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frances_ab's review
4.0
3.5 stars, actually, but I'm going to give it the upgrade for this system as I think this book is well worth reading.
Jimmy Blanchard is a Canadian soldier home from Afghanistan who believes that he is the living embodiment of James Wolfe, the British Commander killed on the plains of Abraham in what is now Quebec City while taking the city for the British in the 1700s. Jimmy/Wolfe has been wandering the streets of Montreal trying to piece together his earlier life and hrbwants to get to the Plains of Abraham on his "death day" in September to...what? It is never clear.
This challenging portrait of a modern day soldier barely surviving his own experience is intertwined with the history of that earlier soldier, James Wolfe, and gives a new perspective on both of their lives and struggles.
I found this a challenging read as it took many chapters for the novel to engage me, but it was well worth the perseverance.
Jimmy Blanchard is a Canadian soldier home from Afghanistan who believes that he is the living embodiment of James Wolfe, the British Commander killed on the plains of Abraham in what is now Quebec City while taking the city for the British in the 1700s. Jimmy/Wolfe has been wandering the streets of Montreal trying to piece together his earlier life and hrbwants to get to the Plains of Abraham on his "death day" in September to...what? It is never clear.
This challenging portrait of a modern day soldier barely surviving his own experience is intertwined with the history of that earlier soldier, James Wolfe, and gives a new perspective on both of their lives and struggles.
I found this a challenging read as it took many chapters for the novel to engage me, but it was well worth the perseverance.
josiew09's review
2.0
This tells the tale of an ex-soldier on the streets of Montreal suffering from PTSD and incorporates a historical figure from Canadian history.
This book really didn't do it for me. It seemed like it was trying really hard to be poetic and different, but it really fell flat. I was extremely bored the whole time and felt no connection to any of the characters. The historical portions felt like I was reading a particularly bad textbook in school. I did not buy into the authors attempt at trying to make you believe/doubt that Jimmy and James were the same person. It didn't make any sense, I was completely unable to suspend belief and immerse myself in the reality of the plot device. At no time did I believe that James could be existing in modern times, he said and did things that were completely off character. If we are meant to believe that we are following a character from 1759 he shouldn't just be casually taking public transport to run errands. This book is meant to tackle the effects of PTSD in armed forces which is a very important subject so I am quite disappointed that this failed to deliver and sort of compelling storyline. This was a real struggle for me to finish and sadly I don't think I would recommend it.
An ebook copy of this book was provided to me via netgalley in exchange for an honest review
For more reviews and other bookish things visit my blog https://unlikleymagic.com
This book really didn't do it for me. It seemed like it was trying really hard to be poetic and different, but it really fell flat. I was extremely bored the whole time and felt no connection to any of the characters. The historical portions felt like I was reading a particularly bad textbook in school. I did not buy into the authors attempt at trying to make you believe/doubt that Jimmy and James were the same person. It didn't make any sense, I was completely unable to suspend belief and immerse myself in the reality of the plot device. At no time did I believe that James could be existing in modern times, he said and did things that were completely off character. If we are meant to believe that we are following a character from 1759 he shouldn't just be casually taking public transport to run errands. This book is meant to tackle the effects of PTSD in armed forces which is a very important subject so I am quite disappointed that this failed to deliver and sort of compelling storyline. This was a real struggle for me to finish and sadly I don't think I would recommend it.
An ebook copy of this book was provided to me via netgalley in exchange for an honest review
For more reviews and other bookish things visit my blog https://unlikleymagic.com
petitetami's review
4.0
This book was plain and simply interesting! Having visited the plains of Abraham in the past, I wish I knew then more of the history that this fiction draws upon. I loved how true the story is of how life is now on the plains, a forgotten past. Overall I really like this story of James Wolfe/ Jimmy Blanchard. For someone not well read on history or the classics, this sure kept me interested.
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