What do you think?
Rate this book
Цяр за ударени от мълния
Когато семейството на 15-годишната Бет е нападнато от гризли, баща й е обхванат от лудост и става опасен за съседите, семейството си и особено за Бет.
Междувременно няколко деца от индианския резерват изчезват и Бет започва да се страхува, че нещо се крие в храстите и я преследва. Тя се сприятелява с едно момиче от резервата и така попада в измерението на митовете и легендите. Докосването до душевността на местните хора променя живота й и представите й за света...
И един неочакван закрилник се явява в нейния крехък свят.
Гейл е великолепен художник. Вглъбена в душата
на природата, отдадена на историята и мита,
тя събужда един свят на богати сетивни възприятия.
Сред оглушителния крясък на скорци, сюрреалистичната гледка
на хиляди костенурки по пътя, сред аромата на сладкиши,
изпълващ кухнята на семейството на Бет, едно момиче се
сблъсква с жестокостта на първичните страсти,
бори се с демоните си и намира своя оазис на любов и разбиране.
В Андерсън-Даргац се срещат Маргарет Лоурънс и Габриел Гарсиа Маркес.
Елм Стрийт
Междувременно няколко деца от индианския резерват изчезват и Бет започва да се страхува, че нещо се крие в храстите и я преследва. Тя се сприятелява с едно момиче от резервата и така попада в измерението на митовете и легендите. Докосването до душевността на местните хора променя живота й и представите й за света...
И един неочакван закрилник се явява в нейния крехък свят.
Гейл е великолепен художник. Вглъбена в душата
на природата, отдадена на историята и мита,
тя събужда един свят на богати сетивни възприятия.
Сред оглушителния крясък на скорци, сюрреалистичната гледка
на хиляди костенурки по пътя, сред аромата на сладкиши,
изпълващ кухнята на семейството на Бет, едно момиче се
сблъсква с жестокостта на първичните страсти,
бори се с демоните си и намира своя оазис на любов и разбиране.
В Андерсън-Даргац се срещат Маргарет Лоурънс и Габриел Гарсиа Маркес.
Елм Стрийт
338 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 336 reviews
November 11, 2014
This was a good book. It was well written and I liked the elements of the magical peppered throughout. But I just didn't enjoy it. Between the lengthy descriptions of farm chores and the baking of desserts, I spent much of this book wondering where it was going and what it was building toward. I also found that none of the characters resonated. I have finished the book with no greater insight into any of the people, not even the protagonist. I know many people love this book and I don't want to dissuade others from giving it a chance. But for me, I had to give it 2 stars because as much as I wanted to reward its quality, I truly didn't like reading it and have finished it with a sense of, "so what?"
August 16, 2016
Twenty years or so after reading "The Cure for Death by Lightening", "A Recipe for Bees" and "A Rhinestone Button" I found myself mulling over the influence that Gail Anderson-Dargatz has had on my future literary exploration.
Twenty years ago, her novel was nominated for The Giller Prize, a literary award newly established in 1994 to celebrate excellent Canadian writers. Knopf Canada had launched a program, The New Face of Fiction in 1996, to bring more Canadian authors to the attention of the country's readers and Gail's first book was among them.
Because of her novel, I became a person who paid attention to The Giller Prize process, from the nomination stage to the win. I was introduced to vast talent, who I'd never met before and a plethora of previously undiscovered serious literary styles.
I didn't realize it at the time, but Gail introduced me to magical-realism in her novels, where I smoothly absorbed myself into the magical storytelling and emerged enchanted. Isabel Allende then held no rapture for me.
Gail's books led me to try authors which I would formerly have by-passed. The gentle magical realism, slightly fantastical turns in the novels of Sarah Allen Addison and Joshilyn Jackson further increased my appreciation for the genre.
Perla by South American author Caroline de Robertis, the lauded The Snow Child and the haunting critic's favourite Wolf Winter... I owe the risk-tasking and resulting pleasure to Gail Anderson-Datgatz.
Thank you so much, Gail.
Twenty years ago, her novel was nominated for The Giller Prize, a literary award newly established in 1994 to celebrate excellent Canadian writers. Knopf Canada had launched a program, The New Face of Fiction in 1996, to bring more Canadian authors to the attention of the country's readers and Gail's first book was among them.
Because of her novel, I became a person who paid attention to The Giller Prize process, from the nomination stage to the win. I was introduced to vast talent, who I'd never met before and a plethora of previously undiscovered serious literary styles.
I didn't realize it at the time, but Gail introduced me to magical-realism in her novels, where I smoothly absorbed myself into the magical storytelling and emerged enchanted. Isabel Allende then held no rapture for me.
Gail's books led me to try authors which I would formerly have by-passed. The gentle magical realism, slightly fantastical turns in the novels of Sarah Allen Addison and Joshilyn Jackson further increased my appreciation for the genre.
Perla by South American author Caroline de Robertis, the lauded The Snow Child and the haunting critic's favourite Wolf Winter... I owe the risk-tasking and resulting pleasure to Gail Anderson-Datgatz.
Thank you so much, Gail.
December 7, 2017
فکر میکنم اشتباهی جزو کتاب های بزرگسالان جای گرفته :|
اوایلش به نظرم اومد باید کتاب جالبی باشه اما هرچقدر جلو میرفتم میدیدم واقعا حتی با کتاب های تخیلی نوجوان ها هم که به شخصه بهشون علاقه مندم، زمین تا آسمون فرق داره. و بیشتر شبیه افسانه ها بود که حالا کتابش کردن.
و پر از سانسور که واقعا حرص در آر بود :|
اوایلش به نظرم اومد باید کتاب جالبی باشه اما هرچقدر جلو میرفتم میدیدم واقعا حتی با کتاب های تخیلی نوجوان ها هم که به شخصه بهشون علاقه مندم، زمین تا آسمون فرق داره. و بیشتر شبیه افسانه ها بود که حالا کتابش کردن.
و پر از سانسور که واقعا حرص در آر بود :|
June 13, 2015
Reviewers descriptions of The Cure For Death By Lightning like "brilliant","bewitching""Mysterious", "engaging" are no exaggeration! The Boston Globe describes the style as "Pacific Northwest Gothic" and I find it fitting. This talented writer transports us to the interior of British Colombia, during World War Two, into the life of 15 year old Beth Weeks. Although a mature teen would probably appreciate it, The Cure For Death By Lightning is absolutely not a YA novel. It is also not for the squeamish. Taking place on an isolated farm, there are fairly graphic descriptions of a the kind of things that normally happen on farms like farm animals getting slaughtered,farm animals getting attacked by wild animals as well as humans getting attacked by wild animals and vis-versa and sexual abuse against animals. This is just the backdrop for the actual story is about Beth coming of age in a very family coping with both poverty and mental illness. Her father, both paranoid and aggressive, sexually abuses her. Her mother retreats into her own world talking to her dead mother. Bullied by the kids in her school, Beth finds refuge in her friendships with some of the First Nations living in the reserve nearby. Some of these characters like "Filthy Billy", named because he has Tourette's syndrome and Nora, a girl her age with lesbian tendencies, became my favourite characters along with Beth. In spite of the harsh subject matter this is a beautiful book and I could not put it down. The magical realism is subtle, with flowers raining from the sky, a magic scrapbook that always has new pages appearing, an invisible coyote spirit (or is it a crazy man?) who follows just out of sight. This leads me to my only reservation regarding this book. It's one that several other people have made too. The author uses the First Nations Coyote figure as a menacing presence in the story. It is my understanding that the Coyote is more of a trickster. I am not versed enough in Native American folklore say if this is always the case, however it seems to me like it would have been more appropriate to use a different figure, better yet, create her own possibly inspired by many myths. That being said, I am looking forwarding to reading more by Gail Anderson-Dargatz, in fact I have the sequel, Turtle Valley with me now!
January 11, 2009
This is my all-time favourite book written by Gail. I have read it twice.
April 25, 2012
I re-read this novel as part of my current quest to discover some new offerings to place on my grade 11 independent study reading list next semester. While I won't be adding it to their list (and I'll explain why momentarily), it was every bit as enjoyable the second time around. The novel unfolds on a family farm in the remote Turtle Valley, BC, in the 1940's. The narrator is 15-year-old Beth Weeks, whose personal coming-of-age struggles are juxtaposed against several bizarre and frightening occurrences in her community: the grisly death of her classmate, which is dubiously blamed on a bear; the appearance of strange portents in the natural world, which are shrugged off by all witnesses; and the increasingly erratic and violent behaviour among the men in the community, including Beth's father. His unpredictable moods (blamed on a head injury he suffered during the Great War)leave the entire family - including the two hired hands - walking on eggshells daily. It soon becomes clear to the reader (with the help of some wonderful aboriginal characters who live on the nearby reservation) that what is plaguing the community is not human: the Trickster, Coyote has returned to Turtle Valley and is wreaking havoc in the community. How can he be stopped, when almost everyone - whites and aboriginals - have forgotten the old ways and no longer believe in 'ghost stories'? I absolutely loved Gail Anderson-Dargatz's rich writing style - just turn to page 158 to see how powerful her figurative language can be. (I was lucky enough to hear the author read this passage aloud a few years ago - it left most of the women in the audience quite flushed!) I also loved that this was a story about women's strength and resilience, set in a time period when women had very little power. Finally, I was delighted by the magical realism within the book (I was reminded of Esquivel's 'Like Water for Chocolate'). Before recommending the book to any of my students, however, I'd warn them of the often harsh circumstances which Beth - being a farm girl - sometimes has to witness in this book. The cycle of life and death on the Weeks farm is often 'red in tooth and claw' and there were several animal deaths in the first third of the novel which could upset a naive reader. For this reason, I will highly recommend it to any person who would like to read it individually, but would not offer it as a class novel. That being said, I am putting myself on the waiting list for Anderson-Dargatz's 'Recipe for Bees' and 'Turtle Island' - I can't wait to read more of her work!
June 11, 2017
While I can appreciate what the author was trying with this novel, something about it didn't really work for me. There's a bit too much going on, and all at a very superficial level, in that the author never digs deeper into any of the weirder elements she introduces. There's a ton of Native lore sprinkled throughout which may or may not appear in the actual plot of the story, but Beth never questions what she sees or seeks more information.
Which brings me to probably my biggest issue with the book: Beth has no emotions. Or, maybe that's not quite fair. She has emotions, but none of them seem to make it across to the reader in any kind of realistic way. It's as if things are happening to her, but not to HER, as if she's kind of removed from it. It makes sense in a way given how much of this novel is just Beth facing one trauma after another, but as a reader, it made it very difficult for me to really connect with the story.
I know a few reviews have complained about how much time was spent on describing the day to day activities on the farm, but for me, those were the best parts. I really enjoyed the author's description of the changing seasons, the language she uses to describe the animals, and I liked the relationship between Beth and Billy. But I feel like this novel could have been successful (and more enjoyable to read) had it focused more on the hardships of running a farm during WWII and less on Beth being sexually assaulted every second chapter...
Which brings me to probably my biggest issue with the book: Beth has no emotions. Or, maybe that's not quite fair. She has emotions, but none of them seem to make it across to the reader in any kind of realistic way. It's as if things are happening to her, but not to HER, as if she's kind of removed from it. It makes sense in a way given how much of this novel is just Beth facing one trauma after another, but as a reader, it made it very difficult for me to really connect with the story.
I know a few reviews have complained about how much time was spent on describing the day to day activities on the farm, but for me, those were the best parts. I really enjoyed the author's description of the changing seasons, the language she uses to describe the animals, and I liked the relationship between Beth and Billy. But I feel like this novel could have been successful (and more enjoyable to read) had it focused more on the hardships of running a farm during WWII and less on Beth being sexually assaulted every second chapter...
November 30, 2010
I started this book yesterday and couldn't put it down. It's got that quintessential Canadian thing going on - poetry and myth and character and landscape, all blended together and experienced from the perspective of a teenage girl in a difficult family. I like the way that nobody's perfect in this novel. The characters are all well-developed and richly layered.
June 8, 2008
Absolutely loved this book. One of the small things that appealed to me was that it followed in time logically, rather than skipping back and forth as so many current storytellers seem to like. I really like the deep character development, and the setting was fascinating. It is set on prairie farm, during WWII. Lots of great detail, suspense, conflict. She is a very descriptive writer with wonderful images. Edging close to being in my top ten of all time.
April 3, 2013
I read Gail Anderson-Dargatz's coming-of-age story as part of my magic realism challenge. This review first appeared on my Magic Realism Books blog. What follows contains mild spoilers.
The writing was easily readable, and at times poetic (which is something I like in a book). You get a vivid impression of the landscape of British Columbia. There is a wonderful scene where a storm strips the petals from a field of flaxflowers and covers the farm with them: With blue flax in my cupped hands, blue flax on my hair, my face, my dress, I looked over a world that was blue and as strange as a dream. This scene could be thought of as magical, but the author in an interview explained that she had experienced just such an event. This beauty is contrasted with the routine brutality of killing farm animals and the ravages of the local wildlife, especially coyotes, on those same animals and possibly even children. There is a particularly gory description of a sheep which Beth finds after it has been attacked by coyotes: Coyotes go for the genitals and the soft belly of a sick sheep. They nip like a dog at the legs and face until the sheep falls. Then they eat her alive. This ewe was still alive, and her genitals were eaten away.
I found myself empathising with the narrator, Beth Weeks, who was in many ways a familiar and quite ordinary teenage girl. But Beth shouldn't be ordinary. Things happen to her and they happen around her, horrendous things, and yet she remains pretty constant. Even when she sees or experiences something shocking, such as catching someone she is fond of having sex with a cow, there's very little reaction. Big issues are skirted around, half referred to, apart from the violence against animals. We are left to fill in the gaps. Maybe this is the narrator's way of coping, but as a result when I got to the end of the book and went over it in my head I was shocked by what I had read. The book contains: self-harm, rape, missing children, suicide, lesbianism, incest, child abuse, bestiality, insanity, and violence against humans and animals. Poor Beth and her community have got the lot. Too much so for the novel to be completely credible or indeed focused. How could I possibly have read it so easily? Alas one of the reasons was the way magic realism was used in the book.
In an interview with the now defunct magic realism magazine Serendipity the author is quoted as saying: Magic realism is so very useful in exploring the deepest parts of our psyches. Our dreams, after all, are full of magic realism elements, the uncanny. Magic realism draws from, and speaks to, the soul. In the end, though, what drew me to magic realism is the fun. Who doesn't like the chill of seeing a ghost? The thrill of being chased? The wonder of flowers falling from the sky? I love the freedom of knowing that anything can and will happen on the page.
The major magic realism element is the Coyote, a mythical trickster spirit of the Native Americans. Nora, the young half-breed, who is Beth's friend (lover?) explains the Coyote thus: Granny says if a man's got something wrong with him, if he's drunk or gets hit on the head or bushed or something, then Coyote can get inside him and make him crazy, make him do stuff. Bad stuff.
Beth senses that she is being followed by Coyote, she sees the path through the grass as something unseen chases her. The Coyote is blamed for taking possession of a young Indian man when he gets drunk, of Beth's father when he is violent or sexually abusive, of Coyote Jack the local recluse who attacks Beth, of Beth's attempted rapist, and for giving Filthy Billy Tourettes syndrome and fits. Well that's all right then - it's not the individuals involved, it's that nasty Coyote. Is this how magic realism should be used? I feel really ill at ease with this. Maybe it's my west European sensibilities that are to blame, but maybe not.
Perhaps part of the problem is that the author is combining two traditions - the Coyote trickster with the European werewolf and the hybrid Coyote is therefore more evil. The Native American Coyote is not evil as such, indeed he can be a force for good. Nora's grandmother says: Coyote also clears away the rules when they get too muddy.... It's good sometimes to turn everything on its head.
Do things change for the good? Yes, by the end of the book Beth has come out stronger and more confident. But is the change due to Coyote?
The book opens with a description of the page in the scrapbook kept by Beth's mother which features the cure for death by lightning. Also on the page is a tortoiseshell butterfly: My mother said that she'd caught the butterfly and pressed it between the pages of her scrapbook because of its torn wing. "Wonderful," she told me. "That it could still fly. It's a reminder to keep going." Is this butterfly how Beth sees herself: the survivor - the butterfly flying despite a torn wing or is she struck about the irony in her mother's words - the butterfly is no longer keeping going due to the cruelty of humans? This uncertainty runs through the book and left me unclear what to make of the novel.
The writing was easily readable, and at times poetic (which is something I like in a book). You get a vivid impression of the landscape of British Columbia. There is a wonderful scene where a storm strips the petals from a field of flaxflowers and covers the farm with them: With blue flax in my cupped hands, blue flax on my hair, my face, my dress, I looked over a world that was blue and as strange as a dream. This scene could be thought of as magical, but the author in an interview explained that she had experienced just such an event. This beauty is contrasted with the routine brutality of killing farm animals and the ravages of the local wildlife, especially coyotes, on those same animals and possibly even children. There is a particularly gory description of a sheep which Beth finds after it has been attacked by coyotes: Coyotes go for the genitals and the soft belly of a sick sheep. They nip like a dog at the legs and face until the sheep falls. Then they eat her alive. This ewe was still alive, and her genitals were eaten away.
I found myself empathising with the narrator, Beth Weeks, who was in many ways a familiar and quite ordinary teenage girl. But Beth shouldn't be ordinary. Things happen to her and they happen around her, horrendous things, and yet she remains pretty constant. Even when she sees or experiences something shocking, such as catching someone she is fond of having sex with a cow, there's very little reaction. Big issues are skirted around, half referred to, apart from the violence against animals. We are left to fill in the gaps. Maybe this is the narrator's way of coping, but as a result when I got to the end of the book and went over it in my head I was shocked by what I had read. The book contains: self-harm, rape, missing children, suicide, lesbianism, incest, child abuse, bestiality, insanity, and violence against humans and animals. Poor Beth and her community have got the lot. Too much so for the novel to be completely credible or indeed focused. How could I possibly have read it so easily? Alas one of the reasons was the way magic realism was used in the book.
In an interview with the now defunct magic realism magazine Serendipity the author is quoted as saying: Magic realism is so very useful in exploring the deepest parts of our psyches. Our dreams, after all, are full of magic realism elements, the uncanny. Magic realism draws from, and speaks to, the soul. In the end, though, what drew me to magic realism is the fun. Who doesn't like the chill of seeing a ghost? The thrill of being chased? The wonder of flowers falling from the sky? I love the freedom of knowing that anything can and will happen on the page.
The major magic realism element is the Coyote, a mythical trickster spirit of the Native Americans. Nora, the young half-breed, who is Beth's friend (lover?) explains the Coyote thus: Granny says if a man's got something wrong with him, if he's drunk or gets hit on the head or bushed or something, then Coyote can get inside him and make him crazy, make him do stuff. Bad stuff.
Beth senses that she is being followed by Coyote, she sees the path through the grass as something unseen chases her. The Coyote is blamed for taking possession of a young Indian man when he gets drunk, of Beth's father when he is violent or sexually abusive, of Coyote Jack the local recluse who attacks Beth, of Beth's attempted rapist, and for giving Filthy Billy Tourettes syndrome and fits. Well that's all right then - it's not the individuals involved, it's that nasty Coyote. Is this how magic realism should be used? I feel really ill at ease with this. Maybe it's my west European sensibilities that are to blame, but maybe not.
Perhaps part of the problem is that the author is combining two traditions - the Coyote trickster with the European werewolf and the hybrid Coyote is therefore more evil. The Native American Coyote is not evil as such, indeed he can be a force for good. Nora's grandmother says: Coyote also clears away the rules when they get too muddy.... It's good sometimes to turn everything on its head.
Do things change for the good? Yes, by the end of the book Beth has come out stronger and more confident. But is the change due to Coyote?
The book opens with a description of the page in the scrapbook kept by Beth's mother which features the cure for death by lightning. Also on the page is a tortoiseshell butterfly: My mother said that she'd caught the butterfly and pressed it between the pages of her scrapbook because of its torn wing. "Wonderful," she told me. "That it could still fly. It's a reminder to keep going." Is this butterfly how Beth sees herself: the survivor - the butterfly flying despite a torn wing or is she struck about the irony in her mother's words - the butterfly is no longer keeping going due to the cruelty of humans? This uncertainty runs through the book and left me unclear what to make of the novel.
October 5, 2018
3.75 rtc
This was a very fast book to read but one that was a bit hard to digest. I had to take some time to think over the events of the book and my reactions to it.
This is a book that spans about a year in a small village situated in British Columbia during WW2. Our main character Beth is a girl around 14/15 who is growing up in a family that is isolated from itself and from the community. The novel displays the tense atmosphere between Beth, her brother, her mother, her father, and the two Indigenous boys who work for the family. It's one filled with the toxic atmosphere of the many demons plaguing each member, and the inevitable horrors they incur on one another.
Review Continued Here
This was a very fast book to read but one that was a bit hard to digest. I had to take some time to think over the events of the book and my reactions to it.
This is a book that spans about a year in a small village situated in British Columbia during WW2. Our main character Beth is a girl around 14/15 who is growing up in a family that is isolated from itself and from the community. The novel displays the tense atmosphere between Beth, her brother, her mother, her father, and the two Indigenous boys who work for the family. It's one filled with the toxic atmosphere of the many demons plaguing each member, and the inevitable horrors they incur on one another.
Review Continued Here
April 27, 2023
I liked this a lot more than I thought it would. Although this book is about a lot of things at once, it manages to stay true to the thread of the story. Not just another coming-of-age story as it's a lot more brutal in its telling.
2023 note: I've spent a good part of my last year trying to remember this book; that is, I knew I read this book because I remembered parts, and I knew it won an award in Canada, but I couldn't remember the title or author. Luckily, I was clued in by a comparison of books!
2023 note: I've spent a good part of my last year trying to remember this book; that is, I knew I read this book because I remembered parts, and I knew it won an award in Canada, but I couldn't remember the title or author. Luckily, I was clued in by a comparison of books!
March 6, 2015
I'm sorry but this was terrible. I fail to understand the point, and I honestly can't believe that people are considering this as high school reading. I'm usually open to a lot of different kinds of novels and can find something redeeming in them, but not this one. The only character I liked was Filthy Billy, and maybe Bertha. Liking is generous, I had no connection with a single character and the story was so strange.
January 10, 2015
If you're into a meandering plot with no explanation for the few interesting occurrences that happen throughout the course of a book, then look no further.
It's kind of like an album where you keep telling yourself "it'll get good any minute now." But it never does.
It's kind of like an album where you keep telling yourself "it'll get good any minute now." But it never does.
May 15, 2022
It occurred to me early on, reading about the Weeks family, that this is exactly how my parents and grandparents lived. You raised, killed, cleaned, and canned your own food and made your own medical remedies, and lived with the consequences of everything that occurred in your life. There were no mental health supports, no survivors’ groups for anything. There was the church, which in some cases provided and prolonged its own trauma, and the proverbial village that both raised and ruined your children. This wasn’t an easy read but worth the effort. Beth seemed like a very real 15-year-old, unsure of herself and socially backward; and almost all the characters seemed to suffer from some syndrome or mental illness. The scene with Beth's mother realizing why she hadn't been given the nylons was very powerful and we are left, heartbroken, to figure out why her own father had given her silk stockings when she was young. I wasn’t very taken by the magical realism element here, especially but everything else seemed to be right on the money as far as rural life at that time. Yay Canadian writers!
March 25, 2024
This story is so special. I’ll be thinking about it for awhile.
March 11, 2024
(3.5✩)
On a quest to find a Canadian historical fiction novel choice for our bookclub pick of the month I stumbled upon this coming of age story. I ended up being more intrigued with this novel than I thought, getting lost in the daily lives of the characters, their chores, their struggles, their stories. It was a heart breaking story in ways, some things left my mind reeling, but the story telling, details and magic of it drew me in.
On a quest to find a Canadian historical fiction novel choice for our bookclub pick of the month I stumbled upon this coming of age story. I ended up being more intrigued with this novel than I thought, getting lost in the daily lives of the characters, their chores, their struggles, their stories. It was a heart breaking story in ways, some things left my mind reeling, but the story telling, details and magic of it drew me in.
September 15, 2012
This has got to be one my favourite books of the year so far. I bought this book from a charity shop for 20p as I was attracted by the cover.
I was literally hooked right from the very start, even with the descriptive welcoming of the setting and some of the characters, it just fascinated me. The whole story is based during WW2 I believe and set in the farmlands of Canada. There are 4 main characters and then a few characters that we get to know more of during the story.
But we take a look at Beth, a 15 year old girl who helps out on the farm of her fathers. And ofcourse introducing her mother and father who I mentioned briefly and brother, Dan. One day they take a hike up in the fields/woodland near their home and camped their during the night. As it's obviously Canada you get alot of bears around about and what happens is a bear appeared near their campsite which shocked them all. Her father went after this bear and basically got attacked but became in shock from it all and totally changed from it after. He became nasty and coldhearted but nobody knows what caused it, apart from a few Indians on the reserve near them. He became crazy and the town folk are aware of this and turn on the family. We see how Beth deals with all this and how her personality forms as with coming of age. This whole book takes place within a year.
I highly recommend this book and it is full of surprises, As you are reading this review I bet you're thinking you have this all cussed out but seriously, it will take a turn which you won't suspect.
I was literally hooked right from the very start, even with the descriptive welcoming of the setting and some of the characters, it just fascinated me. The whole story is based during WW2 I believe and set in the farmlands of Canada. There are 4 main characters and then a few characters that we get to know more of during the story.
But we take a look at Beth, a 15 year old girl who helps out on the farm of her fathers. And ofcourse introducing her mother and father who I mentioned briefly and brother, Dan. One day they take a hike up in the fields/woodland near their home and camped their during the night. As it's obviously Canada you get alot of bears around about and what happens is a bear appeared near their campsite which shocked them all. Her father went after this bear and basically got attacked but became in shock from it all and totally changed from it after. He became nasty and coldhearted but nobody knows what caused it, apart from a few Indians on the reserve near them. He became crazy and the town folk are aware of this and turn on the family. We see how Beth deals with all this and how her personality forms as with coming of age. This whole book takes place within a year.
I highly recommend this book and it is full of surprises, As you are reading this review I bet you're thinking you have this all cussed out but seriously, it will take a turn which you won't suspect.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2021
3.5
This is a non-traditional gothic tale. Taking place in Turtle Valley, British Columbia, The Cure for Death by Lightning is a somber coming of age that takes place on the borders of a farming community and an indigenous reservation, where cultures clash.
One of the loudest themes throughout this book is coming of age and sexuality. There are many dark moments and instances of abuse, sexual abuse, stalking, attempted rape and rape. In fact, the entire story is overcast with this fear of predators both man and beast.
The story of the Coyote is shared by the indigenous characters throughout as well. Beth learns of the Coyote spirit that takes over men in their weakened states and makes them do horrible things. This tie makes the book both mythical and sociological - something I quite enjoyed. On the one hand, the indigenous tribe believes in and expects the Coyote to inhabit men, and on the other hand, Beth and her kin just know men to do bad things.
There is an exploration of mental illness and ptsd as well, since Beth's father suffered head trauma in the war, and there are a couple characters who suffer different afflictions. These are dated depictions, and probably should be considered harmful and ignorant, but unfortunately common at the time and place of the story as well as the time of publication.
The book also explores generational trauma because of abuse, and the long lasting effects on a family.
And of course, all of this takes place in the midst of WW2, when most of the young men are gone and many women are finding opportunities to move away from home without having to get married.
All in all, this was a pretty good book. Though I have to admit it was quiet and dark. I don't think it's for everyone, but I would recommend it to fans of dark character studies on trauma, abuse, and on indigenous people at the hands of society. The closest thing I can think of off of the top of my head is The Bone People by Keri Hulme, though the MC here is not an indigenous character herself.
This is a non-traditional gothic tale. Taking place in Turtle Valley, British Columbia, The Cure for Death by Lightning is a somber coming of age that takes place on the borders of a farming community and an indigenous reservation, where cultures clash.
One of the loudest themes throughout this book is coming of age and sexuality. There are many dark moments and instances of abuse, sexual abuse, stalking, attempted rape and rape. In fact, the entire story is overcast with this fear of predators both man and beast.
The story of the Coyote is shared by the indigenous characters throughout as well. Beth learns of the Coyote spirit that takes over men in their weakened states and makes them do horrible things. This tie makes the book both mythical and sociological - something I quite enjoyed. On the one hand, the indigenous tribe believes in and expects the Coyote to inhabit men, and on the other hand, Beth and her kin just know men to do bad things.
There is an exploration of mental illness and ptsd as well, since Beth's father suffered head trauma in the war, and there are a couple characters who suffer different afflictions. These are dated depictions, and probably should be considered harmful and ignorant, but unfortunately common at the time and place of the story as well as the time of publication.
The book also explores generational trauma because of abuse, and the long lasting effects on a family.
And of course, all of this takes place in the midst of WW2, when most of the young men are gone and many women are finding opportunities to move away from home without having to get married.
All in all, this was a pretty good book. Though I have to admit it was quiet and dark. I don't think it's for everyone, but I would recommend it to fans of dark character studies on trauma, abuse, and on indigenous people at the hands of society. The closest thing I can think of off of the top of my head is The Bone People by Keri Hulme, though the MC here is not an indigenous character herself.
June 4, 2021
Really enjoyed this book. I found it very engaging from the beginning and really loved the mysticism that enveloped the story.
Reading this book, especially now, after the horrendous mass grave found in Kamloops at a residential school a few days ago, struck a chord. This book’s time and place was of the same period, and I could feel the pain in minor characters as well as the extreme racism found in these towns. Sadly, we still deal with these tragedies today, less than 100 years later.
Reading this book, especially now, after the horrendous mass grave found in Kamloops at a residential school a few days ago, struck a chord. This book’s time and place was of the same period, and I could feel the pain in minor characters as well as the extreme racism found in these towns. Sadly, we still deal with these tragedies today, less than 100 years later.
January 29, 2016
The Cure for Death by Lightening is the first Goodreads recommendation I have read. I couldn’t resist a book that promised magical realism, flowers raining from the sky, unseen predators, shape-shifting, extra fingers, talking to the dead, fits of madness, Tourette’s Syndrome...and these opening paragraphs:
"The cure for death by lightning was handwritten in thick, messy blue ink in my mother’s scrapbook, under the recipe for my father’s favourite oatcakes:
Dunk the dead by lightning in a cold water bath for two hours and if still dead, add vinegar and soak for an hour more."
A colleague of mine, with whom I shared this recommendation, summed it up as “trippy”, and “trippy” is what I expected; however, only a few chapters in, I realized that there is much more to this coming-of-age story than strange characters and events. Gail Anderson-Dargatz crafted not only a community of unforgettable characters, and put them through events that only life can unleash (with a dusting of magical realism), but she also weaved seamlessly myth and reality, hardship and joy, into a captivating and touching tale. Reading The Cure for Death by Lightening reminded me of reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest – I expected a comedy, but discovered a deeply moving and layered story.
I won’t get into the details of 15-year-old Beth’s life in rural British Columbia during WWII because I enjoyed jumping blindly into this book, not knowing what was to come. Beth led me through her emotional peaks and valleys one experience, one thought, one feeling, one dream at a time.
Anderson-Dargatz paced the story perfectly, so I found the book easy to read and hard to put down. Not a sentence seemed redundant or out of place. Even when reading the best books (and for me The Cure is one of them), I get tempted to skip a boring paragraph or page, but not here. I loved this book from beginning to end, although at first I thought that the ending could have been a bit stronger. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I admit that I did skip a few paragraphs, but only because as an animal lover, I found some sections too hard to bear.)
There is something serendipitous about the way The Cure for Death by Lightening forced itself into my hands (and into my life - I won’t forget this magical tale anytime soon). First, the Goodreads recommendation brought it to my attention. Then, when I just managed to forget about it, I found it staring at me at the used book store that I visited - hoping to find a different book - in a section I have never looked through before. When serendipity calls, I know better than to resist.
"The cure for death by lightning was handwritten in thick, messy blue ink in my mother’s scrapbook, under the recipe for my father’s favourite oatcakes:
Dunk the dead by lightning in a cold water bath for two hours and if still dead, add vinegar and soak for an hour more."
A colleague of mine, with whom I shared this recommendation, summed it up as “trippy”, and “trippy” is what I expected; however, only a few chapters in, I realized that there is much more to this coming-of-age story than strange characters and events. Gail Anderson-Dargatz crafted not only a community of unforgettable characters, and put them through events that only life can unleash (with a dusting of magical realism), but she also weaved seamlessly myth and reality, hardship and joy, into a captivating and touching tale. Reading The Cure for Death by Lightening reminded me of reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest – I expected a comedy, but discovered a deeply moving and layered story.
I won’t get into the details of 15-year-old Beth’s life in rural British Columbia during WWII because I enjoyed jumping blindly into this book, not knowing what was to come. Beth led me through her emotional peaks and valleys one experience, one thought, one feeling, one dream at a time.
Anderson-Dargatz paced the story perfectly, so I found the book easy to read and hard to put down. Not a sentence seemed redundant or out of place. Even when reading the best books (and for me The Cure is one of them), I get tempted to skip a boring paragraph or page, but not here. I loved this book from beginning to end, although at first I thought that the ending could have been a bit stronger. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I admit that I did skip a few paragraphs, but only because as an animal lover, I found some sections too hard to bear.)
There is something serendipitous about the way The Cure for Death by Lightening forced itself into my hands (and into my life - I won’t forget this magical tale anytime soon). First, the Goodreads recommendation brought it to my attention. Then, when I just managed to forget about it, I found it staring at me at the used book store that I visited - hoping to find a different book - in a section I have never looked through before. When serendipity calls, I know better than to resist.
May 10, 2015
This book is very well written and has some great moments but it is pretty bleak and I need a happy book now!I loved the descriptions of day-to-day life on the farm and the view of life in town as well. I enjoyed the inclusion of Native lore and magical realism very much as it felt true to the reality of having Native neighbors, friends and farmhands. I had previously read Turtle Valley, not knowing that is a "sort-of sequel" and wish I had known that beforehand and had it to read now as I don't remember it well and want to know what happens to the characters.
*SPOILER ALERT* -I am conflicted by the abuse in the book as I feel the book could have been just as good without (some of) it and I am finding that there is so much of it in literature lately that I am becoming desensitized to it - and I don't like that feeling. While I am very aware it is a horrific and prevalent problem, for me it is starting to feel like a writing cliché. I hate even writing this, but it is getting to the point where I will avoid books where this is part of the plot.
*SPOILER ALERT* -I am conflicted by the abuse in the book as I feel the book could have been just as good without (some of) it and I am finding that there is so much of it in literature lately that I am becoming desensitized to it - and I don't like that feeling. While I am very aware it is a horrific and prevalent problem, for me it is starting to feel like a writing cliché. I hate even writing this, but it is getting to the point where I will avoid books where this is part of the plot.
July 11, 2011
Gail Anderson-Dargatz is one of my favorite authors and this is one of my favorite books. It's one of those stories where you get so involved emotionally with the characters. I just could not put it down. I'm definitely going to read this one again one day.
The story is told by a 15 year old girl named Beth Weeks. She becomes close to a Native Indian girl named Nora. Nora knows a lot about the mysterious Coyote Jack. Nora believes Coyote Jack can change shape and turn you into an animal.
The whole story takes place over one year during which Beth goes through a great deal of turmoil. Beth's mother keeps a scrapbook which reminded me very much of Dina's quilt in A Fine Balance. It contains recipes, pressed flowers, news paper clippings and old photos... and, of course, the cure for death by lightning.
My favorite character was Filthy Billy. He's one of the hired hands on the farm. Hard-working, shy and suffering from Turret's syndrome. He's very kind-hearted and brave.
The story is told by a 15 year old girl named Beth Weeks. She becomes close to a Native Indian girl named Nora. Nora knows a lot about the mysterious Coyote Jack. Nora believes Coyote Jack can change shape and turn you into an animal.
The whole story takes place over one year during which Beth goes through a great deal of turmoil. Beth's mother keeps a scrapbook which reminded me very much of Dina's quilt in A Fine Balance. It contains recipes, pressed flowers, news paper clippings and old photos... and, of course, the cure for death by lightning.
My favorite character was Filthy Billy. He's one of the hired hands on the farm. Hard-working, shy and suffering from Turret's syndrome. He's very kind-hearted and brave.
October 12, 2011
The atmosphere of real and imagined menace (but, as it turns out, justifiably imagined), and the verging on gothic harshness of rural and aboriginal life during the Second World War makes parts of The Cure for Death by Lightning almost unbearable to read in the opening chapters. But then the spirit and resilience of 15-year-old Beth Weeks, and her eye for hopeful and redemptive signs in the people, the animals and the world around her win you over, and have you turning the pages with no fear, and much optimism that she will forge a life, thrive and be loved in the hardscrabble setting in which she chooses to remain. Populated with original and captivating characters and an undercurrent of mystery and mysticism that never veers into the utterly unbelievable, this is an unforgettable book.
April 6, 2009
The story is told by Beth, 15, who lives on a farm in B.C. during the second world war. This is a story about poverty, prejudice, ignorance, love, hate, feuds, shape-shifting, abuse, legends and more. There is so much going on in this story - too much? - I thought so.
I thought the best thing about this book was the mother's scrapbook, it was full of recipes, remedies, pressed flowers, articles, notes and memories. It was her safe and private place, her life.
I thought the best thing about this book was the mother's scrapbook, it was full of recipes, remedies, pressed flowers, articles, notes and memories. It was her safe and private place, her life.
January 2, 2015
Everyone seems to love this book--except me. The magic realism didn't work. The flat tone was monotonous. The protagonist wasn't believable, because she never reacted to any of the incredible events taking place around her. And why on earth were so many characters (including one female) in love with her? It's not like she was a particularly interesting character, worthy of notice in any way, so why was everyone attracted to her? I simply didn't get this book.
April 6, 2011
I gave this book to my mother and she always raved how much she loved it. I found it after she passed away and decided to read it. I loved the book - read it slowly and wondered how my mother reacted to some of the scenes. It's a very entertaining read.
January 16, 2012
I only finished this book in hopes that it would redeem itself near the end. It is a dark portrayal of rural life full of unbelievable mysticism and harsh sexual abuse. Women in this book are helpless and trapped. Men are violent and rawly sex-driven.
October 2, 2013
This book was highly recommended by some friends and I must say that I'm glad they told me about it. Anyone who love magical realism, good writing and great characters wrapped up in a mystery will enjoy this novel by Gail Anderson-Dargatz.
May 31, 2018
when you expect magic but you get lengthy descriptions of farm chores instead :/
Filthy Billy <3
Filthy Billy <3
Displaying 1 - 30 of 336 reviews