Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful, painful
Review: A story of forbidden love in post-war Paris between two people damaged in different ways by the Holocaust--you've read it before. But Huston's book is a cut above--beautifully written from multiple perspectives, Huston describes Paris, love, music and above all, anger and shock over infidelity discovered, so strongly and vividly--this one has stayed in my mind for awhile. And the conclusion was a brutal shock! Of particular interest to me was the backdrop of the French--Algerian issues--as England had India, France had Algeria--a painful, shameful episode in the history of a Western democracy that has permanently marred France's conception of itself.
Rating:
Summary: The Mark of a Gifted Writer
Review: Huston manages to create a mural of the failure and pain of being human in the arc of human history. Her exquisite juxtaposition of the Algerian War and the love story of damaged survivors of WWII set in bas relief the eternal story of love and war throught time. In addition, Huston defies the common notion that the study of history teaches humanity to prevent its relapse. In both the devestation of memory and the torture of forgetting, she points out danger lines the road. Interjecting the ironic voice of the narrator into this tale of Saffie, Andras and Raphael, Huston leads us through the repetitive labyrinth - politics, anger, hate, dismemberment, torture, death - "old, old, old story called 'news.'" Her characters shine like iconic figures caught in klieglights through the very last word. The reader is snared, captured and devastated as Huston unfolds a tale of doomed love and doomed lives in the Parisian streets of the late 50's. Surely a most gifted writer, Huston forces us to ponder the meaning of being "human".
Rating: 
Summary: The point, exactly?
Review: Huston's voice and writing style are okay, but the storyline and conclusion are so unsatisfying and miserable, that I found myself wondering why I'd wasted time with The Mark of An Angel. Exactly what is it about? A psychotic woman, her poor husband and child, adultery, communism, war? If I'd received a clear message, I might have been able to withstand this depressing book.
Rating:
Summary: Canada is suddely turning out wonderful holocaust writers
Review: I force fed all my friends copies of Fugitve Pieces by Anne Michaels, another Canadian writing on a similar theme. One of them came back with The Mark of the Angel saying she preferred it. She may be right. I burned through this book. I stayed in on a picture perfect Sydney day to read it while images of the degeneration in Israel/Palestine flash on the TV screen. A theme of the book is that all the tragedies and happinesses have happened to someone before and that they will happen again is at once liberating and depressing. The book succeeds on 2 fronts. Love and political conflict. It captures the dynamics of the hopes and expectations we bring to new loves and relationships with some candour but not too cynically. And, it describes with surgical precision how political conflicts escalate and polarise. How the victims carry emotional baggage. How we fight the last war over and over. Wonderful imagery without pretension or self indulgence. The ending built up so that I was tense as I flew through the later pages. I also learned more about recent French history than I knew before. Kind of useful in understanding how the world works.
Rating: 
Summary: Would've been good if main character hadn't been a head case
Review: I guess my main problem with this novel was the main character, Saffie. She was too psychotic to appreciate. By the time Huston started revealing information about Saffie's past I had already formed a picture of a heartless nutcase and I found it hard to sympathize with Saffie. Furthermore, I thought that Andras was a down to earth, sensible, young buck and I found it hard to believe that he would ever fall for a weirdo like Saffie. There was also this whole notion of love at first sight - gimme a break. When Andras and Saffie met I felt like I was reading a category romance from the grocery store. The only reason that I would give this book two stars instead of one was because there were many instances were Huston showed her ability as a good writer. I really liked the little passages from the narrator and the explanation of the title. I probably would've enjoyed the book more if Saffie hadn't been such a head case. She could've been mildly weird but her bizarre behavior was too extreme and made her seem completely weak and heartless.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good
Review: I hadn't intended to read this book, even though it kept popping up on my recommendations list. A coworker brought it to me, however, with lots of praise, and I wasn't disappointed. Huston's prose is easy and engaging, if unconventional. Her characters really lived for me, too, despite my distance from place (Paris), time (late 1950s-early 1960s), and situation (war, adultery). I wasn't satisfied with the end, however, which seemed too abrupt. There was little to no falling action after the unlooked-for climax, and I felt a little cheated by that. Over all, it's worthy reading material, even for those not interested in "end of the millenium" fiction (I don't know where the reviewer got that, in all honesty; I was expecting some sort of futuristic apocolypse), and it made me look at current events such as Kosovo and Belgrade in a whole new light.
Rating: 
Summary: Fine Writing from Nancy Huston
Review: I have a confession to make. I have not had enough tragedy in my life. After reading a book like this I dwell on how soft my life has been and how guilty I feel about it. The story line here is quite simple. Woman marries man for wrong reasons. Woman then meets man who fulfills inner needs and falls in love. Woman has child with husband but remains in love with the man she has met. Man finds out. Man kills child and everyones life is ruined. But that is not what this book is really about. It is about the incredible inner struggles that these characters go through, the unspeakable horrors of the wars in Europe and the unexplainable things that humans do to each other. Main character Saffie acts a bit strange at first. But we understand why when we learn what she has experienced. Same for her lover Andras. I personally struggled with what these people had seen. I became introsepctive and self critical as I pondered on the lives of those who lived through the Holocaust and Algerian cleansing periods. Well written and fast moving, Huston has done a great job in displaying emotion and courage. Read this book to learn a little about these characters and a lot about yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Fine Writing from Nancy Huston
Review: I have a confession to make. I have not had enough tragedy in my life. After reading a book like this I dwell on how soft my life has been and how guilty I feel about it. The story line here is quite simple. Woman marries man for wrong reasons. Woman then meets man who fulfills inner needs and falls in love. Woman has child with husband but remains in love with the man she has met. Man finds out. Man kills child and everyones life is ruined. But that is not what this book is really about. It is about the incredible inner struggles that these characters go through, the unspeakable horrors of the wars in Europe and the unexplainable things that humans do to each other. Main character Saffie acts a bit strange at first. But we understand why when we learn what she has experienced. Same for her lover Andras. I personally struggled with what these people had seen. I became introsepctive and self critical as I pondered on the lives of those who lived through the Holocaust and Algerian cleansing periods. Well written and fast moving, Huston has done a great job in displaying emotion and courage. Read this book to learn a little about these characters and a lot about yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Survival
Review: I liked this book very much. It explores surviving WWII from a different perspective than I've read before. The reader empathizes with both the German and the Holocaust survivor. Rather than dwell on the horrors of their experiences, the book describes their emotional adaptation. I found the writing style awkward at times, especially the author's presence, however, it provides an easy way to incorporate a modern viewpoint and historic context. It is a fairly quick read and very captivating. I don't think the book has received the attention it deserves. It was interesting to read The Mark of the Angel immediately after finishing After Long Silence (Fremont) and Homestead (Lippi). After Long Silence is about people who have buried their experiences during the Holocaust completely -- after passing as Catholic for many years, their daughters force the truth (that they are Jewish) into the open. The book goes into detail about the parents' stories and the emotional effects of exposing the truth. War plays more of a background role in Homestead, which tells the story of multiple generations of women living in rural Austria, but the effects of war clearly mark the characters. Homestead was definitely my favorite of the three books -- it is incredibly beautifully crafted. Some of the stories told and pictures of the landscape will stay with me for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: The Mark Left On Me By Nancy Huston
Review: I read this book with great interest, and was quite moved and captivated. The book starts and ends grimly, but there is no other hope for Saffie, as we learn of her past. I was entranced by the beauty of the middle part of the book, and it made a mark on me. There is a fresh perspective on the holocaust, as seen through a child's innocent eye, and there is an epic love affair that is forbidden. I thought the writing was excellent at times, but was taken aback somewhat when the author had personal "asides" to the reader. The Mark of the Angel was riveting and I would be interested in following this author in her next book.
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