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Review
"Alternating past and present, Evans expertly juggles his twin narratives until they come shatteringly together as father and son yield to the combined weight of the secrets they hide. Combining elements of the prep school drama, the Hollywood novel, the western, and the war story, Evans (The Horse Whisperer) skillfully mixes genres to create a real crowd-pleaser." (Publishers Weekly )
"Ever the master of intense and complex relationships, Evans has crafted a time-traveling plot that admirably juggles issues of identity and fidelity to one's self and one's principles." (Booklist Carol Haggas )
"In his first novel in five years Evans displays a sure hand at drawing characters and their motivations and settings as diverse as a gloomy boarding school, glamorous Hollywood, and the wide-open spaces of the West. This should appeal to all lovers of good storytelling." (Library Journal Dan Forrest )
"The Brave is an engrossing tale that ... suggest[s] that, as Faulkner said, "The past isn't dead. It isn't even past." Fans of The Horse Whisperer won't want to miss this complex and satisfying story. For readers who have not had the pleasure of reading Evans, but are looking to get lost in a big novel with larger-than-life characters, The Brave is sure to fit the bill." (BookPage Kelly Blewett )
"Ever the master of intense and complex relationships, Evans has crafted a time-traveling plot that admirably juggles issues of identity and fidelity to one's self and one's principles." (Booklist Carol Haggas )
"In his first novel in five years Evans displays a sure hand at drawing characters and their motivations and settings as diverse as a gloomy boarding school, glamorous Hollywood, and the wide-open spaces of the West. This should appeal to all lovers of good storytelling." (Library Journal Dan Forrest )
"The Brave is an engrossing tale that ... suggest[s] that, as Faulkner said, "The past isn't dead. It isn't even past." Fans of The Horse Whisperer won't want to miss this complex and satisfying story. For readers who have not had the pleasure of reading Evans, but are looking to get lost in a big novel with larger-than-life characters, The Brave is sure to fit the bill." (BookPage Kelly Blewett )
Product Description
There's little love in eight-year-old Tom Bedford's life. His parents are old and remote and the boarding school they've sent him to bristles with bullies and sadistic staff. The only comfort he gets is from his fantasy world of Cowboys and Indians. But when his sister Diane, a rising star of stage and screen, falls in love with one of his idols, the suave TV cowboy Ray Montane, Tom's life is transformed. They move to Hollywood and all his dreams seem to have come true. Soon, however, the sinister side of Tinseltown casts its shadow and a shocking act of violence changes their lives forever.
What happened all those years ago remains a secret that corrodes Tom's life and wrecks his marriage. Only when his estranged son, a US Marine, is charged with murder do the events resurface, forcing him to confront his demons. As he struggles to save his son's life, he will learn the true meaning of bravery.
Powerfully written and intensely moving, The Brave traces the legacy of violence behind the myth of the American West and explores our quest for love and identity, the fallibility of heroes and the devastating effects of family secrets.
What happened all those years ago remains a secret that corrodes Tom's life and wrecks his marriage. Only when his estranged son, a US Marine, is charged with murder do the events resurface, forcing him to confront his demons. As he struggles to save his son's life, he will learn the true meaning of bravery.
Powerfully written and intensely moving, The Brave traces the legacy of violence behind the myth of the American West and explores our quest for love and identity, the fallibility of heroes and the devastating effects of family secrets.
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3.6 out of 5 stars (40 customer reviews)
25 of 28 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
"A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he's braver...longer." Emerson, Dec 18 2010
By michael a. draper - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Brave: A Novel (Hardcover)
Our first view of Tommy Bedford is when a sympathetic prison guard is escorting him, at age thirteen, to see his mother, before she's executed after being found guilty of murder.The actual story begins in 1959, when Tom is eight-years-old. He lives in England, in a world where his heroes are the cowboy stars of Western TV shows. He owns a photo of Flint McCullough, star of Wagon Train, which Tom cherishes.
Tom is a meek boy who is attempting to cope with a nighttime bed wetting problem. His parents are understanding and sympathetic but they are much older than the parents of his friends.
He's sent to Ashlawn Prep, boarding school, to toughen him up. The school, an imposing, Gothic mansion had been a mental hospital and is a cold, frightening facility for this little boy. There is similarity to Tom Brown in the novel by Thomas Hughes, which took place at an English boarding school in the 1830s.
Tom's bed wetting is discovered by other students and he undergoes such bullying and sadistic behavior by one faculty member that he smuggles a letter to his sister, Diane. He thinks that Diane is the only one who would understand and he pleads with her to get him out of the school.
Upon receiving the letter, Diane is brought to tears with compassion but she's not in position to help. She's a young actress, on the brink of success.
It's not for another year when Diane becomes a successful actress. She has moved to Hollywood, where she met actor Ray Montane, who is famous for his cowboy character, Red McGraw.
Imagine the effect on the little boy, now age nine, when his actress sister, and her famous boyfriend come to the school. Tom's esteem soars but then Diane tells him that she's not his sister, but is his mother. However, at the same time, she and Ray are able to provide a home for him in Hollywood.
The story is interlaced between events of the past and what is happening currently. We see how sixteen-year-old Diane became pregnant and how Tom, now in his fifties, is a divorced filmmaker and writer. The emotional abuse he had growing up has led to his escape into alcohol which ruined his marriage and changed the rest of his life.
This is a powerful, character driven novel by the author of "The Horse Whisperer." The pacing of the story and the description of Tom's life make him and his mother, Diane, memorable and sympathetic characters.
Fans of Nicholas Evans are sure to enjoy this novel. Fans who discover his professionalism will also be entertained.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Gripping, Thrilling Novel, Nov 6 2010
By Steven James - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Brave: A Novel (Hardcover)
I LOVED this book. One of my favorite books of all time is THE HORSE WHISPERER and this book comes close to topping that. THE BRAVE has all the elements of a top-notch bestseller. It moves along briskly and changes time and place frequently, enough to keep the reader moving along and never getting bored. Evans' attention to detail is meticulous, especially all the references to 1960's Hollywood. I found myself rapt in all the people and places he referenced. I could almost feel like I was a part of that era in Hollywood history while I was reading.The characters were all interesting, especially Tom, the star of the book. I also found his mother to be a unique, if tragic figure. The character of TV-western fame Ray Montane was a bit of an enigma to me. He seemed to have good intentions but we all know what the road to Hell is paved with. All the characters play pivotal roles in the events that lead to a shocking conclusion.
I can not recommend this book highly enough. I am shocked that there aren't more 5-star reviews because THE BRAVE really is one of the best books I have read this year. It has a little something for everyone. It is written by a man and exudes masculinity, however the storyline is one that women will find themselves drawn to. I think we all can learn something from this wonderful book. I strongly suggest you check it out sooner rather than later. 5 very solid stars.
17 of 21 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Brave, Disjointed Attempt, Oct 29 2010
By Eric Wilson "novelist" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Brave: A Novel (Hardcover)
Nicholas Evans, best known for his bestselling "The Horse Whisperer," has a gift of creating believable characters and developing them over the course of a novel. He gives his prose and settings a masculine feel, while keeping the themes more feminine-friendly, focused on family and love and jilted relationships. It's a formula that's worked, though it was beginning to feel like, well . . . a formula.In this latest effort, Evans varies his themes and structure, giving us his most ambitious work yet. It's aptly titled, since his approach is brave in its attempt to go into new territory on new trails. We start off with young Tommy as he deals with childhood, bed-wetting, and bullying at an English boarding school. I was thankful for this different direction, and found myself caught up in young Tommy's struggles. The prologue, though, clued me in to drama and violence to come. Sure enough, the story takes some turns within a few chapters, and less than a hundred pages in throws readers for a good twist. It works. But it also feels a bit pedantic, the way Evans spends pages going back to explain how it came to be.
Tommy ends up in Hollywood with his mother and step-father, part of the movie industry scene. He remains relatively unblemished by an era that is known to have been saturated in sexual and narcotic misadventures, but his mother is not so fortunate. The step-father becomes increasingly abusive, and his mother is pushed to make some fateful decisions (yes, this is where the typical Evans comes in). It's really no surprise when she ends up in the arms of, you guessed it, a man in Montana who has a gift with horses. Yawn.
More frustrating than this Evans cliche is his decision to alternate chapters between not only characters but time frames, with very little to reorient us each time the switch is made. We jump from Tommy's young life to his divorced adult life to his mother's teenage years to his own son's fate. Danny (the son) is facing a possible court-martial for his part in civilian deaths while working in the US military. This subplot was intriguing, but felt tacked on in the midst of the nostalgic and self-discovery bits. On a side note, I wish Evans' editors would fix a few British tendencies in the Americanized versions so that we don't have Americans such as Danny saying things that sound patently British.
All in all, Evans gives us interesting characters and settings, but I hope his next book will find a happy medium between the cliches and formulas and the disjointed structure of "The Brave."
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