- Hardcover: 234 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins Canada / Fiction; 1st ed edition (Mar 31 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0002255219
- ISBN-13: 978-0002255219
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 14.6 x 2.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 399 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #946,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Bergen (A Year of Lesser) explores death, grief and guilt, and the interplay among them in this plaintive, deeply moving novel. Paul Unger, a prosperous middle-aged man living in a small town in Manitoba, wakes up one night to the news that his alienated teenage son, Stephen, is dead. Paul's resulting spiral of depression tears apart his marriage and drives him to isolate himself on his farm, where he throws himself into bee husbandry. When Nicole, Stephen's sluttish girlfriend, comes back to town with a child, Paul cleaves to them with a fierce intensity. While creating a powerful bond with his grandson, Sky, he also seeks solace and answers in Nicole: what exactly was her relationship with his son? Did she love him? Are her current intentions mercenary or genuine? The three form an odd family unit, living on the farm even as gossip swirls about in town and in the Unger family. Paul emerges as an oddly bifurcated figure. At times, his grieving is brought into sharp focus, and the pain of a father exposes itself as biting, guilt-ridden and ubiquitous. Yet he remains curiously dispassionate when confronted with danger, both physical and emotional. Bergen writes with a precision that reveals every detail, every action, carefully depicting Paul's emotional vulnerability and his need to determine how much he is responsible for his son's death and the fate of his grandson. Each of the secondary characters inhabits a tangible reality, whether it's the burly, rather menacing Montanan with whom Nicole trysts or the endearingly pathetic wife of the local constable who propositions Paul in a painfully awkward scene. This authenticity deepens the novel's perspective, allowing this compassionate tale of mourning to be told with graceful honesty.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Following his acclaimed A Year of Lesser (1997), Bergen offers another quiet, moving novel set in the stark landscapes of small towns and Canadian prairies. When his rebellious young-adult son dies, Paul Unger's seemingly tidy, satisfying life unravels. His marriage disintegrates, and he retreats into beekeeping, a longtime hobby. Paul's son left behind a girlfriend and a baby. It's those two who draw him out again, as well as his own wife and daughter, and it's Paul's nearly moment-by-moment scrutiny of these shifting domestic relationships that form the story. The question "Who are we to each other?" lingers, along with larger questions about how best to live gracefully, despite sin, and care for the soul; is it through work, parenting, sex, or love? Taken as a whole, the book loses some of its intensity. Best are the moments, written in Bergen's tender, unflinching, precise language, that capture private revelations between people--a parent's awareness of his child's sexuality; a husband's discovery, in his middle-aged wife's face, of the woman he married. An uneven whole of beautiful parts. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
See the Child,
By nicky (philly) - See all my reviews
This review is from: See The Child (Paperback)
It is hard to find a novel that captures and stimulates my heart to the same extent as it challenges my intellect, however I strongly believe that I have succeeded in this task. I would describe "See The Child" as a diamond in the rough, a chilling-yet brilliant storyline that plays with the innocence on a child, and the morbid thoughts of an adult. David Bergen, the mastermind behind the novel, enable me to in vision the characters and become so attached to them that I sincerely felt that I knew them, and wanted them to prosper and be happy within their lives. At many times, as I vigorously turned the pages to satisfy my eagerness to read on, I had to remind myself that it was only a book; the plot was fictionist, regardless of how I had already put faces to each character. The vocabulary used, sparked an interest of mine. Bergen never attempted to utilize fancy terminology to impress his audience, yet at the same time was so descriptive and emplaced every last action, thought, and emotion in which the characters underwent. As I said in the latter statements, this tool enabled me to grow a strong sense of appreciation for the characters, especially the main character Paul Unger, which in turn allowed me to feel connected to him, almost as if I was his friend. The ideas and dialect behind the novel are quite simplistic, yet miraculously "See The Child" carries such beauty and exquisiteness that makes it truly one-of-a-kind. Doors open in every page that allow for the reader to grow a deeper understanding of the innocent actions of a child, and shows us how gentle the world can seem in his eyes. On the contrary, takes us into the mind, body and soul of true human nature, and mocks our behaviours. To say that this novel kept my interest would be an understatement, and I strongly urge the open-minded souls to open their hearts and mind to "See The Child", and experience a ravishing tale first hand.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
See the Child,
By nicky (philly) - See all my reviews
This review is from: See The Child (Paperback)
It is hard to find a novel that captures and stimulates my heart to the same extent as it challenges my intellect, however I strongly believe that I have succeeded in this task. I would describe "See The Child" as a diamond in the rough, a chilling-yet brilliant storyline that plays with the innocence on a child, and the morbid thoughts of an adult. David Bergen, the mastermind behind the novel, enable me to in vision the characters and become so attached to them that I sincerely felt that I knew them, and wanted them to prosper and be happy within their lives. At many times, as I vigorously turned the pages to satisfy my eagerness to read on, I had to remind myself that it was only a book; the plot was fictionist, regardless of how I had already put faces to each character. The vocabulary used, sparked an interest of mine. Bergen never attempted to utilize fancy terminology to impress his audience, yet at the same time was so descriptive and emplaced every last action, thought, and emotion in which the characters underwent. As I said in the latter statements, this tool enabled me to grow a strong sense of appreciation for the characters, especially the main character Paul Unger, which in turn allowed me to feel connected to him, almost as if I was his friend. The ideas and dialect behind the novel are quite simplistic, yet miraculously "See The Child" carries such beauty and exquisiteness that makes it truly one-of-a-kind. Doors open in every page that allow for the reader to grow a deeper understanding of the innocent actions of a child, and shows us how gentle the world can seem in his eyes. On the contrary, takes us into the mind, body and soul of true human nature, and mocks our behaviours. To say that this novel kept my interest would be an understatement, and I strongly urge the open-minded souls to open their hearts and mind to "See The Child", and experience a ravishing tale first hand.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A deeply moving novel written in luminous prose,
By Mr. Ed in Toronto (Toronto, Ont) - See all my reviews
This review is from: See the child (Hardcover)
I was not far into this novel, which opens with a father's loss of his son and his feeling of guilt about that loss, when I began to feel that this was one of the saddest stories I'd ever read. Before long, however, that feeling changed: the book becomes a delicate, deeply nuanced, and brilliantly written meditation on grief and the human condition. (I know that sounds corny, but this really is the genuine article!) I'm a wide reader of contemporary Canadian fiction, and this is one of the very best and most moving books I've read in years. (For readers of contemporary American fiction, think of writing in the tradition of the later Jim Harrison -- _Dalva_ or _The Road Home_ -- but even better!) This book makes me aware once more of just how good Canadian writers can be on the question of responsibility and the complexities of the family dynamic (think: _Fall on Your Knees_; _Crow Lake_; _Fifth Business_; _St. Urbain's Horseman_; Alice Munro; David Adams Richards). On the evidence of this one book, Bergen is the best undiscovered novelist in Canada. I can't wait to catch up with the rest of his work.
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