Rating: 
Summary: disturbing and beautiful
Review: I picked this up for a light read, but soon realized I'd judged too quickly from the cover. The Cure for Death by Lightning layers folklore and mythology and the simple pleasures of baking with the gritty realities of family tragedy - of incest, violence, blindness and mental illness- all the while illuminating the strength and inner beauty of Beth Weeks and her growth into a woman.I read an essay about Jane Austen once that discussed how tragedy, real tragedy, occurs in the setting of the household. It is because they are so close to us and so beloved that our family can be the cause of the greatest hurt. Brother pitted against brother, incest, domestic violence...the household is the centerpiece of tragedy. And if this is so, then Beth Weeks has known more than her fair share of tragedy. And yet, the novel manages to be hopeful without being sentimental, realistic without forgoing beauty. Reading this book may disturb you, but will leave you with an indelible impression of blue forget-me-nots, the sooty marks of a hand on another, the imagined scent of violets, and the fragrance of fresh-baked pound cake.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: I think that a lot of other readers missed the point of "The Cure for Death by Lightning." This is not a novel about the solution to the problem of a dysfunctional family. It is merely a journey that relays things how they happened. Unfortunately, aspects of this story happen too often in reality then most people would like to admit. By "aspects," I am referring to sexual abuse, violence and confusion of the soul. I'm not sure if this is a sort of autobiographical account from the writer or what motivated her to write this story. However, I suspect that these things did happen to her. We are so used to reading things that deal with issues of sexual abuse and violence and expect a remedy or some sort of therapeutic message to be sent, however, this is not necessary. Simply telling the tale tells a lot. As for Gail Anderson-Dargatz' writing style, it is surely a masterpiece. She starts off with a suspenseful beginning by making the reader wonder what it is that the main character hears. I appreciate the Indian folklore, or should I say First Nations' folklore that she includes in her story. When reading "The Cure for Death By Lightning," just stop and absorb the poetry of her words and appreciate the subtle message sent and remember that there is always redemption.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: I think that a lot of other readers missed the point of "The Cure for Death by Lightning." This is not a novel about the solution to the problem of a dysfunctional family. It is merely a journey that relays things how they happened. Unfortunately, aspects of this story happen too often in reality then most people would like to admit. By "aspects," I am referring to sexual abuse, violence and confusion of the soul. I'm not sure if this is a sort of autobiographical account from the writer or what motivated her to write this story. However, I suspect that these things did happen to her. We are so used to reading things that deal with issues of sexual abuse and violence and expect a remedy or some sort of therapeutic message to be sent, however, this is not necessary. Simply telling the tale tells a lot. As for Gail Anderson-Dargatz' writing style, it is surely a masterpiece. She starts off with a suspenseful beginning by making the reader wonder what it is that the main character hears. I appreciate the Indian folklore, or should I say First Nations' folklore that she includes in her story. When reading "The Cure for Death By Lightning," just stop and absorb the poetry of her words and appreciate the subtle message sent and remember that there is always redemption.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: I think that a lot of other readers missed the point of "The Cure for Death by Lightning." This is not a novel about the solution to the problem of a dysfunctional family. It is merely a journey that relays things how they happened. Unfortunately, aspects of this story happen too often in reality then most people would like to admit. By "aspects," I am referring to sexual abuse, violence and confusion of the soul. I'm not sure if this is a sort of autobiographical account from the writer or what motivated her to write this story. However, I suspect that these things did happen to her. We are so used to reading things that deal with issues of sexual abuse and violence and expect a remedy or some sort of therapeutic message to be sent, however, this is not necessary. Simply telling the tale tells a lot. As for Gail Anderson-Dargatz' writing style, it is surely a masterpiece. She starts off with a suspenseful beginning by making the reader wonder what it is that the main character hears. I appreciate the Indian folklore, or should I say First Nations' folklore that she includes in her story. When reading "The Cure for Death By Lightning," just stop and absorb the poetry of her words and appreciate the subtle message sent and remember that there is always redemption.
Rating: 
Summary: An insight into the life and mind of a mentally handicapped
Review: I truly enjoyed this book; how very clever of Anderson-Dargatz to be able to give the view of the world by a mentally handicapped young girl, then a young woman.. From the beginning of the book, we saw as a young child how Beth was not quite aware of how things were supposed to work out in life, e.g. her brother surpassing her in school, which both annoyed and confused her. Her outlook must be seen as less than exact, e.g. she speaks of her mother being angry at her and her husband after the baby was born, of her mom picking on her husband, not sharing baked goods with them and giving them to the church. I took all this with a grain of salt; her mother had to care for these three people and work in a factory. Probably Beth could not understand any of her mom's frustrations and she interpreted it as curelty. I think the mother was afraid that something might happen to her grandchild because both parents were not mature enought to really care for it. However, Beth's observations were cleverly portrayed from her point of view and with her capabilities. The mother was doing her best but could not really cope with the intricacies of helping out her daughter, the husband and child. Counselling was at a minimum, not many resources. Maybe the young couple should have had a go on their own. The ending was horrible but realistic; there seemed to be much confusion in their minds and lots of stress due to cold and pauverty, so tragedy occured. Couldn't put the book down; a real sociological study!
Rating: 
Summary: weak, reductionist, yet a page-turner
Review: I was extremely disappointed with "A Cure for Death by Lightning." Although I found the book hard to put down, I felt the writing was weak. Mainly, I was stunned by the fact that the terrible dysfunctions of the town and of the family were minimalized, reduced to nothing more than the ever-present (too much present, agonizingly so) "coyote spirit". Are we to believe that the father was not to blame for his abusive behavior, that the horrid boy Parker was simply possessed by the coyote, that Billy didn't have terret syndrome after all? The coyote lurked all through the pages of this book, far too often. The coyote stood in the way of dealing with real and gripping issues. To deal with those issues in a realistic manner would have made for a much more compelling book. I understand the author wanted to use some sort of mystic symbolism and magic realism, but sadly, this didn't work to entice, but rather, to frustrate.
Rating:
Summary: deserves the spotlight
Review: I'm pleased to see others here who discovered this book...This is one of my favorite debut novels ever. I was captivated and read it slowly so it wouldn't end as soon. I'm going to reread it!
Rating:
Summary: Vivid and Provocative Imagery
Review: Like several other readers who have reviewed this book, I stumbled accross it almost by accident. But what a great novel! It has been a long time since a book has sparked such vivid images for me - some were diturbing, others deeply moving. I imagined every detail... the one-story farm house, the winter house, the barn yard,Coyote Jack, the Albino Crow. Dugatz is to be commended for her poetic writing style. A truly captivating novel which is beautifully written.
Rating: 
Summary: The Cure for Death by Boredom
Review: Our book club selected this book on the basis of its upbeat book cover, thinking that this would be an uplifting book. Boy, were we ever wrong! Just shows you can't judge a book by its cover. We thought the author went overboard by trying to cover all the "hot" topics, e.g., incest, lesbianism, murder, beastiality, Turette's Syndrome, etc...etc...Yawn. Thank goodness the chapters were brief because every new chapter provided the reader with some new horrendous insight. All in all, we all agreed that you couldn't pay us enough to read her next book!
Rating:
Summary: A haunting journey - a young girl's coming of age
Review: Sensitively written account of a young girl's coming of age in rural/wild British Columbia. A tale woven with warmth, the evocative and often harsh detail of rural life in BC in the 1940's, and mysticism, The Cure for Death by Lightning is haunting even long after the story ends. Highly recommended!!
|
