A Brief Lunacy by Cynthia Thayer  (2)
$12.00
|
A Certain Slant of Light by Cynthia Thayer  (11)
$12.56
|
This item is not eligible for Amazon Prime, but millions of other items are. Join Amazon Prime today. Already a member? Sign in.
|
|||||||||||||||||
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
When weaving baskets, what is more important, strength or beauty? In Cynthia Thayer's startling debut novel, baskets become an evocative metaphor of the self. Beauty is important, certainly, but if a basket isn't strong enough to hold potatoes, it is worthless. Meet Blue Willoughby, a brave and creative girl in the midst of a difficult journey into adulthood. Blue's whole life has been scarred by two events from her childhood: an accident that left her with a limp and a glass eye, and the tragic death of her twin sister just after their birth. The events, though, seem to have destroyed her parents more than they damaged Blue herself. Her mom and dad have all but disappeared from her life. Only Blue's grandfather, a Passamaquoddy Indian, sees her as she really is--strong, vibrant, and lovely in spite of her scars. With his encouragement, Blue learns to weave traditional baskets. The ash and sweet grass cut her hands, making them bleed, but Blue perseveres through the pain and learns to weave tight, strong, beautiful baskets. As she refines her craft, Blue finds the grace that heals her inner pain, setting her free into the richness of her own future. Strong for Potatoes is a complex, deeply moving story that will encourage mature teens and adults to pay more attention to the ways they weave experiences and people into their lives.
From Library Journal
Thayer's awkward if intriguing title refers to sweetgrass baskets made by the Passamaquoddy of Maine. Narrator Blue, who is part Indian, develops a rare skill at basket making that provides some stability and self-definition through a turbulent adolescence in a damaged family. Her coming-of-age involves a coolly adulterous mother, an ineffective father who compulsively takes photographs, an affirming but entirely mortal grandfather, a pregnancy followed by a sexual awakening, and plenty of challenge and painful lettings-go. Two unforgettable passages, both of death, center the book: one is shocking and audacious, the other unusually tranquil. These deaths, along with the uncovered truth of a third?that of Blue's deformed, anencephalic twin sister, dead at birth but a faithful, silent companion in the narrator's mind?force Blue to recast herself outside of a family that now exists only in too many photographs. More promising than accomplished, this debut novel is recommended for Maine libraries and for larger fiction collections.?Janet A. Ingraham Dwyer, Columbus, Ohio
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
When weaving baskets, what is more important, strength or beauty? In Cynthia Thayer's startling debut novel, baskets become an evocative metaphor of the self. Beauty is important, certainly, but if a basket isn't strong enough to hold potatoes, it is worthless. Meet Blue Willoughby, a brave and creative girl in the midst of a difficult journey into adulthood. Blue's whole life has been scarred by two events from her childhood: an accident that left her with a limp and a glass eye, and the tragic death of her twin sister just after their birth. The events, though, seem to have destroyed her parents more than they damaged Blue herself. Her mom and dad have all but disappeared from her life. Only Blue's grandfather, a Passamaquoddy Indian, sees her as she really is--strong, vibrant, and lovely in spite of her scars. With his encouragement, Blue learns to weave traditional baskets. The ash and sweet grass cut her hands, making them bleed, but Blue perseveres through the pain and learns to weave tight, strong, beautiful baskets. As she refines her craft, Blue finds the grace that heals her inner pain, setting her free into the richness of her own future. Strong for Potatoes is a complex, deeply moving story that will encourage mature teens and adults to pay more attention to the ways they weave experiences and people into their lives.
From Library Journal
Thayer's awkward if intriguing title refers to sweetgrass baskets made by the Passamaquoddy of Maine. Narrator Blue, who is part Indian, develops a rare skill at basket making that provides some stability and self-definition through a turbulent adolescence in a damaged family. Her coming-of-age involves a coolly adulterous mother, an ineffective father who compulsively takes photographs, an affirming but entirely mortal grandfather, a pregnancy followed by a sexual awakening, and plenty of challenge and painful lettings-go. Two unforgettable passages, both of death, center the book: one is shocking and audacious, the other unusually tranquil. These deaths, along with the uncovered truth of a third?that of Blue's deformed, anencephalic twin sister, dead at birth but a faithful, silent companion in the narrator's mind?force Blue to recast herself outside of a family that now exists only in too many photographs. More promising than accomplished, this debut novel is recommended for Maine libraries and for larger fiction collections.?Janet A. Ingraham Dwyer, Columbus, Ohio
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
