Customer Reviews

Shadowbrook: A Novel of Love, War, and the Birth of America

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I won?t sketch the plot again as this has already been done above. Several things struck me as I read Shadowbrook. The first was how much popular fiction in the hands of a gifted writer can achieve. The descriptions of those things one can see, the things that might be captured by a cinematographer, are rendered in such beautiful and evocative language that you forget at times you?re not watching the big screen. The things one cannot see, the things that must be coaxed from cinematic image with inference, are conjured by Swerling with such skill that the reader thinks, dreams, smells, schemes and feels along with the book?s characters. This clean access to the ?unseeable? is one of the advantages novels enjoy over film and TV. Ironically it is the element most of today?s writers have sacrificed, apparently believing they must do so to emulate the torrid pace of cinema. Swerling has shown that this is an unnecessary sacrifice, at least for a writer as talented as she: Shadowbrook, while rich in its treatment of the ?unseeable,? moves along at an absolutely breathtaking pace. The depth given by Swerling to her characters and settings leaves you feeling at book?s end that you?ve traveled through time, that you?ve been places and met people you?ll never forget.

I also found refreshing how distant events are viewed from the inside out, i.e. from the vantage point of the characters rather than from a faraway observer smothering us with facts. In Shadowbrook one sees history for what it is: a great human tide that defines us as quickly as we create it.

Finally, I loved the way Swerling shows how our thoughts and actions are shaped by the prism of belief through which we view the world. That prism leaves precious little room for common ground among those who believe differently, as troubling a reality 250 years ago as it is today. One comes away with the feeling that whenever we stumble into a realm that allows us to ?connect? with people of different beliefs, we should know that we are on sacred ground and linger a while. There is much talk of magic in Shadowbrook, both on the part of the Indians and the black slaves that live on Hale Patent. But the magic not mentioned is that this wonderful story exists, and that someone among us was sufficiently ?possessed? to write it.

In SHADOWBROOK, the North America of the mid eighteenth century springs to life in a riveting, violent, and touching novel. With her meticulous research and fluid style, Beverly Swerling breathes life into some of the most famous figures from the era?George Washington, Chief Pontiac, General Wolfe to name but a few. Moreover, she so effectively conjures up the setting that I could see and smell the wilderness of Ohio and hear the noise from the streets of old Quebec. Her two fictional protagonists?Quentin Hale and Cormac Shea?embody the conflict erupting around them: white versus Indian and English versus French. Shea, part English and part Indian, is a particularly moving character. He dreams of peaceful cohabitation between the Europeans and the ?Real People? (an Indian term for their own people) but sees only proof of the opposite in the spiraling bloodshed of the time.

Swerling?s brutally frank description of the French and Indian War?s battles is at times almost painful to read but it only heightens the book?s authenticity and magnifies the suspense. The personal dramas, including a touching love story and a deadly family betrayal, which play out against the backdrop of war make SHADOWBROOK impossible to put down.

Though the French and Indian War clearly sets the foundation for the American revolution, Swerling simultaneously describes the events that led to the eventual foundation of Canada?and her two solitudes of English and French. As a Canadian, I was fascinated to meet the characters whose actions helped shape the destiny and character of my nation.

In SHADOWBROOK, Beverly Swerling reaffirms what her previous novel, CITY OF DREAMS, showed?namely, Swerling is amongst the very best of today?s historical fiction writers.

This is a great combination of history with a great story filled with believable characters -- brothers raised with one foot in the white man's world and another in the world of the Indian. The priests, nuns, slaves, soldiers, and Indians of many tribes all play a part in this closely intertwined plot which involves land ownership, the church and its power, the Indian fight for survival, and a love story. My only complaint might be that the many Indian tribes became confusing and some of the battle scenes became difficult to follow. The plot really does depend on minute details -- sometimes almost too many to remember especially if the book is read over a period of time (just didn't have the time to read -- it really is a page turner most of the time). Overall, I felt this was a better book than City of Dreams -- more realistic, yet interesting characters. Shadowbrook paints a picture of a time when our country was being formed with all the good people, the bad people, and the many in between who were caught in circumstances beyond their control and were looking at the world in the only way they knew. Overall, a good historical read.

I am a huge fan of Swerling's novel 'City of Dreams'. I absolutely loved it.
However, when reading 'Shadowbrook' I felt overwhelmed by all the history (couldn't always keep the Generals, soldiers, indians, and politics of war straight). However, this may be because I am not as interested in the French and Indian War as I am in other areas of history. I am a big fan of historical fiction and of 'City of Dreams' so I thought I would give 'Shadowbrook' a shot. Still it seems well-researched and I am sure it is a good read for anyone who is interested in this period of American/Canadian history.

This book has it all - history, politics, religion, love, family fueds and bonds, war... all described in come-alive detail. Beverly Swerling clearly did extensive research - I learned more from this book about the cultures of the Native American peoples who lived on the land where I was raised than I ever did in school, and more about the "birth of our nation" as well. Swerling has great talent for storytelling - I read this book in about 3 days. The people, places, smells, everything... it all sprang to life.

I could not put Shadowbrook down. I hope she continues to author entrancing books such as this; I will be a lifelong reader if she does. She has managed to turn my eye away from historical fiction set in Europe toward that set in America.

I just loved this, couldn't put it down until the end. I, like other reviewers, learned more about this time in American history, the French and Indian Wars, than I ever did in our public shool systems (which really didn't teach us very much history at all). This book has it all, true love, honor, politics, treachery and intrigue, battles and heartbreak.

Like other reviwers, most of the historical fiction I read is about England, Scotland and Wales and I had forgotten how fascinating all history is, even our own. Along with that, we had the tale of two men, Quent and Cormac who had the to wear the difficult roles of life between two different civilizations, the white man and the red.

All in all an outstanding tale of America. I look forward to reading more of this author's work. Highly recommended.

Having read and absolutely loved City of Dreams, I was anxious to get my hands on Shadowbrook the minute I could and I had it preordered on Amazon as a result. I was not disapointed in any way, yet again Ms Swerling has made the perfect mix of historical research and interest with a blinding story this time of the sultry south. I have a fascination with the historical aspects of her books, always so interesting and with so much detail that you really lose yourself in the time and place. But unlike equally well researched books with an interesting factual basis like the Di Vinci code, Ms Swerling's charaters are living breathing believable human beings and she spins a yarn that keeps you hooked throughout. I really recommend this book to anyone interested in recent history and/or who enjoys a compulsive story line. I also recommend City of Dreams to any who haven't read that yet either.

I started reading this book thinking it could be no better than the author's previous work, "City of Dreams" but soon found out I was wrong. I had made that assumption initially because this novel is based around the lives of two men and a war I was totally unfamiliar with, the French and Indian war. Call me sexists, but as a woman I didn't really want to read a book about two guys in a war-I mean, it sounded a little boring, and I've never really been one from American History, especially historical fiction about American History.

I was wrong. This book is amazing and even better than "City of Dreams." The story is that these two men, Quentin Hale and Cormac Shea are brothers in spirit and fight to save the Indian nations from the British and French. Quentin (Quent) is the second son of a large land owner (the land is Shadowbrook) was partially raised by the Indian tribe of his father's Indian mistress. The mistress' son, Cormac Shea ( called Corm, whose father got eaten in "City of Dreams") is his best friend and blood brother, and they both believe that the only way for the Indian people to survive with the English and French moving into North America is for the Indian people to have the sole right to live in Canada. But, Canada is occupied by the French.

And so starts political wealing and dealing, mystical dreams that foretell the future, and a love story of epic scope. While Quent and Corm fight to achieve their goal, the English and French governments begin to fight over the Ohio territory and soon come to war blows. Mixed up in all of this are two priests, one a Franciscan and one a Jesuit, who work behind the scenes, sometimes in ways that murder and damage people horribly, to insure the future they want for New France. And there is a woman named Nicole, who wants to be a nun despite the love she bears for Quent ever since meeting him in Ohio country and traveling with for a time.

This is an amazing novel, with not one boring page in the whole thing. I am really shocked that this author is not better known. I was never one much for American history, it always seemed like little too much focused on wars and less like the fabulous lives of kings back in old Europe, but this novel has, along with "City of Dreams" made me realize that American history can be just as amazing and exciting and wonderful as European-if it is well written. And this novel literally could not have been written any better. It's exciting, romantic, and mysterious and chopped full of real history about the beginning of the end for Native Americans, and the French and Indian war, which I can now say I understand a little bit. This also contains a ton of information about the state of the Catholic Church in Quebec, and the history of the rivalry between the Jesuits and the Franciscans. If I was a history teacher, I would have all my students read this book to get them excited about learning about this period in history.

Five stars and I can't wait for this author's next book. I recommend this novel to everyone. It is the "Gone with the Wind" of the French and Indian war.

I haven't read a book in quite some time that I just could not stop reading.... this is one of those books. Beverly Swerling creates this story and characters so well you feel as though you are right there with them.

I would like to address what another reviewer said about sex scenes. Yes there is some mention of sex and desire, inuendo about what some of the indians did in the forest and about what the whores did in the back of the Inn, BUT the only graphic sex scenes are what John Hale did to a slave. While it is very distrubing and difficult to read, it unfortunately is what a lot of slave owners did at that time and Ms. Swerling was just keeping with history, good or bad. Sexual desire is a part of life and love so of course there is going to be some mention of it and it was done in a tasteful way. I address this issue because the other reviewer made Shadowbrook sound like a smut novel and it is NOT.

I didn't finish this book. I couldn't. Yes, it's a sweeping epic of the type I usually enjoy, and it may have a satisfying conclusion, but I found the violence far too traumatic for me. There's one particularly brutal rape scene involving a child, written in extensive and graphic detail -- I am still (nearly a year later) having nightmares about it. You might have a tougher stomach than me or a greater tolerance for a "realistic" portrait of slave-owning America. If so, enjoy. Personally, I'd rather stick with Into the Wilderness (Sara Donati) or Outlander (Diana Gabaldon) -- same style and time period, still gripping, still a bit gritty, but books that are fun to read and re-read.