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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Culture Clash,
By
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This review is from: Black Robe: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
If you want to be known for writing a great novel in the historical fiction genre, you must do three things. First you must be able to tell a good story. This one is about a French Jesuit priest in 1643 Quebec, who decides to go on a lengthy and arduous journey--in perhaps the most desolate, dangerous land in the world--to assist in the conversion of the heathen savages. Accompanied by members of the Algonkian tribe, he participates in their strenuous canoe journey down the river, is tormented by illness and by the savages' (the author's word) sorcerer, gets lost, witnesses their hunting and camping rituals, is captured and tortured by another tribe, escapes, and finally gets to his destination. If this kind of thing doesn't boil your blood, well, go ahead and read Proust. Second, you must be historically accurate. Not only do you not wish to have your readers throw your book at the wall with disgust, but more importantly, you want your readers to come away from their experience with an understanding of a time and place which to some degree was previously unknown to them. This book accomplishes this down to the tiniest detail. We see how the savages dress, what they eat, how they eat it, how they camp at night, how they speak with each other, and how women and children are treated in their little society. We learn what motivates them spiritually and realize that the conditions under which they lived had an effect on their beliefs. Beyond this, we get to know them individually, with their all too human quirks and foibles, and we come to feel empathy for them. They are real to us; we respond to them emotionally. The Jesuit priest is no less expertly drawn. He is so devoted to his Catholic religion that he reacts with an almost . . . excitement towards the prospect of dying for it; to him he would become a martyr. But his chosen way of life comes with its own problems: he is not capable of handling his own sexuality or the sexuality of others, and reacts to these events in a guilty, fearful, and indecisive manner. The savages consider him weak and foolish, and in many ways he is. But we also are shown his strength, and unwavering sense of purpose. If, as a novelist, you are able to accomplish the above, you will have authored an excellent piece of fiction. But in order to write a truly outstanding novel, you must accomplish one more thing: the transcendence of the subject matter into universal human themes. In this case, the clash of two complex and utterly divergent cultures and their juxtaposition with each other gives us a new understandings of both. To the savages, baptism is "water sorcery;" to the savages, praying over beads is putting a curse on someone; to the savages, eating the flesh of a dead God in a solitary room is simply foolish; and to the savages, the concept of one God is ridiculous. Of course to the Jesuits the savages appear barbaric, with their sorcerers, superstitions, and bloodthirsty ways. Interestingly, in the harsh environment of the wilderness, the white men find it harder and harder to maintain their faith; indeed, the white companion of the Jesuit father apparently abandons his. But at the same time, in the face of the "Black Robe's" unrelenting faith, the promise of goods to come to them, and the reworking of their own superstitions, the savages begin to move away from their own beliefs. This is not lengthy book nor in any way difficult to understand. Yet it is so well-researched, so understated, and so perfectly realized, that we come away from it with a truly new understanding of a fascinating time of history, an understanding of a foreign way of life, and a clearer understanding of our own culture and ourselves.
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Disturbing, Enthralling,
This review is from: Black Robe: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
A deep, disturbing, thoughtful novel of New France, the very early years of what we now call Canada. A Jesuit priest, or Black Robe as he was called by the Native Americans, heads into the wilderness with some Algonquin guides to reach a mission for the Hurons near the shores of Lake Huron, so deep into the endless and treacherous forest. His life and faith begin to disintegrate in his first harsh experiences in the New World, and his first close and bewildering encounters with the Native Americans and their utterly different culture. Moore writes a lot like Graham Greene and his subject matter is often similar, too. Both are masters of the modern journalistic style of story-telling -- taut, concise, crisp, polished. This is a wonderful read and a insistent meditation on faith and hope, as well as a vivid portrait of an almost unknown part of the North American past. By the way, Bruce Beresford made this into a fine movie -- actually a great movie. It's not often that a director manages that feat. The film is a bit different, even though it is scrupulously faithful to Moore's original plot. I would say that the book is much the better, just because it is so much deeper and fuller, but the film is not to be missed either. Here is a modern author who really thinks and feels the impulses of religion and spirituality in the human soul. Enjoy.
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Unique Book,
By
This review is from: Black Robe: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
Too bad this one can't be rated higher than 5-stars. I first read this one back in the 80s, then seeing the movie. I have both the hardcover edition and the DVD. That's how good I feel this material to be. This book caused me to track down Francis Parkman's writing on France & England in the new world. Later caused me to purchase a few books on Father DeSmet and his work with the western Indian tribes. Though Fenimore Cooper's writings overstated the case of the last of the Mohicans, this writing on the Huron really does document the end of the Hurons as a people. Don't know if anyone will be interested in this review this late after this book has passed its prime. But reading on the Huron experience and the Black Robes stays with me both as interesting historical experience, and enjoyable reading. If you combine the book with the VHS or DVD, the visual aspects make the material more imprinted on your mind. Though Brian Moore is deceased, his works, especially this one, live on. Hopefully many people will yet be interested in this one. Highly recomended. Semper Fi.
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