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Hope Burned
?You sit down at the weathered harvest table to write a letter to your son. You need to explain the horrific events of the night, the circumstances that stained your hands with so much blood — the horrors that led you to take the lives of your own father and grandfather. You journey back through darkness, deliberately, tentatively, to recover your own childhood. You compose your captivity, your torture, and the brutality of the men you’ve just killed. This was life on the farm: the strange and unspeakable things that went on. And still, hope burned. By the very same light you also write about escape, about security, compassion, and even love. The simple kindnesses that made you the man you are today, shielding you from danger, teaching you to live…. Until everything changed — everything but the farm. At once as bleak and moving, tense and beautiful as Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Brent LaPorte’s Hope Burned emerges from the ashes of the simplest, nearest apocalypse, from the innocence of childhood utterly betrayed, to ask which is the more difficult: to choose to live, or to die?
184 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2010
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 7, 2011
The back cover of Brent Laporte’s debut novel Hope Burned promises that the story is “at once as bleak and moving, tense and beautiful as Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.” The comparison fits: both books are emotionally provocative tales of horror and hope. I’d even venture to say that Hope Burned suggests the dangerous repercussions of child abuse with the same sinister intensity that The Road stresses the importance of a healthy ecosystem to human survival.
A nameless boy endures years of abuse at the hands of his father and grandfather, who keep him isolated and enslaved on their remote farm. The only other human being he ever encountered was a young blond girl whom his guardians / jailers lured to the property and later raped and killed. We know nothing of the boy’s mother, but one surmises that she probably met a similar fate after giving birth. The memory of the girl haunts him for the remainder of his days. When he finally escapes and stumbles into civilization, he is taken in by kind people who finally give him a name- Tom. Although he grows into a successful and happily married adult, Tom can’t stop questioning what kind of a future he has when his past refuses to stay buried. So he returns to the farm, kills both his father and grandfather, and writes a memoir to help his young son to understand why.
Laporte structured Hope Burned so that it reads like a letter from Tom to his son. It has no chapter divisions, but in this instance such structure might hinder the flow and personality of the prose. Because Tom presents his story as both an apology and confessional, the reader’s voyeuristic instincts are quickly aroused, making it the type of book that’s consumed in a couple of sittings.
The character of Tom reminds me a lot of Canadian-born Sanford Clark, who was abducted from his Saskatoon home by his uncle, Gordon Stewart Northcott, in 1926. Northcott took the boy to his isolated chicken ranch in California and used him as farm hand and sex slave. During that time Northcott also raped and murdered at least three young boys, setting the authorities on his trail. In 1928 they rescued Sanford Clark, whose testimony ensured his uncle’s conviction and execution. (The entire tragedy later became the subject of a Clint Eastwood film, Changeling.) Clark returned to his native Saskatoon and became a leading citizen, but the memories of Northcott’s victims stayed with him. Like Tom, he always blamed himself for his failure to save them.
This is one novel that I highly recommend to True Crime fans. The people and events have so many real-life equivalents that it’s hard to forget Hope Burned is fiction and not a survivor’s memoir.
A nameless boy endures years of abuse at the hands of his father and grandfather, who keep him isolated and enslaved on their remote farm. The only other human being he ever encountered was a young blond girl whom his guardians / jailers lured to the property and later raped and killed. We know nothing of the boy’s mother, but one surmises that she probably met a similar fate after giving birth. The memory of the girl haunts him for the remainder of his days. When he finally escapes and stumbles into civilization, he is taken in by kind people who finally give him a name- Tom. Although he grows into a successful and happily married adult, Tom can’t stop questioning what kind of a future he has when his past refuses to stay buried. So he returns to the farm, kills both his father and grandfather, and writes a memoir to help his young son to understand why.
Laporte structured Hope Burned so that it reads like a letter from Tom to his son. It has no chapter divisions, but in this instance such structure might hinder the flow and personality of the prose. Because Tom presents his story as both an apology and confessional, the reader’s voyeuristic instincts are quickly aroused, making it the type of book that’s consumed in a couple of sittings.
The character of Tom reminds me a lot of Canadian-born Sanford Clark, who was abducted from his Saskatoon home by his uncle, Gordon Stewart Northcott, in 1926. Northcott took the boy to his isolated chicken ranch in California and used him as farm hand and sex slave. During that time Northcott also raped and murdered at least three young boys, setting the authorities on his trail. In 1928 they rescued Sanford Clark, whose testimony ensured his uncle’s conviction and execution. (The entire tragedy later became the subject of a Clint Eastwood film, Changeling.) Clark returned to his native Saskatoon and became a leading citizen, but the memories of Northcott’s victims stayed with him. Like Tom, he always blamed himself for his failure to save them.
This is one novel that I highly recommend to True Crime fans. The people and events have so many real-life equivalents that it’s hard to forget Hope Burned is fiction and not a survivor’s memoir.
December 26, 2021
This page-turning novel kept me intrigued from beginning to end. A story of intense abuse turns into one of hope, and then surprises you with an unexpected twist at the end. While many other readers have commented on the unrealistic aspects to the story, it is true that trauma can make us act in unexpected and out-of-character ways, and I believe that Tom’s years of abuse finally surfaced for him at the end making this a gripping tale.
Very impressed by Brent’s writing, it was a great first book and I look forward to his next creations!
Very impressed by Brent’s writing, it was a great first book and I look forward to his next creations!
January 26, 2023
grips you but was unhappy with the twist, builds complex characters over a short period of time. Is the MC truly better than his father?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 9, 2018
This started off interesting enough, and I felt a lot of sympathy for the MC. But once he gets away from his family, the story becomes too good to be believable and I became bored with it. I skimmed a good portion before getting to the “twist” and while it was shocking, it came out of no where and I was disappointed that it ended that way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2017
An easy read, but it was poignant and beautiful. The novel is about a man writing a letter to his son about his life and the choices he made. The story moved quickly, was a page turner and never became repetitious or boring. The ending was (no spoilers) a shock. I was impressed with Brent Laporte's first novel and would read another of his.
December 17, 2010
I could not stop reading this novel and in fact I read in all in one sitting. It is not that long but it is quite intense. It is a letter written by the protagonist to his son and he is writing this letter just after killing his father and his grandfather. The book gives graphic details of the protagonist's abuse at the hands of his father and his grandfather when he is younger. While reading this book a range of emotions took hold of me and at times I found myself actually crying. I do not want to ruin the ending of this book but the one thing I did not like about this novel is how the protagonist seems to make a huge transformation in terms of his personality. I truely believe that had some of his thoughts at the end of the book were real they would have manifested slowly and at a younger age. Overall though, I give this book a 4.5 out of 5.
January 21, 2011
The book was gripping and a fast read. As mentioned in other reviews, true crime readers who like the inspirational genre will like this book.
There were a few tangents, like when the father gives his son advice, which cut into the pacing of the book. The musings about faith, afterlife and gods didn't seem to come from the character so much as the author. Because the character was not very religious for most of the book it came across as a bit disjointed when he abruptly started talking about religion.
The "sudden" discovery at the end seems a bit far fetched. Tom seems pretty rational and well adjusted so why would he decide that his problem is inherited? Revelations in the end cause the book's format as a letter to lose some of its impact.
There were a few tangents, like when the father gives his son advice, which cut into the pacing of the book. The musings about faith, afterlife and gods didn't seem to come from the character so much as the author. Because the character was not very religious for most of the book it came across as a bit disjointed when he abruptly started talking about religion.
The "sudden" discovery at the end seems a bit far fetched. Tom seems pretty rational and well adjusted so why would he decide that his problem is inherited? Revelations in the end cause the book's format as a letter to lose some of its impact.
March 5, 2012
The Title - Hope Burned
The Author - Brent LaPorte
I read the book this morning. It was compelling while disturbing.
It is my habit to read "feel good" stories when I pick up a novel, so the jacket of this book left me wondering if it would be a page turner.
It was.
The author crawled into the skin of this character in such a way that as the reader, I felt I was looking at the world through the eyes of this young boy. I was impressed and compelled to read it in one sitting. What an amazing success for a first timer.
The story is told so well, you forget it is fiction. What disturbed me was the fact that this could easily have happened.
The Author - Brent LaPorte
I read the book this morning. It was compelling while disturbing.
It is my habit to read "feel good" stories when I pick up a novel, so the jacket of this book left me wondering if it would be a page turner.
It was.
The author crawled into the skin of this character in such a way that as the reader, I felt I was looking at the world through the eyes of this young boy. I was impressed and compelled to read it in one sitting. What an amazing success for a first timer.
The story is told so well, you forget it is fiction. What disturbed me was the fact that this could easily have happened.
November 28, 2010
Hope Burned by Brent LaPorte is a very intense story. Tom is writing a letter to his son, explaining the events that brought him to kill his father and grandfather. The descriptive scenes of him telling of the abuse he suffered by their hands as a child was hard to read and very thought provoking. This story will get you thinking of humanity. It was kind of infuriating to see the way the dad and grandfather beat and starved this boy. I found the ending confusing. It was a short read, but very intense and emotional so be prepared
January 22, 2016
This is a nicely sized book with a powerful story. I liked the imagery of hope being burned into his skin. That his father slipped up and that his form of punishment was going to be a mark that represents his struggle to freedom. This book could start a great discussion between nature vs. nurture. ~Ashley
October 20, 2011
I thought this book was really interesting. I flew through it in just over a day and thought it was a great story. If you are looking for a quick read and good story about the hardships one boy goes through and the story of his life, then this is the book for you.
March 17, 2022
Shooketh
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews