Journal Entry 1 by Kislany on Saturday, September 17, 2005

In her fifth novel, award-winning writer Jane Urquhart interweaves the sweeping power of big historical events with small but very moving personal stories. Klara Becker is the granddaughter of a woodcarver in German-settled southern Ontario. She has a love affair with a brooding, silent Irish lad who then goes off to fight, and die, in World War I. Meanwhile her older brother Tilman has literally snapped the ties that would have chained him to the family home, and vanished.

Of course, as in all great romantic epics, the two are destined to meet again. Tilman loses his leg in the war and experiences joyful belonging with an exuberant Italian immigrant family in industrial Hamilton, Ontario, before finally venturing home. Klara remains a spinster in her small town, sewing and working on and off for years on the figure of an abbess carved from wood. The novel culminates in the building of a huge stone monument to Canada's war dead in Vimy, France. Klara and Tilman are both compelled to visit the site of this insanely ambitious artistic obsession of real-life Canadian sculptor Walter Allward; both find that they have a personal struggle to overcome the past and learn to express love. Urquhart grasps her characters from outside and inside as precious few authors manage to do. She is, in her own way, a sculptor who carves a radiant and enduring tale from the elegant material of raw language. 

Journal Entry 2 by Kislany on Friday, June 30, 2006

Reserved for lauraloo29 on the relay. 

Journal Entry 3 by Kislany at Mailed to BC member in Mailed to another BC member, a fellow bookcrosser -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Released 5 yrs ago (7/26/2006 UTC) at Mailed to BC member in Mailed to another BC member, a fellow bookcrosser -- Controlled Releases

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Enjoy :) 

Journal Entry 4 by lauraloo29 from Edmonton, Alberta Canada on Monday, August 14, 2006

Arrived today. Thank you. 

Journal Entry 5 by lauraloo29 from Edmonton, Alberta Canada on Monday, October 05, 2009

I'm planning on sending this out as a bookray.

Rules: Not many. Please journal the book's arrival and departure. And please keep it moving by keeping it no longer than 4 weeks. The last person is free to release the book as they wish.


1. ruzena - Finland (Intl)
2. mafarrimond - UK (UK)
3. WormyOne - UK - wants to be last

Starting the journey on October 10th. Happy travels! 

Journal Entry 6 by ruzena from Vantaa, Uusimaa Finland on Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Thank you, lauraloo! The book is here. Looks like no one opened it before... is it no good? :D 

Journal Entry 7 by ruzena from Vantaa, Uusimaa Finland on Saturday, November 21, 2009

First published by McClelland & Stewart 2001. This copy is a Bloomsbury paperback, 2002, 390 pages.

This is a historical novel located in Canada and France. It tells the family history of three generations, mainly bringing into focus its youngest representatives Klara and Tilman, sister and brother.
In the mid-19th century Father Gstir had come from Bavaria to Shoneval, Canada to help found a catholic community and build a church. Klara’s and Tilman’s grandfather was a woodcarver who worked for Father Gstir. The grandfather, later, taught Tilman how to carve, but Tilman was not interested. Klara was.
But at first Klara works as seamstress. Tilman is a sort of a born hobo, and when 12, he leaves the family for good. Klara meets a shy and silent boy, Eamon. Little by little they find love, but soon Eamon leaves to fight in World War I. Nothing is heard about him since then.
Years pass, the grandfather dies, as well as Tilman’s and Klara’s parents, and Klara leads the lonely life of a spinster, and never is able to forget Eamon. Tilman then appears at Klara’s house, now as WWI veteran with a wooden leg. When Tilman and Klara get to know that a massive war monument is being built in France in memory of the Canadian soldiers who disappeared there, they get overseas to join the monument carvers, all of which are men. Klara then is disguised as a man. An old friend of Tilman, the Italian Giorgio, is another Canadian there.

The characters are skilfully outlined. Even if I at first found some of them a bit implausible, I soon realized that the author wanted to create persons that are truly passionate in their own way each. Tilman has the passion for rambling and freedom, Klara has the passion for love, and both of them have the passion for carving. Eamon had the passion for aeroplanes.
The storyline was rich and twisty enough, and the writer’s style was not too plain. The sentences were long and skilful, and I appreciated the way the author could make a standstill in the text to describe some moment in delicious details.
Perhaps the most elegant thing is that the novel makes a tribute to the Canadian monumental sculptor Walter Allward, passionate for stone. Among other war memorial monuments, he designed and constructed the massive Vimy Memorial which was built for no less than 15 years (1921-36). The monument of 6000 tonnes’ weight is made of limestone found and freighted from Croatia. Even if Allward’s character in the book is fictive more than biographic, both descriptions concerning the carving work and the resulting figures agree with the true monument. Thus the facts are carefully studied by the author. Indeed, she has her first B.A. obtained in literature and another in art history.
***
The Canadians are perhaps familiar with the history of the Vimy Memorial, but just for us others, a short note: The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is one of Canada's most important overseas war memorials. It was constructed as the national memorial for those Canadians who gave their lives in the First World War. It is located in France, on the site of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The memorial stands atop Hill 145, near the towns of Vimy and Givenchy-en-Gohelle.
Around the memorial are twenty sculptured figures representing such ideas as peace, justice, mourning and grief. Vimy carries the names of Canada’s "missing" soldiers, those with no known grave who died in France between 1914 and 1918.
France deemed the area surrounding the monument to be Canadian territory in 1922, as an expression of gratitude to the Canadian people for their sacrifice during the war and for capturing Vimy Ridge in April 1917 and for driving the enemy back down from the heights. It was a significant victory, for British and French forces had failed to drive back the Germans in this area despite strong offensives.
***
Allward and his workers created the monument to be a memorial to grief, on the one hand, and a prayer for peace, on the other. In 1936, the completion of the Vimy Memorial was announced to the world with great fanfare.
Less than three years after that, the Second World War began.
But the memorial disperses light and strength and consolation long after the noise of the battle has ended, and all of the warriors have gone home.

Great reading. Thank you, lauraloo29, for sharing the book that was on my wish list – actually I don’t remember how it ended up there. Soon the carvers will be travelling to mafarrimond.

-ruzena
 

Journal Entry 8 by ruzena at by mail, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases on Monday, November 23, 2009

Released 2 yrs ago (11/23/2009 UTC) at by mail, A Bookray -- Controlled Releases

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Sent today. 

Journal Entry 9 by mafarrimond from Hawarden, Wales United Kingdom on Saturday, November 28, 2009

Received today. I have a few bookrings to be read ahead of this one but will read asap. Thanks for sharing. 

Journal Entry 10 by mafarrimond from Hawarden, Wales United Kingdom on Saturday, December 19, 2009

This is the first book by Jane Urquhart that I have read. I loved the glimpse into the history of the memorial. The characters were a delight especially some of the minor ones.

pm sent to WormyOne for address. 

Journal Entry 11 by mafarrimond at Brighton & Hove, East Sussex United Kingdom on Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Released 2 yrs ago (12/22/2009 UTC) at Brighton & Hove, East Sussex United Kingdom

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Sending on to WormyOne as next in line for the bookring. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

Journal Entry 12 by WormyOne from Brighton & Hove, East Sussex United Kingdom on Saturday, January 02, 2010

Many thanks to Lauraloo for this ray and to mafarrimond for sending it to me. Great to get another book off my wish list. Looking forward to reading it. 

Journal Entry 13 by WormyOne from Brighton & Hove, East Sussex United Kingdom on Friday, January 08, 2010

I found this moving and interesting, as I was unaware of the Canadian war memorial at Vimy. As Ruzena says, the novel is about passions, and also about aspirations and the dangers inherent in realising them. It's beautifully written, and populated with memorable characters and scenes. The image of Klara letting the fog into her house, and how the house remained damp for days afterwards, will stay with me.

Though I thought it became sentimental (and predictable) by the end, I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to others. 

Journal Entry 14 by WormyOne at Train station in Brighton & Hove, East Sussex United Kingdom on Friday, January 15, 2010

Released 2 yrs ago (1/16/2010 UTC) at Train station in Brighton & Hove, East Sussex United Kingdom

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On the seats nearest the ticket barriers, on the concourse. 

Journal Entry 15 by AnonymousFinder on Wednesday, February 10, 2010

I found this book on Brighton Station some time ago. Only just got round to entering it. Will pass it on.
Was impressed with the care taken to present the book.

CAUGHT IN BRIGHTON EAST SUSSEX UK