Customer Reviews

Many Stones

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Many Stones is a multi-layered tale about forgiveness, a process that needs to occur at both the political and personal levels in this incredibly well-told book. Berry is angry, most especially at her father, who has moved 3000 miles away from his family. Now the two of them are on their way to South Africa, ostensibly to participate in a memorial service for Berry's sister, Laura, who went to South Africa to do charity work but who wound up the victim of random violence. When she was alive, Laura was the "favorite" daughter, the daughter that Berry always felt second fiddle to whenever she was in the company of her father and Laura. Berry's father wants to use the trip as an opportunity for him and Berry to make amends, to forgive one another for the wounds they've each inflicted. But, Berry is resistant to doing so. She's just too angry. But, as any student of current events knows, South Africa provides a tremendous example of the power of forgiveness. Berry is over there during the meetings of the Truth Commission, and speaks to a number of people who explain to her that knowing the truth is more valuable than punishing wrong-doers. Thus, the families of victims have chosen to trade forgiveness for knowledge, not revenge. Berry's father obviously hopes his daughter will be so moved to provide the same to him, but as you can imagine, a teenaged girl, who is in pain from a variety of hurts, is not going to be easy to convince. The language of this book is sparse and beautiful. I'm pleased that it was nominated for a National Book Award--deservedly so for taking on such a complex topic and handling it so brilliantly. One last note: There is not a lot of fiction out there that deals with the relationships between fathers and daughters. This is an especially good look at the complexities of those bonds.

The story is narrated by a high school-age girl, named Berry Morgan. The reader gets to know Berry on a very intense and intimate level as she reveals her emotional pain from her parents divorce, and from the subsequent murder of her older sister, Laura, who had been working at a church-run school for very poor children in Soweto, South Africa. Most of the story takes place on a trip Berry and her father make to South Africa to attend a commemorative service to be held there for Laura a year and a half after her killing. The father is a hard-driving Washington lobbyist who had coached his daughters toward being high achievers in school, sports, and careers, but who had placed their emotional needs second to his own. The story interweaves two themes: the passage of Berry from her emotional pain of loss toward acceptance and future growth, and the parallel passage of South African people who are willing to forgive the injustices and horrors of their apartheid era so that they can get on with building a new life of hope. Berry has to learn from some of the people she encounters that one cannot accept being mired down in past tragedies if one is to grow. The story is so intensely Berry's interior life, and she is so bitter at the beginning, that it might have been too much of a closeup if the writing wasn't so good. Coman's writing unerringly maintains the emotion of Berry's feelings and dialogue with her father throughout the story. There are memorable lines, and the tension of wondering whether Berry will work it all out is unwavering. She strikes out verbally at her father every chance she gets, so that at times we hate her for it, but then she reveals her vulnerability and we forgive her and hope she's at least making progress on her journey of healing. Back-story is revealed only as necessary as we move along in the plot, and this makes the reading very fluid. The ending has a feeling of completeness and hope, and is well-earned.

"Home? If I were there right now, I'd reach for my pile of stones." In this story, Berry Morgan uses stones as a relief method, by placing them on her stomach, especially since she has a tough family life. Her mother, who tutors mentally challenged kids how to read, write, and talk, is the only normal person in her family. Her father lives in California with his girlfriend, and her sister, Laura who was in South Africa helping the children down there.... Well, she is dead. She was brutally murdered, only a year before Barry and her father go to South Africa for her memorial service.
One day, Barry's Father turns-up at her home is Washington DC, and has asked Berry to come to South Africa with him for Laura's Memorial Service. Barry goes, but with a major chip on her shoulder. Barry has a major problem with her father barging in on her life and wanting her to come with him on an adventure in an unknown country. While they are there for 11 days, her father has planned a little more than just the memorial service. They go to Cape Town, Kruger National Park, and a little bed and breakfast. She is really snippy with her father, and they really don't get along together will at all. But as the trip goes on, the two of them learn their differences and get along better each day. This book is about how two people learn to get along better and as the days that they are together stacks up.. I would recommend this book for kids older than 12, and even adults, because it is a good book and I would reread it any time, that's how good it is.

Another outstanding book by Coman. (I've read "What Jamie Saw" and "Tell Me Everything" as well.) This novel deals with the "new" South Africa, something I know about because I lived in South Africa from 1995 to 1998, during the beginning of democracy in a country torn apart by apartheid. Coman obviously has been to South Africa and spent some time there because all of her observations are right on the money: the friendly but blatant racism of some (not all) whites; the expressionless faces of most blacks; the descriptions of Jo'burg, Cape Town and Kruger Park. Her observations were uncanny. Then Coman compares the troubled main character, Berry, with South Africa--a difficult feat for any writer, but Coman pulls it off skillfully. The ending packs a punch with Berry stating her anger at her sister's death and recognizing the pain that many South Africans still carry from the apartheid years. What a book! I do recommend it only for older readers because some profanity is used as well as a reference to Berry's ongoing love affair with a "typical" American teenager.

A compelling story by Carolyn Coman, published in 2000. Berry Morgan, a seemingly lost narrative of teenage adversity quite possibly makes this book out to be one of Coman's better pieces. Carolyn Coman is also the author of Tell Me Everything, What Jamie Saw, and Bee and Jacky. What Jamie Saw received a John Newbery Honor Award, and is also, "Laced with spiritual and literal magic," praises New York Times. This intriguing novel depicts the story of a picture perfect family, shattered by the death of Berry's older sister, Laura. She is found to have been brutally murdered in while in South Africa, volunteering at a school teaching children. Berry's estranged father, who until the murder and since his divorce from Berry's mother, hasn't been around much. A year and a half after Laura's murder he decides to completely uproot Berry. He takes her to go to South Africa to attend a memorial service at the school where Laura volunteered. He takes her away from her home, her boyfriend Josh, away from her life. On their journey they do much more then attend Laura's memorial service. Their father, daughter bond strengthens and they learn a lot about each other, Laura, and themselves. They both begin to realize that their problems and grief seem minuscule in comparison to an entire countrie's search for peace and resolution. I enjoyed this book, not only for its plot, its symbolism, and its description, I enjoyed this book for its message.

Many Stones by Carolyn Coman is another outstanding addition to the field of young adult literature. It certainly deserved every award and every bit of praise that it received. It is rare to find a novel of any genre with as much insight into a human's life.

The novel is of Berry, a "normal" American teenager, who has a number of problems. The main two are that she hasn't yet been able to cope with the death of her sister, Laura (who was murdered in South Africa), and she has a terrible relationship with her father who left her family years before. The novel is told by Berry as she and her father undergo a trip to South Africa for the unveiling of a memorial to Laura's memory. Along the way, Coman explores Berry. She reveals the way Berry has reacted to the murder of her sister. She also gives insight into the relationship between Berry and her father, especially in the light of their shared loss. coman also uses the setting of South Africa to great effect. She portays the parallels of the country trying to forgive and reconsile after decades of apartheid with the way Berry feels about the murder and about the attackers.

Coman definitely gives the reader a lot to think about and to chew on. She really knows the teenage mind well, and she is one of the very few with enough talent to translate that knowledge into story. Many Stones is another magnificant young adult novel my Coman and another by British and American novelists.

Berry's older sister Laura wanted to make a difference in the world, to do something good for those less fortunate than she was. So she went to South Africa to teach and give of herself to those who needed her help. While there, she was murdered by a mugger. Berry and her parents never really got over it.

Now, almost two years later, there is going to be a memorial service for Laura and a monument to her will be unveiled in South Africa. Berry's mother can't make herself go to it. Ever since Laura's death it's like she's been missing a piece of herself. So Berry's father arranges to take her with him, to have a father-daughter bonding trip.

Berry is not happy about the arrangement. She and her father were never close, especially after her parents got divorced. Laura was obviously his favorite, the one who was smart and knowledgeable about politics. Berry was the disappointment. She feels like now she is even more of a disappointment, and is not eager to spend so much time alone with her father. Will their trip together help them to grow closer, or will it make even clearer to them their distance?

The family dynamic in this story was interesting. It was sad to see the ways Berry's family reacted to the death of her sister, but it seemed like they all reacted in realistic ways. I liked the details about life in Africa, from the people to the landscape to the tourist spots Berry and her father visited.

I didn't like the writing in this book. The narrative was stilted; I didn't feel like Berry was really giving her actual feelings. It seemed wooden and passionless to me.

To be honest, I wasn't exactly thrilled with this book. I think that it lacked something very important: a good plot. This book just starts, and goes smoothly throughout the rest of the book. I didn't ever find myself wondering what was going to happen next or unable to put the book down.
But still, this book my lack a good plot but it doesn't lack a character change.The main character has a very poor outlook on the world, and on a trip to South Africa to attend a memorial service for her dead sister, she finds her grief deep inside her.
A short read, and if you just want to sit down with a book I would say go for it.

Many Stones by Carolyn Coman is a story about a teenage girl, Berry, who travels to South Africa with her estranged father to attend a memorial for her brutally slain sister. Just describing the plot makes for a long sentence yet somehow the book comes in at a slim 158 pages. This is my main criticism of the novel. It's hard to get into such a deep story about family tragedy so quickly. The reader kind of jumps right into the troubled lives of Berry and her family with little back story until a few chapters in.

Short as it may be, the book stll has several touching moments and may very well be a welcome change for someone looking for a quick read but is tired of the fluff that usually entails.

The novel Many stones deserves a three star award. I
believe this because the book isn't stupendous, however it isn't
terrible. The novel is about Berry, a self-absorbed teenager,
who has to deal with the death of her older sisters Laura, and
her parents divorce. Her sister dies a disturbing death. While teaching children in South Africa, two men smash her head into pieces with a bat. To deal with this, she places stones on her chest as a relief method.

There was a memorial service and a reception in honor of Laura but, Her father, 'The Perfectionist", wants to have another memorial service, which will be held in Africa, at the school in which laura taught. (Berry doesn't like her father because he picked favorites with his daughters, and who do you think he picked? Laura, of course.)To precede with the service they need they need money and what better way, so berrys father thinks than to have a swimathon at berrys school. They raise enough money to continue with the idea. Berrys father invites her to come along to the service and she excepts(even though she doesn't what to.) On their trip, they have many arguments, and they even meet a "real live racist" as berry calls her. But, I'm not going to give it away, you're going to have to read it yourself!

I suggest this book for people 13 and older. But if you don't like books that have tragety and comedy mixed don't get this book!