Rating: 
Summary: Superb story telling and writing all rolled into one.
Review: A real page turner and yet a substantial piece of literature,
I found it difficult to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Why you should go to Canada
Review: By far the dumbest, most confusing novel I have ever read. We read it in our Contemporary fiction class in College and we are now trying to get them to change the curriculm so we are never forced to read such rubbish again.
Rating:
Summary: Understanding the Power-Dream¿and History
Review: Had this beautifully wrought novel not received some publicity for winning the Governor General's Award in Canada in l996, I'd never have known of its existence, and what a sad oversight that would have been in this age of pop culture and instant bestsellerdom for many books whose primary value seems to be their bankability as future films. Yet author Vanderhaeghe probably would not have been surprised by this. In fact, one of the main themes of this absorbing and satisfying book is the power of film, "the glory of American lightning," and the different goals to which it can be adapted by "artists" and "visionaries." Structurally, the book tells two stories in alternate chapters set in the Canadian Wild West of the l870's and in Hollywood in the l920's. The author makes no real attempt to create suspense about the identity of the Englishman's boy of the 1870's and who he has become by the 1920's. The author has a bigger vision than that. Instead, he chooses to reveal small parts of the continuum of history between these dates until at the end the full story of the Englishman's boy is revealed. At the same time, the thematically subtle juxtaposition of specific events from these dramatically different times and places shows how little human nature has changed and how much it is important to be true to ideals and values, whatever they may be and however they may have to accommodate the changes of history. In this astutely crafted story of wolfer/hunters, Indians, Hollywood moguls, young strivers toward success, Socialists, preservers of the status quo, barely surviving traders, immigrants, hard men, and "visionaries" who would impose their dreams on the masses via film, the reader is caught up in the swirl of history and asked to think about the extent to which history is simply a succession of random events, whether the events have been imposed upon us, and how much, if at all, we can control our own dreams and our futures.
Rating: 
Summary: Quietly Compelling
Review: I enjoyed the Englishman's Boy a great deal but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been expecting such an overwhelming masterpiece. This is not a fast-paced or thrilling western but a story about human nature, survival and choices in awful circumstances. In 1920's Hollywood reclusive millionaire movie mogul Damon Ira Chance of Best Chance Pictures wants to make the great American Movie in the manner of his idol D.W. Griffith. He has picked an extra out of a western who is rumoured to be a "real" old-time cowboy. Shorty McAdoo is an old man with a rugged past and has supposedly fought Indians and Chance wants his story. Harry Vincent, a quiet loner title writer at Best Chance, is enlisted by Chance to get McAdoo's tale. The story Harry gets of McAdoo's part in the Cyprus Hills Massacre in 1867(?) is not the heroic pioneering tale expected. The settling of the old west was full of these small but significant battles where the choices of a few had an effect on many. Even as you read closer to the horrifying battle of the 1800's and the amazing climax of the 1920's you'll wonder how much of Shorty's life was his choice and how much is fate and circumstance.
Rating:
Summary: Deserving of much more publicity and promotion!
Review: In this age of pop culture and instant bestsellerdom for many books whose primary value seems to be their bankability as future films, it's disappointing that a book this good remains relatively unknown. Yet author Vanderhaeghe probably would not have been surprised by this. In fact, one of the main themes of this absorbing and satisfying book is the power of film, "the glory of American lightning," and the different goals to which it can be adapted by "artists" and "visionaries." Structurally, the book tells two stories in alternate chapters set in the Canadian Wild West of the l870's and in Hollywood in the l920's. The author makes no real attempt to create suspense about the identity of the Englishman's boy of the 1870's and who he has become by the 1920's. Instead, he chooses to reveal small parts of the continuum of history between these dates until at the end the full story of the Englishman's boy is revealed. At the same time, the thematically subtle juxtaposition of specific events from these dramatically different times and places shows how little human nature has changed and how much it is important to be true to ideals and values, whatever they may be and however they may have to accommodate the changes of history.
Rating:
Summary: Deserving of much more publicity and promotion!
Review: In this age of pop culture and instant bestsellerdom for many books whose primary value seems to be their bankability as future films, it's disappointing that a book this good remains relatively unknown. Yet author Vanderhaeghe probably would not have been surprised by this. In fact, one of the main themes of this absorbing and satisfying book is the power of film, "the glory of American lightning," and the different goals to which it can be adapted by "artists" and "visionaries." Structurally, the book tells two stories in alternate chapters set in the Canadian Wild West of the l870's and in Hollywood in the l920's. The author makes no real attempt to create suspense about the identity of the Englishman's boy of the 1870's and who he has become by the 1920's. Instead, he chooses to reveal small parts of the continuum of history between these dates until at the end the full story of the Englishman's boy is revealed. At the same time, the thematically subtle juxtaposition of specific events from these dramatically different times and places shows how little human nature has changed and how much it is important to be true to ideals and values, whatever they may be and however they may have to accommodate the changes of history.
Rating:
Summary: I am proud to be from the same country as this author....
Review: The beauty of this novel is its ability to allow the reader to completely forget that he or she is actually reading a story. Often the flashback style is done poorly and disrupts the narrative, but in this case it is done with a fluidity that keeps the reader involved. Vanderhaeghe has such a quiet talent that it is remarkable that he is not wildly famous, but at the same time, it gives me a selfish joy that not everyone knows his work. Rumour has it that the movie rights have already been bought, but I cannot imagine how they can accurately portray the events in the story on the big screen without losing its quiet power. One can only hope the "powers that be" in Hollywood will recognize the importance of criticizing their own culture...it will take someone like Robert Altman to give it that nasty edge.
Rating:
Summary: Well crafted
Review: The Englishman's Boy is a stunningly well crafted story which ties together the 1873 old West and 1920's Hollywood. Great book which branches out to ask questions about national identity and the concept of "truth", among other things. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Quietly Beautiful
Review: THE ENGLISHMAN'S BOY tells two connected stories: the first is about a band of cowboys heading north to Canada on the trail of the Assiniboine Indians who stole their horses; the other is a tale of the early days of Hollywood, following a film writer as he interviews an old cowboy to use his story to make the great American movie. Both stories end unhappily, and the fate of the Englishman's boy is at the heart of each. I think what I appreciated most about this book was the soft, subdued way in which the stories unfolded. The writing was clean and unaffected, and Vanderhaeghe let the weight of his stories speak for themselves, rather than gum them up with flashy language. Though the two stories were set about forty years apart, the similarities between the cutthroat nature of Hollywood and the old west are apparent. The Englishman's boy serves in both stories as their spiritual center--true goodness, surrounded by flawed, selfish individuals.
Rating:
Summary: Robertson Davies, here is someone who can take over
Review: This is a very good book, especially for someone who liks a good story. Canadian writer Guy Vanderhaeghe who won Canada's prestigious Govenor General's Award for this novel, is a very good storyteller. Everyone who have been waiting for someone to take over for Robertson Davies will be pleased by this book. The main character is quite a character (both of them) and the storyteller becomes one of those people you adopt and bring with you in your life. I am not sure I would have done the same things he did, I wouldnt have let Rachel be just Rachel, thats for sure. But I am not going down that road, thats for you to do. I see everyone (wow all 11, is it that few reviews because its written by a Canadian?) give it five stars, well so do I. Because I do not want to be the Jonah, the one who breaks the good trend. And it also deserves a lot of stars. I will definately read more of Vanderhaeghe's books and a will await new books with great anticipation.
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