- Paperback: 432 pages
- Publisher: Douglas & Mcintyre; Reprint edition (Feb 18 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1553658124
- ISBN-13: 978-1553658122
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 14 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 408 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#233,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #80 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Canadian > Asian Canadian
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Quill & Quire
Adam Lewis Schroeder’s second novel ranges from France at the turn of the 20th century to French Indochina in the 1930s. Weaving together a host of narrators and timelines, the story primarily follows the paths of two characters: Adélie Tremier and Pierre Lazarie. Adélie is a young widow suffering from tuberculosis. In 1909, she abandons her Parisian home in search of a fabled spring of immortality deep in the forests of Laos. Lazarie, meanwhile, is a romantic academic turned Saigon bureaucrat who in 1936 is sent by Adélie’s army captain son to find his long-lost mother.
The novel’s strength lies in its descriptions; the focus is on immersing the reader in a place, rather than on the plot itself. Poetic turns of phrase abound, as in Lazarie’s assessment of the East: “It is one thing to wander through Saigon to the clangour of automobile horns and say to oneself, ‘This is the East’; it is quite another to whisper it as a thousand-year-old temple juts out from a hillside to vanish the next moment behind the jungle canopy. ‘The East’ is an ever-fleeting thing.” These vivid descriptions give the reader the impression of experiencing foreign environments first-hand.
The many different time frames and locales lend the novel an almost mythic feel, but the narrative shifts are too frequent and abrupt, making it difficult for the reader to become fully engaged in the often slow-paced plot.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.Review
"At first, [In the Fabled East] is leisurely paced, as if suffused with the heat of Vietnam and Laos. But it becomes more dramatic and gripping as Adelie's story becomes more other-worldly. Ultimately, it's a magical story about the permanence of love, romantic, connubial, maternal, and patriotic." (Uptown Magazine 20110725)
"Schroeder's considerable research is evident and the descriptions beautifully written." (Publishers Weekly 20110826)
"The author demonstrates a strong sense of place with well-written descriptive passages that make readers feel they are right there in colonial Indochina with the protagonists...good choice for general readers who prefer a light, 'popcorn' style of fiction set in exotic locations." (Library Journal 20100401)
"Schroeder is a sensitive, postcolonial Canadian alert to the facades erected by suffering natives and bluff imperialists alike." (Georgia Straight 20100312)
"A sublime and often hilarious travel adventure." (Stephen Smysnuik Toro Magazine 20100724)
"No other writer gets the heat, the chaos, the shimmering otherness of the East quite like Penticton's Adam Lewis Schroeder. His second novel, In the Fabled East, is a witty romp through colonial Indochina that focuses on two French nationals separated by time and gender. . . united partly by war, partly by dissolution of empire, but mainly by a mother-and-child reunion." (Nancy Wigston Toronto Star 20100306)
"Schroeder deliciously conjures the mad, hot, stinking confusion that is Indochine, the jumble of native and colonial customs, the bullock carts, betel juice, rickshaws and rice pounders alongside white linen suits, afternoon cocktails and louche French girls with their tennis games and sunstroke. A book to read, a writer to watch." (Kate Wallace Telegraph-Journal )
"Schroeder's considerable research is evident and the descriptions beautifully written." (Publishers Weekly 20110826)
"The author demonstrates a strong sense of place with well-written descriptive passages that make readers feel they are right there in colonial Indochina with the protagonists...good choice for general readers who prefer a light, 'popcorn' style of fiction set in exotic locations." (Library Journal 20100401)
"Schroeder is a sensitive, postcolonial Canadian alert to the facades erected by suffering natives and bluff imperialists alike." (Georgia Straight 20100312)
"A sublime and often hilarious travel adventure." (Stephen Smysnuik Toro Magazine 20100724)
"No other writer gets the heat, the chaos, the shimmering otherness of the East quite like Penticton's Adam Lewis Schroeder. His second novel, In the Fabled East, is a witty romp through colonial Indochina that focuses on two French nationals separated by time and gender. . . united partly by war, partly by dissolution of empire, but mainly by a mother-and-child reunion." (Nancy Wigston Toronto Star 20100306)
"Schroeder deliciously conjures the mad, hot, stinking confusion that is Indochine, the jumble of native and colonial customs, the bullock carts, betel juice, rickshaws and rice pounders alongside white linen suits, afternoon cocktails and louche French girls with their tennis games and sunstroke. A book to read, a writer to watch." (Kate Wallace Telegraph-Journal )
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just loved "In The Fabled East",
By
This review is from: In The Fabled East (Hardcover)
I just finished this complex and colourful tale and loved every bit of it! The characters are genuine and I felt for all of them as I was drawn into their individual dramas. The parallel stories that emerge begin to gel and converge as we immerse ourselves in the rich descriptive text. The riveting story becomes a real page turner and I just had to sit and finish it. Schroeder is an outstanding storyteller and I look forward to anything he publishes in the future.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent read.,
By
This review is from: In The Fabled East (Hardcover)
This book is a total immersion into different times and places, and yet the themes of love and struggle transcend the differences with the reader's world to pull us into that of the characters. I wanted to meet these people, ask them questions, and be a part of their passionate lives and wild experiences (except for the scary parts -- I'm quite happy not to be meeting tigers myself). It's a mystery and a love story, but most of all, an adventure, for the reader as much as for Pierre, Adelie and Emmanuel.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful trip through time and place.,
By
This review is from: In The Fabled East (Hardcover)
Just finished Adam Schroeder's In the Fabled East and loved it. Pierre Lazarie , a young French civil servant with little focus in life, is drawn into the story of Adelie Tremier by her adult son. In his quest to find her, he also finds a purpose for himself. During his journey up the Mekong River, Schroeder fills your senses with the heat, sights and smells of the tropical jungle, its people and wildlife.And then there is Adelie. A woman who had a purpose right from the beginning of her life in France to half way across the world and to the edge of her own death. Schroeder weaves their wanderings together until the two stories that start off 25 years apart are brought wonderfully together. Drop everything, you won't want to put it down.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
