10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Tin Flute, December 9, 2002
Shortly after it was published, The Tin Flute surprised Canadian readers and was soon widely read and enjoyed internationally. Its author, Gabrielle Roy, reached out to an audience with eloquent, flowing prose, by describing the very depth of the human condition through the Lacasse family.
Briefly: the main character of the novel is the oldest Lacasse child, Florentine. Her poor family, residing in the slums of Saint Henri, Montreal, rely heavily on the wages she brings in as a waitress. Rose-Anna, her mother, struggles to care for her growing family and struggle through tragedy, while the father, Azarius, is unable to maintain a job. Florentine's life is turned upside down when she meets a handsome man named Jean, an affair that is doomed from the beginning. A crushed Florentine turns to Jean's friend, Emmanuel, for his love, although she cannot return it, as she is still torn over her feelings for Jean. In the original French, it was entitled, "Bonheure d'occasion" which cannot be perfectly translated. However, the English title of "The Tin Flute" is very suitable and expresses the message of the novel from the smallest Lacasse child, Daniel -- his only great desire was to have a shiny tin flute, a symbol of all that he would never be able to call his own, in a poverty-stricken existence.
With this groundwork, Roy paints a convincing and enthralling portrait of an impoverished family, troubled love, and mixed ideals in the midst of World War II. It is a novel well worth reading and will leave you with new insight into the human condition and the brutality of poverty. Although some phrases are lost in the translation to English from the original French, the translation is highly successful in being as nearly as effective as the original.
For related themes (although from very different perspectives & times) you may also wish to explore Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
one of the best books I've ever read, January 31, 2002
By A Customer
If only more books were written like this! The Tin Flute is the poignant story of a young girl growing up in poverty in the slums of Montreal. It is the 1940's, war is brooding. And we are introduced to a French Canadian family faced with unemployment, too many children, and despair. We suffer as the mother, pregnant again, searches on foot for affordable housing. Her daughter works at the five-and-dime and is inlove with a man who holds contempt for her class and social background.
I have read this story three times. It is without a doubt, one the greatest books ever written of its genre. If you enjoyed "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" or "Angela's Ashes" you will no doubt love this story equally well. It is unforgettable.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compassionate, lyrical Quality, October 31, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Tin Flute (New Canadian Library) (Mass Market Paperback)
I read this book in a university class on Quebec literature. I was touched by the compassionate, warm portraits drawn by Roy in this sad, haunting story. Like Shakespeare, she is a mastermind at painting the tragedy of life -- the inevetiablity of loss and pain. Reading this book is akin to watching a painfully beautiful sunset -- you know it will end in darkness but you feel compelled to keep watching in fascination.
I was delighted to find that the grade 10 class also loved the book when I decided to read my excerpts for our social studies section on WW II.
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