E-book
Barkskins : a novel / Annie Proulx.
Summary:
"Barkskins opens in New France in the late 18th century as Rene Sel, an illiterate woodsman makes his way from Northern France to the homeland to seek a living. Bound to a "seigneur" for three years in exchange for land, he suffers extraordinary hardship and violence, always in awe of the forest he is charged with clearing. In the course of this epic novel, Proulx tells the stories of Rene's children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, as well as the descendants of his friends and foes, as they travel back to Europe, to China, to New England, always in quest of a livelihood or fleeing stunningly brutal conditions--war, pestilence, Indian attacks, the revenge of rivals."-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781476771823
- ISBN: 1476771820
- Physical Description: 1 online resource (736 pages)
- Edition: First Scribner hardcover edition.
- Publisher: New York, NY : Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2016.
- Copyright: ©2016
Content descriptions
| Source of Description Note: | Print version record. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Families > Fiction. Canada > History > 17th century > Fiction. FICTION > Historical. FICTION > Literary. FICTION > General. |
| Genre: | Electronic books. Epic fiction. Historical fiction. |
Other Formats and Editions
Electronic resources
- Baker & Taylor
Working as woodcutters under a feudal lord in 17th-century New France, two impoverished young Frenchmen follow separate journeys, one of extraordinary hardship, the other of wealth and craftiness, that shape their families throughout three centuries. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author ofThe Shipping News and Brokeback Mountain . - Simon and Schuster
Now a television mini-series airing on National Geographic May 2020!
A Washington Post Best Book of the Year & a New York Times Notable Book
From the Pulitzer PrizeâÂÂwinning author of The Shipping News and âBrokeback Mountain,â comes the New York Times bestselling epic about the demise of the worldâs forests: âBarkskins is grand entertainment in the tradition of Dickens and Tolstoy…the crowning achievement of Annie Proulxâs distinguished career, but also perhaps the greatest environmental novel ever writtenâ (San Francisco Chronicle).
In the late seventeenth century two young Frenchmen, René Sel and Charles Duquet, arrive in New France. Bound to a feudal lord for three years in exchange for land, they become wood-cuttersâbarkskins. René suffers extraordinary hardship, oppressed by the forest he is charged with clearing. He is forced to marry a native woman and their descendants live trapped between two cultures. But Duquet runs away, becomes a fur trader, then sets up a timber business. Annie Proulx tells the stories of the descendants of Sel and Duquet over three hundred yearsâtheir travels across North America, to Europe, China, and New Zealandâthe revenge of rivals, accidents, pestilence, Indian attacks, and cultural annihilation. Over and over, they seize what they can of a presumed infinite resource, leaving the modern-day characters face to face with possible ecological collapse.
âA stunning, bracing, full-tilt ride through three hundred years of US and Canadian history…with the type of full-immersion plot that keeps you curled in your chair, reluctant to stop readingâ (Elle), Barkskins showcases Proulxâs inimitable genius of creating characters who are so vivid that we follow them with fierce attention. âThis is Proulx at the height of her powers as an irreplaceable American voiceâ (Entertainment Weekly, Grade A), and Barkskins âis an awesome monument of a bookâ (The Washington Post)ââthe masterpiece she was meant to writeâ (The Boston Globe). As Anthony Doerr says, âThis magnificent novel possesses the dark humor of The Shipping News and the social awareness of âBrokeback Mountain.ââ
