Rating: 
Summary: Another Homerun for Chris Bohjalian
Review: "The Buffalo Soldier" proved to me that Chris Bohjalian is a wonderful, timeless storyteller. In this book, the author takes what could be harsh storylines of a loss of one's children, marital infidelity, and interracial adoptions and weaves a story that is a delight to read, with only subtle hints of these harsh issues--they become secondary to the real story of people's lives. He has a wonderful sense of the people in his home state of Vermont, and develops their characters so that you feel like you've known them all of your life. This was a wonderful read! I thorougly enjoyed one of his other books, "Midwives," and now can't wait to read his other works!
Rating:
Summary: Empathetic understanding of loss & fostering
Review: As the adoptive parent of two children who were wards of the state social service, I found this book honest and reflective of many of the emotional, social, and cultural struggles we've gone through. Sometimes dealing with these kids it's as if we're from different planets. Many times I wonder if it's worth it. Alfred and Terry's relationship shows that stress. It's not a Cinderella ending but it is a growing through.I loved the empathetic and sagacious neighbors who provided much needed support. Some of the plot was sensational rather than realistic, but overall a very good read.
Rating:
Summary: A great read, and an interesting historic highlight!
Review: Chris A. Bojalian has scored again! Sentimentality mixed with a reason to give poignancy a chance to shine is apropos for melodrama at its best. The Buffalo Soldier, an unforgettable tale that catches the human element and give reason not to give up on this book. Tragedy finds Laura and Terry Sheldon, losing twin nine year-old daughters due to a flash flood in rural Vermont. The death of the girls only added more angst and ill-will to the couple struggling to keep their marriage afloat. This seemed a hard task to rectify as both dealt and reacted to the tragedy in different ways. To wit: Terry wants to be able to control his life, take charge, make things right. This is a very accurate portrayal for a dedicated law enforcement officer. Laura brings another child in their life, Alfred, an African American boy. Not only is this a challenge because his years in foster care have left him distrustful of most everyone, but they are living in Vermont where there are very few other African Americans. With this analogy in tow, the author is on his way, and does a masterful job of weaving a second element into the storyline, thus evoking a different point of view. Alfred, elicits emotional ties to The Buffalo Soldiers and can easily be synonymous with his status as an orphan. Historically speaking, the Buffalo Soldiers were a compelling factor in the taming of the west, and were ostracized by society and the military. The real gem in this story is the fact that when the need to be accepted without preconceived notions, it does wonders for the psyche and deals prejudice another blow for legitimacy. This, he gets from a concerned neighbor who does his part to add substance to this novel. Adding to that, Alfred solves his problems dealing with foster parentage by learning of the history that caused these men to be honored, as they came for him to be the role models that he emulated. Talking about turning a bad story to a good one, it worked for Alfred...but what about Laura and Terry? Does the aforementioned `good Samaritan' neighbor earn the appreciation of both Laura and Terry? How does Alfred's maturation affect his decision-making ideals and the timeliness of dealing with the world? These are questions that will be answered as one delves into this wrenching story. The author, from the characterizations offered here gives us a moving and a richly crafted drama that explores such issues as infidelity, bonding agents needed to keep children and families together, and the relative factors that causes a community to become one. The Buffalo Soldier is an awe-inspiring tale, profound and with an ethical aura to it that readers would appreciate. This you would expect from an author that is no stranger to dramatic cause and effect
Rating:
Summary: A great read, and an interesting historic highlight!
Review: Chris A. Bojalian has scored again! Sentimentality mixed with a reason to give poignancy a chance to shine is apropos for melodrama at its best. The Buffalo Soldier, an unforgettable tale that catches the human element and give reason not to give up on this book. Tragedy finds Laura and Terry Sheldon, losing twin nine year-old daughters due to a flash flood in rural Vermont. The death of the girls only added more angst and ill-will to the couple struggling to keep their marriage afloat. This seemed a hard task to rectify as both dealt and reacted to the tragedy in different ways. To wit: Terry wants to be able to control his life, take charge, make things right. This is a very accurate portrayal for a dedicated law enforcement officer. Laura brings another child in their life, Alfred, an African American boy. Not only is this a challenge because his years in foster care have left him distrustful of most everyone, but they are living in Vermont where there are very few other African Americans. With this analogy in tow, the author is on his way, and does a masterful job of weaving a second element into the storyline, thus evoking a different point of view. Alfred, elicits emotional ties to The Buffalo Soldiers and can easily be synonymous with his status as an orphan. Historically speaking, the Buffalo Soldiers were a compelling factor in the taming of the west, and were ostracized by society and the military. The real gem in this story is the fact that when the need to be accepted without preconceived notions, it does wonders for the psyche and deals prejudice another blow for legitimacy. This, he gets from a concerned neighbor who does his part to add substance to this novel. Adding to that, Alfred solves his problems dealing with foster parentage by learning of the history that caused these men to be honored, as they came for him to be the role models that he emulated. Talking about turning a bad story to a good one, it worked for Alfred...but what about Laura and Terry? Does the aforementioned 'good Samaritan' neighbor earn the appreciation of both Laura and Terry? How does Alfred's maturation affect his decision-making ideals and the timeliness of dealing with the world? These are questions that will be answered as one delves into this wrenching story. The author, from the characterizations offered here gives us a moving and a richly crafted drama that explores such issues as infidelity, bonding agents needed to keep children and families together, and the relative factors that causes a community to become one. The Buffalo Soldier is an awe-inspiring tale, profound and with an ethical aura to it that readers would appreciate. This you would expect from an author that is no stranger to dramatic cause and effect
Rating:
Summary: Exceptional Story
Review: Chris Bohajalian is an amazing author captoring emotions of characters, male or female, adult or child, any culture, any time frame and thrilling the reader with an entrance into a world that is at once intense and charming. The main characters of this story are three dimensional, and the central character not only heals but brings healing and love to a multigenerational cast of characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Bohjalian Won't Disappoint You
Review: Chris Bohjalian has captured the essence of his characters, once again. In THE BUFFALO SOLDIER, a story about grief, marital strife, friendship and neighbors, and the sad past of a little boy trying to survive in the foster care system, Bohjalian manages to pull the reader into the stream of the story easily. The death of their twin girls has naturally changed Laura and Terry and even two years later we watch as they both continue to deal with their grief, albeit in very different ways. Terry, the cop, and Laura, the animal shelter supervisor, are going to react differently to this tragedy and it's interesting how their job choices reflect their reactions. Bohjalian does this in a very realistic way. Terry wants to be able to control his life, take charge, make things right. This is a very accurate portrayal for a dedicated law enforcement officer. Laura brings another child in their life, Alfred, an African American boy. Not only is this a challenge because his years in foster care have left him distrustful of most everyone, but they are living in Vermont where there are very few other African Americans. Just as it is Laura's nature to want to help others, protect and love those who don't have someone to care for them, it is Terry's nature to want life to feel more normal, even though he knows it never can. I was a little disturbed with the ending. It ends well but there were a few questions left unanswered for me. Perhaps Bohjalian is thinking of a sequel in the years to come. Or maybe we can fill in the blanks ourselves. At any rate, this is another good story by Chris Bohjalian as he continues to make interesting stories from unusual circumstances come alive.
Rating:
Summary: Bohjalian is a can't miss!!
Review: Chris Bohjalian is such a great author! I started with Midwives & am working my way through his books. The Buffalo Soldier is a great story. All of his stories keep you so interested. The characters are people you can relate to. Pick this book up!
Rating:
Summary: Touching novel about grief, betrayal and redemption.
Review: Chris Bohjalian proved in his wonderful novel, "Midwives," that he has a deep understanding of the courage that ordinary people need to survive in a complex and often tragic world. He also showed an uncanny ability to write from both a male and a female perspective. In his latest novel, "The Buffalo Soldier," Bohjalian once again beautifully explores how human relationships are tested by the pressures of life. The setting is rural Vermont. Bohjalian focuses on a troubled couple, Laura and Terry Sheldon, whose nine-year-old twin daughters die tragically in a flash flood. The Sheldons are grief-stricken and their sorrow spills over into their marriage, threatening to tear it apart. Laura and Terry decide to take in a ten-year-old foster child named Alfred, who is African-American. Alfred is a gentle boy, but he is hesitant to bond with anyone, since he has been moved around regularly from one home to another over the years. Bohjalian brilliantly describes the ever-changing dynamics in Laura's and Terry's relationship. The introduction of a child into their empty household may be an opportunity for the couple to heal, but Laura seems to relate to the boy while Terry holds back. Fortunately, Alfred is befriended by a wonderful and warm neighbor, Paul Hebert. Paul introduces Alfred to the history of the famed Buffalo soldiers, an African-American regiment that fought in the late 1800's. He also teaches Alfred how to care for and ride a horse. It is heart-warming to watch this reserved child blossom as he begins to form new friendships and as he learns more about himself and his heritage. Bohjalian switches perspective from one chapter to the next, and he allows us to attain an intimate knowledge of what each character thinks and feels. By the end of the novel, I was deeply invested in the outcome. Occasionally, the dialogue is a bit stilted and there are a few scenes that border on the melodramatic. Overall, however, "The Buffalo Soldier" is a touching reminder that although human beings are fragile, they are also resilient. Loving someone deeply makes us vulnerable to loss, but if we are to achieve a meaningful life, it is a risk worth taking.
Rating:
Summary: Depends On What You Like
Review: Chris Bohjalian's, "The Buffalo Soldier", is a well-crafted and at times beautifully written novel. Simplified, the book is about human nature when placed under extreme duress due to tragedy. No parent should ever have to bury one child much less face the horror of two young deaths, and any attempt at recovery is by definition going to be traumatic at best. The author creates a couple that tries to travel back to some form of life that is tolerable if not one that will ever be purely happy again. The way they proceed is extreme in the unusual choices they make, and the ingrained difficulties their choice is burdened with. The setting is Vermont, a very rural Vermont of dirt roads and mountain streams that can still tear apart lives. This is not Burlington by the lake, a city an hours drive from cosmopolitan Montreal. The decision to take a Foster Child in to their home is hardly an easy choice. Many children from these programs have lead itinerant lives at best, and have experienced views of human behavior that no person should see. So when a grieving couple opens their home to a young African American boy who has been bounced about by the system from his original home in Philadelphia, only to be placed in a very rural and very white environment, there are issues for everyone. The author deals with so many issues that it is not possible to comment on them all, so I choose one that I enjoyed the most. This young boy has the good fortune to have an elderly couple that helps him to learn about his history and define himself, who offer some stability while his foster parents deal with their own demons that are far from confronted much less solved. This couple has traveled the nation and has brought home every knick-knack they have seen. These are the people that the makers of cheesy souvenirs live for. But more importantly they know this country's history and with a book and a cap with a buffalo on it they change this young man's life. Buffalo soldier was the name given to African American soldiers by Native Americans. It is a name that was given out of respect for these men, men that history too often slights. The young man learns of the history that caused these men to be honored, and they become for him the role models that he will emulate. This part of the novel was my favorite element; there were many others but none that struck with such power and grace. And that is why my comments for the title of this review are a bit ambivalent. There was much about the book I found to be slow, and some was a bit cliché. However this relationship made the entire book a worthwhile read.
Rating:
Summary: A solid story with a strong heart.
Review: Firstly I'd like to commend the reader of this eight audio cassette version, Ms. Alison Fraser, for having done as superb a narration I've yet heard on an audio version of any book. Secondly, the story itself has little to do with "The Buffalo Soldiers" story itself, yet the author, even by mentioning them very little in comparison with the rest of the story, manages to incorporate the essence of "The Buffalo Soldiers" themselves so that without it, I don't think this book could make it. Beginning with the tragic deaths of two little girls and the effect their deaths has on their family, Laura, their mother and Terry, their father, and intricately weaving in the story of a young, black, foster child, this story manages to capture and tug at your heart quite strongly. Terry is a "tough guy" state trooper you have to be careful not to dislike, but by tape 2 I was transfixed, listening more and more each day, needing outcomes. The author's message seems clear, triumph over tragedy, victory despite adversity, harsh realities we ignore when we could help, yet this tender story of Alfred, a ten year old black child, says so much more. Chris Bohjalian speaks to prejudice, to nightmares, to heartaches, to love and to spirit in the harsh settings of today and during the Buffalo Soldier's time as well. The story is brilliantly crafted and excellently told. This one, well, you might, perhaps, come to believe in your dreams again.
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