown fears we each carry in our hearts, and she resolves to face her fears, refusing intimidation. Some passages actually reminded me of the blunt honesty in To Kill A Mockingbird, recalling the ability children have to look at things (fears) straight on, unflinching. I felt a vague air of threat following me while I read; I found myself anticipating something, on alert. This particular sense added to the flavor of the novel, a kind of edginess I don't often find.


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The Cure for Death by Lightning Gail AndersonDargatz 9781860493874 Books Reviews

I did recommend this book to others altho I like her other book more, A Recipe For Bees
I will pass it along to others to read
This book was highly recommended by some friends and I must say that I'm glad they told me about it. Anyone who love magical realism, good writing and great characters wrapped up in a mystery will enjoy this novel by Gail Anderson-Dargatz.
A year in the life of Beth Weeks, a 15/16 year old girl growing into a young woman craving love and relationship, living in an extremely dysfunctional family and in hard circumstances. Set in the 1940's in a British Columbia rural area, the family ekes out a living on their farm, and Beth has a full share of the workload. The story is told as seen through her eyes in a straight forward as it happens fashion and as such does not offer solutions, explanations or even blame, this is a teenager telling about the only life she knows. I found parts of her story heartbreaking but she does not, she does not have any other world to compare hers to and besides that many of the other characters are far worse off than Beth.
The father has a metal plate in his head from the war and is unstable, crude and has problems with anger, he is abusive to his family and workers, and forces himself on Beth sexually. The mother seems even worse to me, for while she loves her daughter, she pretends not to see what is going on with the father, refuses to believe her daughter when Beth is attacked and stripped by other kids at school, and thinks she is faking problems with her arm when Beth is struck by lightning. Perhaps the mother is incapable of protecting Beth as she herself grew up as a victim of incest also. There are a few good relationships, with her brother Dan, and Billy, but most of the people in this novel struck me as bleak and/or ignorant.
Did like the mother�s scrapbook and recipes, also the First Nations people stories were great. Beth�s ability to keep seeking love and ability to see the beauty in nature made me feel she�ll make it out of there one day, would be interesting to see what became of Beth by the time she was 30 or so.
This is one of the best novels I've read in recent years. Cleverly structured, the book was magical, haunting, stunning, mysterious. A brilliant first novel from Gail Anderson-Dargatz, and I look forward to reading more of her novels. A truly compelling book which combines elements of rich poetry, story telling, myths, and fabulous cooking recipes!!!
Well developed characters
I will read all her books!
This is no warm, fuzzy Little House on the Prairie 75th Anniversary Edition type of book. The narrator is Beth Weeks, a fifteen-year-old living on a remote Canadian farm during World War I. The book is filled with one mentally ill or socially outcast person after another, scraping an existence out of the hostile countryside. And throughout is the legend of Coyote told by the local Indians, the supposed cause of everyone's craziness and evil.

Have you ever seen those nature specials where they show the sea turtles hatching? The baby turtles are trying to make their way into the ocean, but there are a hundred predators waiting to eat them - that is what this book felt like, except the predators are all waiting around to rape Beth. The book would have been better if it had explored any one of the sub-plots more Maud's scrapbook, how John's mental illness affected the family emotionally, Beth's exploration of lesbianism, the magical realism of the Coyote folklore.... And I thought the narrator's voice was inconsistent.
This small novel could be a simple coming-of-age story. Or it could be a more complex structure of Canadian farm life, circa WWII, a small town, reservation Indians and common prejudice, nature's random cruelties and the vagaries of family dynamics.
The Weeks family depends upon one another for all their needs, in a daily battle for survival, caring for sheep and cows, planting fields, and other continuous farm chores, with the help of two hired hands. At a time when most young men have enlisted, the Weeks farms is envied, their son still at home, as well as two young Indian field workers, also of recruitment age. Nearby farms are plagued by marauding coyotes, as well as another "coyote", an animal, according to local lore, that inhabits weak men, causing brutal and barbarous acts against innocent victims, often helpless children. Whether this is fact or rumor, remains a mystery, and no easy explanation is suggested. Further complicating the churning sense of physical and mental exhaustion of farm life is an escalating boundary feud between Beth Week's father and a neighbor, "the Swede".
Beth confronts her own demons and sexual awakening, and discovers an inner core of strength, gleaned from her mother's own stolid self-reliance, a more defined sense of self. Eventually Beth fights off her father's unwanted attentions, and turns her frustration and hate for him into self-determination. He loses the power to stalk her days and nights, as does the frightening specter of the "coyote", a metaphor for the unknown fears we each carry in our hearts, and she resolves to face her fears, refusing intimidation. Some passages actually reminded me of the blunt honesty in To Kill A Mockingbird, recalling the ability children have to look at things (fears) straight on, unflinching. I felt a vague air of threat following me while I read; I found myself anticipating something, on alert. This particular sense added to the flavor of the novel, a kind of edginess I don't often find.