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Summary: Hope and Pain
Review: Hope and Pain collide in this amazing story about a Vermont couple who become foster parents to a kicked-around, African-American boy. The prose is vivid and intense, Outstanding imagery and spectacular use of one bit of U.S. history that change many lives. Complex and simple at the same time. You'll be up all night with this one!
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Summary: Buffalo Soldiers: A Positive Influence on a Young Life
Review: I am an African-American whose wife is a native of Vermont. Having visited the State many times, I've become quite fond of its mountains, its small, clean towns and its people. I, therefore, was particularly interested in how the author would handle the story of an orphaned African-American boy in 90%+ white Vermont in his book, "The Buffalo Soldier."The book is one I'm sure to re-read many times. The characters, as appropriate to the story line, are especially well developed -- and, as such, the type one can really "feel" for and care about, even Russell, the wayward brother of the main male character. Having read a great deal of history and fiction about the "real" Buffalo Soldiers, I thought the inserts of correspondence to and / or about Sergeant George Rowe, a Buffalo Soldier, added an extra dimension to the story. It reinforces ones emotional ties to the orphan boy, Alfred, and bespeaks volumes, historically speaking, about the somewhat orphaned status of the Buffalo Soldiers on the Western Plains. The author ended his story in such an upbeat, optimistic manner on Alfred -- "...the immense thrust [of the horse] invisible to anyone but the boy on the creature's back -- he was rising, rising rising ... And Aloft" -- that I feel he must write a sequel describing the teenage years and young manhood of Alfred. Hopefully we'll all be so fortunate! In short, I thoroughly enjoyed the book...
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Summary: Hard to get through
Review: I found myself struggling to complete this book. I'm a big fan of Chris Bohjalian but was disappointed with this book.
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Summary: Must Read
Review: I found this book very compelling and could hardly put it down.
It is definitely the best novel Bohjalian has written to date.
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Summary: Engrossing and very Good!
Review: I have never read one of Bohjalian's books before even though I had purchased Midwives a few months back (it is still sitting on my shelf), but I guarantee this will not be the last one of his books I read. I have since ordered his last two books and look forward to reading those. This book follows the story of a couple who's twin daughters are killed during a flood, the foster son they take into their home two years later, the elderly couple who live across the street and the single, pregnant girlfriend who lives miles away and has never met any of the other characters except for the twins' father. Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of the characters and the story moves forward very rapidly. Although the book is close to 400 pages, the story is not dragged out and I never found myself skimming the pages or flipping forward just to get on with the story (as I have in some other books I've recently read). Every page has a point and each point flows to the next and I never found myself bored or anxious to get on with it - quite the opposite actually. I was sorry when I finished each chapter, wanting to hear more from that particular character only to go on to the next chapter and get just as interested in that character's point of view. I found myself routing for the foster child and mother, laughing at the elderly couple and frustrated and disappointed in the father's younger brother and even some of the father's actions. Descriptions are good and I could easily imagine the towns where the story took place. The story includes a few historical points also about the Buffalo SOldiers since the elder gentleman gives the foster child a book on the subject to read. Each chapter is introduced with a piece of history referring to those times and the Buffalo Soldiers and the reader will learn a little bit more about that time in history. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading other books by Chris Bohjalian and his next release (whenever that may be - it sems life he spaces them about 18 months apart). If you like Alice Hoffman, you will most likely become a fan of Bohjalian since their styles are similar (characters linked together by a specific incident and stories that flow forward without hestiation). I know that I've become a fan and am happy I chose to read this book.
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Summary: A wonderful story
Review: I have read all of Chris Bohjalian's books and this one in one of the best. Such a wonderful, compelling story. Definitely worth buying.
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Summary: Worth your while but ending disappoints
Review: I have read many of Chris Bohjalian's books, and I really enjoy his descriptive writing not only of the characters but the settings as well. I enjoyed reading this book very much, and liked how he switched the perspective from one character to the next, as he has done in other books he has written. I particularly love the development of Alfred as his relationship with his foster mother and his neighbor's horse grows. The overall feeling from the book is a sad one. Like another poster, I too wanted the ending to be what it was, but it truly felt contrived and a whole lot of hulabaloo was wrapped up and packaged nicely within just a few pages for the ending.
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Summary: He does it again.
Review: I like Bohjolain's books. They always teach you something. With Midwives, it was about midwifery. With The Law of Similars, we learn about homeopathy. With the Bufallo Soldiers, we learn about the foster care system, about being a cop, about grief after losing a child, and what it's like to be a minority (an African-American boy) in a small town. Bohjolain's takes the reader along with his well crafted characters and then, doesn't have them do what you think they would or should do. I like that. I can't always predict what his characters are going to do, or predict thier decisions. For example, I expected Terry to claim the child he left in Phoebe, but no, he made a completely unexpected decision. Bohjolain always leaves an interesting rise at the end of his books. You know you're getting to the end, and where other writers are tying up lose ends, Bohjolain gives us something to get excited about. And this book, The Buffalo Soldier? what gives with no quotation marks to mark off dialogue? I thought it gave the book a good clean look, but when I read the dialogue out loud, I found myself using a male voice when I should have been using a female voice. Not using quotation marks made the pages cleaner, and I bet it was a lot easier to write, not having to concern one's self with punctuation, but it did get a little, just a little, confusing at times. Good work though. Give us another story. I'm looking forward to the next one.
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Summary: Made for TV ending
Review: I loved this book, but the whole time I was reading it, I kept thinking that the success of the book depended on the ending. And then after I finished it, I was thoroughly disappointed. It felt like the ending of a movie, not a great book. Since I don't want to "give away" the ending, I would have liked the same final outcome, but without all the drama. It just didn't seem realistic to me, which was a shame since the book as a whole IS realistic. In the author's defense, however, it seems that it is much easier to write a good book than to end a book well. Many novels are spoiled by unrealistic, over the top, endings.
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Summary: Big disappointment
Review: I'm a big fan of Chris Bohjalian and was thoroughly disappointed in his last literary offering, "Buffalo Soldier". The characters were pretty flat and I really was wondering why I should care about their plights. I am used to the fast paced story of "Midwives" or "Law of Similars" where a lot occurs and you are actually grabbed by what's happening to the characters. I hope his next book is more interesting. Bummer.
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