What do you think?
Rate this book
Glass Boys
With vivid and unflinching prose, Nicole Lundrigan has created a riveting and deeply human saga of the persistence of evil and the depths and limits of love.
When Roy Trench is killed in a drunken prank gone wrong, his brother Lewis sees blood on the hands of the man responsible: the abusive alcoholic, Eli Fagan. Though the courts rule the death an accident, the event opens a seam of hate between the two families of Knife's Point, Newfoundland.
Desperate to smother the painful past with love, Lewis marries Wilda, and the pleasure he takes in their two children -- Melvin and Toby -- recalls the happier days of his childhood with Roy. But as he watches his small family fracture, the darkness of the past begins to cloud the present, leading Lewis back to Eli Fagan -- and his watchful stepson, Garrett Glass.
In the style of Newfoundland literature, established by Michael Crummey and Lisa Moore, Glass Boys is the haunting story of an unforgivable crime that brings two families to the brink.
When Roy Trench is killed in a drunken prank gone wrong, his brother Lewis sees blood on the hands of the man responsible: the abusive alcoholic, Eli Fagan. Though the courts rule the death an accident, the event opens a seam of hate between the two families of Knife's Point, Newfoundland.
Desperate to smother the painful past with love, Lewis marries Wilda, and the pleasure he takes in their two children -- Melvin and Toby -- recalls the happier days of his childhood with Roy. But as he watches his small family fracture, the darkness of the past begins to cloud the present, leading Lewis back to Eli Fagan -- and his watchful stepson, Garrett Glass.
In the style of Newfoundland literature, established by Michael Crummey and Lisa Moore, Glass Boys is the haunting story of an unforgivable crime that brings two families to the brink.
304 pages, Paperback
First published June 21, 2011
13 people are currently reading
555 people want to read
About the author
Nicole Lundrigan
11 books446 followers“Lundrigan’s skillfully balanced blend of psychological thriller and haunting coming-of-age story is infused with creepy, small-town atmospheric suspense. . . . [Her] writing is both elegant and darkly humorous, delivering bareknuckle social commentary that will appeal to fans of Gillian Flynn, Karin Fossum, and Laura Lippman.”
Booklist, Starred review
Nicole is the author of eight novels including THE SUBSTITUTE, HIDEAWAY, and AN UNTHINKABLE THING. Her work has been selected as a Top 10 pick by Canada’s national newspaper the Globe & Mail, a top 100 on amazon.ca, a top 10 by Now Magazine, and was shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Award (best crime novel).
If you'd like to connect with Nicole, you can do so through her website.
Booklist, Starred review
Nicole is the author of eight novels including THE SUBSTITUTE, HIDEAWAY, and AN UNTHINKABLE THING. Her work has been selected as a Top 10 pick by Canada’s national newspaper the Globe & Mail, a top 100 on amazon.ca, a top 10 by Now Magazine, and was shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Award (best crime novel).
If you'd like to connect with Nicole, you can do so through her website.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
May 31, 2021
Wow! What a book!
I’ve never read anything by this author before, I was simply scrolling through the e-book library in the literary fiction titles and took my chances on this one.
I had no idea when starting it what I’d be in for.
The writing drew me in immediately. She has numerous and many wonderful ways of describing smells.
The story is about boys, men, and brothers. About situations that happen and how they can follow us into the future, to our children.
There’s what’s right and wrong, and all the grey shades in between. What we think we know and what we later find out. How our perceptions and beliefs can change.
How the revelation of a dark secret can change our perception.
Garrett Wesley Glass is one of the main characters. A boy I felt sorry for in the beginning. His mother believed he was a good boy and a good man and no one could tell her any different.
This is a dark disturbing book at times but it’s also haunting and very real. It makes us look at things we’ve rather turn away from.
I am glad to have discovered this author and will definitely seek out the rest of her books.
I seldom give 5 stars because I think a book has to be extraordinary to receive such a rating, that it has to go above and beyond. I felt this book achieved that.
I’ve never read anything by this author before, I was simply scrolling through the e-book library in the literary fiction titles and took my chances on this one.
I had no idea when starting it what I’d be in for.
The writing drew me in immediately. She has numerous and many wonderful ways of describing smells.
The story is about boys, men, and brothers. About situations that happen and how they can follow us into the future, to our children.
There’s what’s right and wrong, and all the grey shades in between. What we think we know and what we later find out. How our perceptions and beliefs can change.
How the revelation of a dark secret can change our perception.
Garrett Wesley Glass is one of the main characters. A boy I felt sorry for in the beginning. His mother believed he was a good boy and a good man and no one could tell her any different.
This is a dark disturbing book at times but it’s also haunting and very real. It makes us look at things we’ve rather turn away from.
I am glad to have discovered this author and will definitely seek out the rest of her books.
I seldom give 5 stars because I think a book has to be extraordinary to receive such a rating, that it has to go above and beyond. I felt this book achieved that.
October 13, 2011
This is the third Nicole Lundrigan novel I've read and finally I 'get' the Newfoundland Gothic term so often applied to her work. This novel is extremely dark without being bleak. The title's symbolism is intriguingly and deftly woven throughout the strands of the book (it almost makes me want to do a paper on the significance of the title, especially the scene where Toby Trench tries to serve a drink to his brother and two glasses get stuck together). Strong and simultaneously fragile, useful and a potential weapon, transparent and opaque - Lundrigan plays with these concepts throughout the novel and the journey is mesmerizing. Here's a great review from The Globe and Mail (contains a few too many spoilers for my reviewing taste but perhaps I only think that because I've just finished it): http://ow.ly/6WuJj
Her work is starting to remind me of Andre Dubus - remember that amazing novella of his that was made into the movie In the Bedroom? The questions posed in this novel are as important as the nurture/nature debate: does our upbringing mean we're doomed to continually relive and recreate our dysfunction, or is there a chance we can redeem ourselves and create a whole that's far greater than the sum of its parts?
This is a carefully crafted, compelling novel. If you haven't read any Lundrigan before I'd say, start here.
Her work is starting to remind me of Andre Dubus - remember that amazing novella of his that was made into the movie In the Bedroom? The questions posed in this novel are as important as the nurture/nature debate: does our upbringing mean we're doomed to continually relive and recreate our dysfunction, or is there a chance we can redeem ourselves and create a whole that's far greater than the sum of its parts?
This is a carefully crafted, compelling novel. If you haven't read any Lundrigan before I'd say, start here.
December 1, 2011
hmmmm - had mixed emotions about this book - may merit a higher ranking - will reflect on it a couple days. I think I liked the ending better than the ending of Night Circus; however, I will withhold any more comments until after book club.
Update: Great book club discussion. Nicole Lundrigan the author participated in our discussion which was phenominal.
The Glass Boys is a story of two families living in Newfoundland, but the story could have taken place in any small rural town. The boys in the two families fight to figure out who they are and how to approach the world and circumstances presented to them. The brothers in the story are the characters that have really stuck with me. Ms. Lundrigan has been able to show the true brotherly bond that exists between these two boys in a very poetic matter. As the title suggests, all of the boys in the book are "glass boys" fragile, with the potential to be strong.
As others in the Opinionless Virtual Bookclub have stated, the Glass Boys is a very disturbing book, even the author called it dark on more than one occasion. Yet, the story is written in such a way that you feel for each character at one point or another as the story progresses. Some you take an early liking to only to realize later that they are not your favorite. Other characters are disliked at the beginning only to realize later that they are doing the best they can with what was handed to them.
The story has stayed with me for several weeks now. Some parts of the story actually haunt me - several of the defining chapters continue to resonate with me. I probably would have liked this book better had I known that at no point any of the "disturbing" issues would be spelled out in a graphic manner.
Excellent book - I would definitely recommend it to others.
Update: Great book club discussion. Nicole Lundrigan the author participated in our discussion which was phenominal.
The Glass Boys is a story of two families living in Newfoundland, but the story could have taken place in any small rural town. The boys in the two families fight to figure out who they are and how to approach the world and circumstances presented to them. The brothers in the story are the characters that have really stuck with me. Ms. Lundrigan has been able to show the true brotherly bond that exists between these two boys in a very poetic matter. As the title suggests, all of the boys in the book are "glass boys" fragile, with the potential to be strong.
As others in the Opinionless Virtual Bookclub have stated, the Glass Boys is a very disturbing book, even the author called it dark on more than one occasion. Yet, the story is written in such a way that you feel for each character at one point or another as the story progresses. Some you take an early liking to only to realize later that they are not your favorite. Other characters are disliked at the beginning only to realize later that they are doing the best they can with what was handed to them.
The story has stayed with me for several weeks now. Some parts of the story actually haunt me - several of the defining chapters continue to resonate with me. I probably would have liked this book better had I known that at no point any of the "disturbing" issues would be spelled out in a graphic manner.
Excellent book - I would definitely recommend it to others.
October 30, 2012
Unflinching honest, with a vivid rawness, this is a story set in Newfoundland. A young boy, something in a jar and two brothers, one which ends up dead sets the stage for this atmospherically dark novel. The reader doesn't learn what was in the jar until further in the book as the story unravels with some brilliant prose, an honest treatment of a difficult subject. Light against darkness, a different set of brothers and a deep sense of foreboding, the reader is always aware that there is a reckoning of some kind coming. Will the past repeat the present, or will there be a better ending and a positive change that can be built upon? This is a book that will probably not appeal to everyone. Yet readers who like gritty, honest novels like those of Bonnie Jo Campbell will find much to admire in this extremely well written novel.
December 20, 2011
Mrs. Fagan sighed. Somehow, this house, rickety and full of whispers, had become a home for herself and her son. Even though he was fully grown, he lived with her still. In the room he had occupied since he was a boy. When her older daughter was grown, Mrs. Fagan had rooted her out, and she would do the same with the younger girl, as soon as possible. But Garrett would stay. Garrett was a good boy, strange, yes, different, yes, but he was a decent son. Maybe she hadn’t loved him enough, or protected him from Eli. Maybe he had been damaged somehow, when lost under the ice pans for those long minutes. But what sort of son offers up a reward he has earned to his useless old mother?
She went to her son’s room, opened the door, and there he was, on his knees, spreading out a scrap of beautiful carpet. “Looks nice,” she said. “Might be hard to keep clean.”
“I’ll be careful,” he said. “I won’t make a stain.”
“No, you won’t,” she replied. “I’m sure you won’t.” Garrett Wesley Glass was a good boy. A good man. No one could tell her any differently.
***
Glass Boys, Nicole Lundrigan’s fourth novel, is a compelling family mystery set in the small everyone-is-in-everyone’s-business town of Knife’s Point, Newfoundland. When Eli Fagan discovers the unsettling secret his stepson, Garrett Glass, has hidden in an old pickle jar, an unfortunate and accidental death drives an impassable wedge between the Fagans and a neighbouring family, the Trenches.
Spanning several years—taking us from the death of Lewis Trench’s brother Roy, through his marriage to Wilda and the childhood and adolescence of Lewis’ two young sons, Melvin and Tobias—Lundrigan gradually exposes Garrett Glass’ dangerous proclivities, and how is inability to understand and contain such urges risks destroying the Fagans and the Trenches, casting dark aspersions over the small Newfoundland town.
Lundrigan’s approach is subtly non-linear. She whisks us back and forth on a whim, dovetailing threads in an effort to understand the various threads of mistrust and discontentment that have woven these families together, in spirit if not in reality. Her method, and the supremely lyrical quality of her writing, offers a series of impressionistic family portraits that neither ignores nor directly explains the intentions of her two families, relying instead on a naturalistic manner of exploring emotional self-examination and trauma un-tethered by attentive parental influence.
The overwhelming tenor is evocative of Grant Wood’s American Gothic; there’s a lifelessness and timid presentation to both Wilda and Mrs. Fagan, a muted sensibility that trickles down to their children—Wilda, incapable of giving herself over as a mother; and Mrs. Fagan, oblivious to Garrett’s unsettling idiosyncrasies—and invariably affects their growth. Conversely, Eli Fagan is, at first glance, an abusive, uncaring husband and father figure, and Lewis Trench is more than willing to assume the worst of Melvin, without truly understanding his son’s actions. It’s through Melvin’s younger brother, Toby, that these imperfections are made clear.
The faults and inaccessibility of their parents is cyclical—Lundrigan reveals their past miseries as points on the line of fate, dictating their inadequacies as parents before children were ever a threat to their futures. The X-factor, so to speak, is Garrett, and Garrett’s very specific secret which Eli would sooner forget than comprehend. And it is Garrett and Glass Boys’ uncomfortable examination of a young boy’s confusion developing into an adult’s homosexual and paedophilic tendencies that contrasts so alarmingly with Lundrigan’s effortlessly poetic diction.
Though my lack of small town maritime experience made Lundrigan’s work somewhat difficult to penetrate, her language and respectful, realistic depictions of people and place were far more captivating than I first expected. It didn’t take long for me to feel drunk on her descriptions of environments and interactions, like ice settled on a young boy’s eyelashes, or the way two figures embrace in an act of extreme violence, “hugging almost like old friends.” Glass Boys is unnervingly soft, its tenderness underlined by thick strokes of familial secrets and dark histories.
She went to her son’s room, opened the door, and there he was, on his knees, spreading out a scrap of beautiful carpet. “Looks nice,” she said. “Might be hard to keep clean.”
“I’ll be careful,” he said. “I won’t make a stain.”
“No, you won’t,” she replied. “I’m sure you won’t.” Garrett Wesley Glass was a good boy. A good man. No one could tell her any differently.
***
Glass Boys, Nicole Lundrigan’s fourth novel, is a compelling family mystery set in the small everyone-is-in-everyone’s-business town of Knife’s Point, Newfoundland. When Eli Fagan discovers the unsettling secret his stepson, Garrett Glass, has hidden in an old pickle jar, an unfortunate and accidental death drives an impassable wedge between the Fagans and a neighbouring family, the Trenches.
Spanning several years—taking us from the death of Lewis Trench’s brother Roy, through his marriage to Wilda and the childhood and adolescence of Lewis’ two young sons, Melvin and Tobias—Lundrigan gradually exposes Garrett Glass’ dangerous proclivities, and how is inability to understand and contain such urges risks destroying the Fagans and the Trenches, casting dark aspersions over the small Newfoundland town.
Lundrigan’s approach is subtly non-linear. She whisks us back and forth on a whim, dovetailing threads in an effort to understand the various threads of mistrust and discontentment that have woven these families together, in spirit if not in reality. Her method, and the supremely lyrical quality of her writing, offers a series of impressionistic family portraits that neither ignores nor directly explains the intentions of her two families, relying instead on a naturalistic manner of exploring emotional self-examination and trauma un-tethered by attentive parental influence.
The overwhelming tenor is evocative of Grant Wood’s American Gothic; there’s a lifelessness and timid presentation to both Wilda and Mrs. Fagan, a muted sensibility that trickles down to their children—Wilda, incapable of giving herself over as a mother; and Mrs. Fagan, oblivious to Garrett’s unsettling idiosyncrasies—and invariably affects their growth. Conversely, Eli Fagan is, at first glance, an abusive, uncaring husband and father figure, and Lewis Trench is more than willing to assume the worst of Melvin, without truly understanding his son’s actions. It’s through Melvin’s younger brother, Toby, that these imperfections are made clear.
The faults and inaccessibility of their parents is cyclical—Lundrigan reveals their past miseries as points on the line of fate, dictating their inadequacies as parents before children were ever a threat to their futures. The X-factor, so to speak, is Garrett, and Garrett’s very specific secret which Eli would sooner forget than comprehend. And it is Garrett and Glass Boys’ uncomfortable examination of a young boy’s confusion developing into an adult’s homosexual and paedophilic tendencies that contrasts so alarmingly with Lundrigan’s effortlessly poetic diction.
Though my lack of small town maritime experience made Lundrigan’s work somewhat difficult to penetrate, her language and respectful, realistic depictions of people and place were far more captivating than I first expected. It didn’t take long for me to feel drunk on her descriptions of environments and interactions, like ice settled on a young boy’s eyelashes, or the way two figures embrace in an act of extreme violence, “hugging almost like old friends.” Glass Boys is unnervingly soft, its tenderness underlined by thick strokes of familial secrets and dark histories.
August 28, 2012
Glass Boys was a dark, gothic story. It's set in Newfoundland, Canada, I think in the 1970s. (I don't remember that any dates were mentioned but some of the cultural references made me think it was set in the 70s.) I wasn't familiar with how English is spoken in this region of Canada but I found the dialogue lovely to read. The characters say things like "tis" and "twas" and they put "s" on the end of a lot of words that I don't, like "you thinks you're something special" and "I wants them now". The idioms were great too; they reminded me of the charming idioms people in the southern United States use. One of my favorites was:*
"if someone don't want you, if someone don't think you got at least a few squirts of sunshine poked up your ass, you're better off without them."
The prose was wonderfully crafted and beautiful even though most of the time it was describing disturbing things. I did appreciate that there were no overly graphic scenes. The characters were well-developed and heartbreakingly flawed. The relationship between Melvin and Toby was one bright spot that kept this novel from being too depressing. I especially loved Toby. He was such a sweet boy, the kind of boy that's almost too good for this world because no one will ever treat him as kindly as he treats everyone.
I'm a fan of southern US fiction and even though this novel was Canadian, I found it very similar. The blurb mentions that this book is in the style of Newfoundland literature. I wasn't familiar with that sub-genre before reading this book. Glass Boys was so good that I'm looking forward to reading more by Nicole Lundrigan and other Newfoundland authors.
*quotes are taken from an uncorrected review copy - the final copy may differ
"if someone don't want you, if someone don't think you got at least a few squirts of sunshine poked up your ass, you're better off without them."
The prose was wonderfully crafted and beautiful even though most of the time it was describing disturbing things. I did appreciate that there were no overly graphic scenes. The characters were well-developed and heartbreakingly flawed. The relationship between Melvin and Toby was one bright spot that kept this novel from being too depressing. I especially loved Toby. He was such a sweet boy, the kind of boy that's almost too good for this world because no one will ever treat him as kindly as he treats everyone.
I'm a fan of southern US fiction and even though this novel was Canadian, I found it very similar. The blurb mentions that this book is in the style of Newfoundland literature. I wasn't familiar with that sub-genre before reading this book. Glass Boys was so good that I'm looking forward to reading more by Nicole Lundrigan and other Newfoundland authors.
*quotes are taken from an uncorrected review copy - the final copy may differ
December 1, 2018
I couldn't put the book down and will probably go back and re-read it at some point. There were some raw and disturbing threads but the book kept drawing me in. The author has an ability to write about male characters in a very convincing way. I enjoyed her development of the characters and the unfolding of the sometimes dark story. Most of all, I loved the setting in Newfoundland. My grandparents were from Newfoundland; I heard their dialect as I read Glass Boys, felt their surroundings and felt again my grandmother's telling of her family, friends and neighbour's stories. A powerful book, well written.
December 2, 2011
Well written; disturbing subject matter.
February 7, 2013
I won a copy of Glass Boys from the author, and now that I've read it, I wonder what on earth took me so long. It is a sad, yet beautiful story, and it will haunt me for years to come.
The synopsis did little in the way of preparing me for what I was about to dive into. I wasn't expecting something so lyrical, nor something so dark. It begins with an accident. Or maybe more accurately, a mistake. It sets two families on a collision course that will take decades to untangle.
I can't rave enough about the writing style. 5 stars, all the way! Nicole Lundrigan has a way of perfectly painting a scene. Her adjectives, similes and metaphors so beautifully put you in the character's shoes, that is makes even the sleaziest of characters come alive.
Now, about that sleazy character. It takes a good author to create a creepy character. But it takes a great author to make me feel sorry for him. I had both goosebumps and pity for Garrett Glass. He is what makes this story worth reading, but be prepared for the disgust that he invokes. I have never had a character give me such a physical reaction; gut wrenching, bile rising.
You may be wondering why I didn't rate this book a 5 star, since I am so clearly a fan. The pace is slow. Though this is not necessarily a bad thing, my attention span lagged a little. The book contains a lot of foreshadowing, a slow creep towards the conclusion. And when I did finally reach the end, it didn't feel big enough for all the work up. Though truly, the story ended in the only way it could have. I am completely satisfied.
While the setting was near complete, I do wish there had been some sort of time line. It often jumps ahead, sometimes years, and I had a hard time laying it all in a particular time period. It could be said that this makes it timeless, and indeed, the characters could exist anytime, anywhere. There is no mention to television, and in fact, they mention rotary phones and oil lamps. Certainly gives the reader a jumping off point to figuring out the 'when'. The dialogue gives us the 'where'. For any reader not familiar with the Newfie accent, they definitely need to check it out online. It's an accent like no other, and it plays a big part in the characters' speech.
Overall, an amazing read, and safe to say I highly recommend it.
The synopsis did little in the way of preparing me for what I was about to dive into. I wasn't expecting something so lyrical, nor something so dark. It begins with an accident. Or maybe more accurately, a mistake. It sets two families on a collision course that will take decades to untangle.
I can't rave enough about the writing style. 5 stars, all the way! Nicole Lundrigan has a way of perfectly painting a scene. Her adjectives, similes and metaphors so beautifully put you in the character's shoes, that is makes even the sleaziest of characters come alive.
Now, about that sleazy character. It takes a good author to create a creepy character. But it takes a great author to make me feel sorry for him. I had both goosebumps and pity for Garrett Glass. He is what makes this story worth reading, but be prepared for the disgust that he invokes. I have never had a character give me such a physical reaction; gut wrenching, bile rising.
You may be wondering why I didn't rate this book a 5 star, since I am so clearly a fan. The pace is slow. Though this is not necessarily a bad thing, my attention span lagged a little. The book contains a lot of foreshadowing, a slow creep towards the conclusion. And when I did finally reach the end, it didn't feel big enough for all the work up. Though truly, the story ended in the only way it could have. I am completely satisfied.
While the setting was near complete, I do wish there had been some sort of time line. It often jumps ahead, sometimes years, and I had a hard time laying it all in a particular time period. It could be said that this makes it timeless, and indeed, the characters could exist anytime, anywhere. There is no mention to television, and in fact, they mention rotary phones and oil lamps. Certainly gives the reader a jumping off point to figuring out the 'when'. The dialogue gives us the 'where'. For any reader not familiar with the Newfie accent, they definitely need to check it out online. It's an accent like no other, and it plays a big part in the characters' speech.
Overall, an amazing read, and safe to say I highly recommend it.
August 12, 2015
I received Glass Boys from the publisher for an honest review.
Glass Boys was absolutely nothing that I thought it would be. Yes it was deep I knew it’d be a little deep but I wasn’t sure what the actual premise of the book would be about and to tell you the truth after finishing the book I’m still not 100% sure what it was all about but I’m pretty sure part of it is supposed to teach you not to hold grudges and that it does very well.
There were so many characters in the book but that’s one of the things I liked about the book was so many different point of views. It started with just Lewis and Garrett. Lewis’ family is the main focus of the whole book but the plot is that Lewis and his drunken brother Roy wander on Eli Fagan’s yard and Roy ends up getting killed. From that day on Lewis holds a grudge against Eli and his whole family.
The book takes place in the course of a couple years both families do the best they can to move on. Eli has two more daughters and Lewis gets married and has two sons. But soon enough both families start to fall apart and have problems with each other.
All of the characters had there own weird personalities so a good portion of the book was spent trying to figure out the different characters and if they were good or bad and figuring out my thoughts about them. But I’m not saying that’s a bad thing because I love books that really make you think.
Overall the book gets a 4 out of 5 stars because it made me think it was deep and I loved the characters personalities it kept me turning pages and on the edge of my seat throughout the whole thing. All things a good book should have.
Glass Boys was absolutely nothing that I thought it would be. Yes it was deep I knew it’d be a little deep but I wasn’t sure what the actual premise of the book would be about and to tell you the truth after finishing the book I’m still not 100% sure what it was all about but I’m pretty sure part of it is supposed to teach you not to hold grudges and that it does very well.
There were so many characters in the book but that’s one of the things I liked about the book was so many different point of views. It started with just Lewis and Garrett. Lewis’ family is the main focus of the whole book but the plot is that Lewis and his drunken brother Roy wander on Eli Fagan’s yard and Roy ends up getting killed. From that day on Lewis holds a grudge against Eli and his whole family.
The book takes place in the course of a couple years both families do the best they can to move on. Eli has two more daughters and Lewis gets married and has two sons. But soon enough both families start to fall apart and have problems with each other.
All of the characters had there own weird personalities so a good portion of the book was spent trying to figure out the different characters and if they were good or bad and figuring out my thoughts about them. But I’m not saying that’s a bad thing because I love books that really make you think.
Overall the book gets a 4 out of 5 stars because it made me think it was deep and I loved the characters personalities it kept me turning pages and on the edge of my seat throughout the whole thing. All things a good book should have.
August 28, 2024
well gosh
this is a novel about … life.
brotherhood, love, loss, trials, tribulations
it felt tragic
it felt like a fishhook in my heart
tugging ever so softly
a jerk here and there
such an array of characters, ways of being
it even showed the multiple layers of a single human being
what seems hard, truly is sometimes soft, if you look at the right angle
BUT equally that goes the opposite way, and sometimes we refuse to see the rough edges and believe the reality we want to be true, which doesn’t get us very far with the ones we love or ourselves
ps the dialect was amazing and has me wanting to speak like them now
——————
He slit his own finger, then pressed his finger to Toby's, let the blood mix and smear.
"Blood brothers," Toby said, and he looked up at Melvin and smiled. "We's blood brothers, now." Sins of the morning losing color as he considered this new and deeper connection.
"Yep. 'Bout time." Melvin licked his finger, smeared the remainder on his jeans, then hugged his brother's shoulder.
"We'll do some big things together, Toad. Some day. Wilbur and Orville. That's us two."
Squinting in the sun, Toby cocked his head to one side, looked up at his brother, "I knows who Wilbur is. That pig. With the spider. But who's Orville?"
you can’t make someone open their eyes
this is a novel about … life.
brotherhood, love, loss, trials, tribulations
it felt tragic
it felt like a fishhook in my heart
tugging ever so softly
a jerk here and there
such an array of characters, ways of being
it even showed the multiple layers of a single human being
what seems hard, truly is sometimes soft, if you look at the right angle
BUT equally that goes the opposite way, and sometimes we refuse to see the rough edges and believe the reality we want to be true, which doesn’t get us very far with the ones we love or ourselves
ps the dialect was amazing and has me wanting to speak like them now
——————
He slit his own finger, then pressed his finger to Toby's, let the blood mix and smear.
"Blood brothers," Toby said, and he looked up at Melvin and smiled. "We's blood brothers, now." Sins of the morning losing color as he considered this new and deeper connection.
"Yep. 'Bout time." Melvin licked his finger, smeared the remainder on his jeans, then hugged his brother's shoulder.
"We'll do some big things together, Toad. Some day. Wilbur and Orville. That's us two."
Squinting in the sun, Toby cocked his head to one side, looked up at his brother, "I knows who Wilbur is. That pig. With the spider. But who's Orville?"
you can’t make someone open their eyes
September 3, 2012
* I give this book a 4.5/5 *
My favourite aspect of this novel was "hearing" that lilting Newfoundland accent once again. The dialogue (not something I usually comment on) was saturated with it, and I loved it.
This is a difficult novel to rate. While it is very well-written, it contains dark matter that is so vaguely hinted at on the book jacket that I missed it - and was thus unprepared. As the novel unfolds, the reader quickly realizes that something very bad - something amoral - is going to happen. I found it difficult, as a reader, to continue reading through the build-up, knowing that at any moment I could turn the page and "the event" would happen. And I had to wait until very close of the end of the novel for that evil to erupt.
I therefore read the book with the intention of "Quick, get through it and get it finished" rather than with a sense of leisurely enjoyment - and this spoiled my reading experience a little.
However, it wouldn't be right to knock the book down a few points just because I found the content difficult to digest. It was, again, very well written. Author Nicole Lundrigan made the reading experience extra bittersweet because side-by-side with the darkness was a raw and beautiful family love. That juxtaposition was achingly poignant.
My favourite aspect of this novel was "hearing" that lilting Newfoundland accent once again. The dialogue (not something I usually comment on) was saturated with it, and I loved it.
This is a difficult novel to rate. While it is very well-written, it contains dark matter that is so vaguely hinted at on the book jacket that I missed it - and was thus unprepared. As the novel unfolds, the reader quickly realizes that something very bad - something amoral - is going to happen. I found it difficult, as a reader, to continue reading through the build-up, knowing that at any moment I could turn the page and "the event" would happen. And I had to wait until very close of the end of the novel for that evil to erupt.
I therefore read the book with the intention of "Quick, get through it and get it finished" rather than with a sense of leisurely enjoyment - and this spoiled my reading experience a little.
However, it wouldn't be right to knock the book down a few points just because I found the content difficult to digest. It was, again, very well written. Author Nicole Lundrigan made the reading experience extra bittersweet because side-by-side with the darkness was a raw and beautiful family love. That juxtaposition was achingly poignant.
May 25, 2011
I was very lucky to read an advance copy of Newfoundland author Nicole Lundrigan's new novel Glass Boys. This is a book that stays with you. Haunting, raw, uncanny almost - words that describe this very compelling voice. Though transplanted to Toronto now, Lundrigan clearly hasn't left The Rock too far behind. Her dialogue - between brothers, between reluctant lovers, between parents & children, between a boy and his own demons - is authentic and true and clips along in your own head as if you were eaves-dropping from a craggy cliff nearby. She'll be one to watch.
April 22, 2012
This was the most difficult book I've ever read! The subject matter was tough, and having 2 young boys of my own, all the more difficult. So many times I said to myself, 'I won't read this anymore it's just too awful',but then found my eyes just scanning the next few pages to see what happens next. Several hours later, when I finished the book, I was so exhausted from crying. I'm giving this one a 5 star rating, since any book that can conjure up such emotion deserves it!
July 30, 2013
I am really enjoying these East-coast Canadian authors lately, and this book is a real gem.
It's a story that spans through two generations in a small town in Newfoundland, and different perspectives from boyhood to adulthood. The story is dark, shocking, and tragic right from the start with many suspenseful moments that will keep you reading until the end.
I highly recommend it. I can't wait to read some of Lundrigan's other books!
It's a story that spans through two generations in a small town in Newfoundland, and different perspectives from boyhood to adulthood. The story is dark, shocking, and tragic right from the start with many suspenseful moments that will keep you reading until the end.
I highly recommend it. I can't wait to read some of Lundrigan's other books!
July 9, 2011
I also got an advanced copy--book is due out in early September--and I couldn't put it down. Beautiful, haunting and suspenseful! Lundrigan is a very special writer and this is a powerful novel. (Just saw a fantastic review in Quill & Quire for this novel too!)
May 29, 2019
Absolutely loved this book. Well written, serious prose so well done. Proud the author is canadian and will read her other books.
Story of two families with many burdens to carry in their souls and the effect of these victim's scars on their life and the life of their childrens. Lewis and Roy, Eli and Garret Glass, Toby and Melvin and of course Wilda.
Story of two families with many burdens to carry in their souls and the effect of these victim's scars on their life and the life of their childrens. Lewis and Roy, Eli and Garret Glass, Toby and Melvin and of course Wilda.
November 26, 2011
At one point it was widely believed that each cell that makes up our bodies lived, died, and was replenished every seven years, essentially giving each of us a fresh start and a chance at living a new existence several times throughout the length of an average lifetime. Of course we now know that the cells in our bodies all have different life spans, and some, like our brain cells, never replenish at all.
Like it or not, who we are today is a direct result of the experiences we’ve lived through. Glass Boys, Nicole Lundrigan’s stunning forth novel questions why some of us can effortlessly brush off the miseries we’ve endured in our past to lead full, happy, and productive lives while others will get hung up on even the smallest perceived injustices, unable to break free and move forward, instead finding themselves compelled to inflict the same pain they endured themselves on those closest to them in a seemingly endless cycle.
READ MORE:
http://www.opinionless.com/book-revie...
Like it or not, who we are today is a direct result of the experiences we’ve lived through. Glass Boys, Nicole Lundrigan’s stunning forth novel questions why some of us can effortlessly brush off the miseries we’ve endured in our past to lead full, happy, and productive lives while others will get hung up on even the smallest perceived injustices, unable to break free and move forward, instead finding themselves compelled to inflict the same pain they endured themselves on those closest to them in a seemingly endless cycle.
READ MORE:
http://www.opinionless.com/book-revie...
February 22, 2012
This is a story coming out of Newfoundland. It is a well written story of deep human saga which is dark, raw and haunting. I thought of this book for many days after I finished the last page.
Throughout the book, I felt myself cheering when anything positive or uplifting may have happened to any of the characters, but sadly, there was little cheering. At the same time, I fell into despair at the seemingly hopeless lives of the characters and the dysfunction in the families that we learn to know. I wanted to scream at them and tell them that life can be better than this. I wanted to yell at the parents and show them how to love their children.
Next month, I will be able to question the author in person about this book, as she has agreed to visit my bookclub! Thanks, Nicole - looking forward to meeting you!
Throughout the book, I felt myself cheering when anything positive or uplifting may have happened to any of the characters, but sadly, there was little cheering. At the same time, I fell into despair at the seemingly hopeless lives of the characters and the dysfunction in the families that we learn to know. I wanted to scream at them and tell them that life can be better than this. I wanted to yell at the parents and show them how to love their children.
Next month, I will be able to question the author in person about this book, as she has agreed to visit my bookclub! Thanks, Nicole - looking forward to meeting you!
December 19, 2016
Newfoundland writers, novels about Newfoundland, it seems the only fiction that captures my attention at the moment.
Glass Boys is full and big, a rich story of two neighbouring families where life is hard and stuff happens because it's a hard life. At times I thought it was too much, events worked in by the author to fill out the story, but in the end it works. I know it does because of my reactions, which were very emotional. It felt sort of like Anne-Marie MacDonald's Fall on your Knees, breathless, never a boring minute, where us urbanites think "really, would that really happen?" But if you run with it instead of questioning, you end up with a deeply satisfying read.
Glass Boys is full and big, a rich story of two neighbouring families where life is hard and stuff happens because it's a hard life. At times I thought it was too much, events worked in by the author to fill out the story, but in the end it works. I know it does because of my reactions, which were very emotional. It felt sort of like Anne-Marie MacDonald's Fall on your Knees, breathless, never a boring minute, where us urbanites think "really, would that really happen?" But if you run with it instead of questioning, you end up with a deeply satisfying read.
January 10, 2012
I couldn't put this book down! The story moves between different time frames but never gives the feeling of being disjointed as sometimes happens when scenes move over a span of years. Lundrigan's story is raw but touching, a clever construction of characters who are all formed by their pasts. Highly recommended.
October 2, 2012
A hauntingly vivid tale written in a Newfoundland accent, I found myself wishing for more lightness in this very dark book. The characters are all well written and very memorable.
This is a book that will stay with you long after you finish it. It’s a book I will probably read again.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves suspence, but be warned, this is definitely a hard read.
This is a book that will stay with you long after you finish it. It’s a book I will probably read again.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves suspence, but be warned, this is definitely a hard read.
May 23, 2013
A night of drunkness, brings Lewis and his brother, Roy, in harm's way on the Fagan farm. The result, Roy's death is considered accidental. How will Lewis deal with this? Will he and the Fagan's ever be the same? Can love erase the marks of history imprinted on each of us? See where Lewis and his future meets to show how life has a funny way of showing itself. Enjoyed.
November 7, 2011
I got an advance copy of this book. It looked like it was going to be really good but it ended up not being as exciting as i thought. I jad a hars time getting through the novel amd it took me almost a month to finish because i just found it so utterly boring.
March 8, 2014
Bleak, tense, poetic - she does a fantastic job of creating a moody atmosphere, a Newfoundland Gothic. I suspect the lyrical voice won't be to everyone's tastes, but those who identify with it will find themselves transported.
June 5, 2013
What a wonderful, heartbreaking, haunting book about love, loss, and inner demons. So good that I am tempted to pick it back up and read it again.
September 24, 2011
Extremely well written with lots of emotion. Nicole Lundrigan had delivered another hit.
This book from Goodreads First Reads.
This book from Goodreads First Reads.
August 16, 2011
A really great novel. Complex characters who really had me rooting for them all along. Captivating narrative making it not easy to put down. Highly recomended!!!
November 23, 2011
Okay, insert sound of breath being expelled forcefully from your gut. An anxious and disturbing read for certain. But a really very good one too.
September 14, 2012
A haunting story that left me quite sad. Lundrigan knows how to reach her readers on an emotional level, interweaving hardship and beauty into her story. Raw and poignant.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews