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Pastoral
Pastoral | Andre Alexis
10 posts | 5 read | 16 to read
There were plans for an official welcome. It was to take place the following Sunday. But those who came to the rectory on Father Pennant's second day were the ones who could not resist seeing him sooner. Here was the man to whom they would confess the darkest things. It was important to feel him out. Mrs Young, for instance, after she had seen him eat a piece of her macaroni pie, quietly asked what he thought of adultery. Andr Alexis brings a modern sensibility and a new liveliness to an age-old genre, the pastoral. For his very first parish, Father Christopher Pennant is sent to the sleepy town of Barrow. With more sheep than people, it's very bucolictoo much Barrow Brew on Barrow Day is the rowdiest it gets. Bu things aren't so idyllic for Liz Denny, whose fianc doesn't want to decide between Liz and his more worldly mistress Jane, and for Father Pennant himself, who greets some miracles of naturemayors walking on water, talking sheepwith a profound crisis of faith. 'Its been clear since his debut novel, Childhood, that Alexis is one of our most distinctive and exacting prose stylists, and at its highest pitch, as in the breathtaking final paragraph, these are sentences that attain the level of the best music.' - Montreal Gazette Praise for Andr Alexis's previous books: "Astonishing . . . an irresistible, one-of-a-kind work."Quill & Quire "Alexis [has an] astute understanding of the madly shimmering, beautifully weaving patterns created by what we have agreed to call memory."Ottawa Citizen Andr Alexis was born in Trinidad and grew up in Canada. His debut novel, Childhood, won the Books in Canada First Novel Award, the Trillium Book Award, and was shortlisted for the Giller Prize and the Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. His books include Asylum and Ingrid and the Wolf.
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xicanti
Pastoral | Andre Alexis
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I finally started my PASTORAL reread last night! When I first read RING, the final book in the interconnected cycle that starts here, I called it a book to fully inhabit. Revisiting the quincunx in publication order, it occurs to me that all Alexis‘s books are like that. I hope I‘ll have the time to really wallow in this one later today.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Too cute 🐶 🐾 13mo
dabbe I want to beep your nose, Casey! Too adorable for words. 🖤🐾🖤 13mo
35 likes2 comments
blurb
xicanti
Pastoral | Andre Alexis
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This week‘s library haul. I wanted to reread André Alexis‘s full quincunx in publication order in September, but somebody else nabbed the only copy of PASTORAL as soon as I went to request it and they kept it out for the full three weeks. Now it‘s finally MINE!

I also realized I had no idea what was even nominated for the Hugo this year, so I looked that up and I‘m gonna tackle the list over the next month or two.

review
xicanti
Pastoral | Andre Alexis
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Pickpick

I started PASTORAL yesterday afternoon and didn‘t willingly put it down until I‘d finished. It demanded I stay immersed in it; that I live the seasons alongside the characters as they navigated miracles, questioned loves, and interrogated Nature‘s role in their lives. It‘s a far less weird book than some of Alexis‘s others, but damn. It still packs a good, quiet, personal punch.

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xicanti
Pastoral | Andre Alexis
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I wasn‘t in quite the right mood for Lavie Tidhar, so I‘ve switched to André Alexis. 50 pages into PASTORAL, I‘m feeling pretty good about my choice.

Also, I‘m at 9:43 for #20in4.

ladym30 That cover!❤️ 4y
xicanti @ladym30 it looks so Elizabethan! 4y
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ReadingEnvy
Pastoral | Andre Alexis
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Pickpick

I read this book because it is structured after Beethoven's 6th Symphony but discovered the town of Barrow, a small cast of characters, and earnest exploration of a few ideas like love and faith. I listened to the audio, read by the author.

vivastory This sounds really interesting 6y
Lindy I‘m so glad you enjoyed this. I‘m about to start on his newest novel 6y
70 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Lindy
Pastoral | Andre Alexis
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Pickpick

There are two ways to interpret the title of this meditative, elegant novel. Pastoral in the sense of spiritual guidance—the MC is a young Black priest in his first parish—& in the literary sense: the setting is small town rural Ontario sometime in the 20th c. The pastor goes through a crisis of faith when he witnesses a mayor walking on water, a talking sheep, & wondrous gypsy moths. #Audiobook narrated in a rich baritone by the #CanadianAuthor.

batsy What a cover! 6y
rubyslippersreads @batsy I ❤️ it! 🐑 6y
42 likes2 comments
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Lindy
Pastoral | Andre Alexis
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I wouldn‘t have guessed that I would read three pastorals in 2018. Before this year, I didn‘t have more than a vague idea about what exactly constituted a pastoral, in the literary sense. It‘s a work that portrays an idealized version of country life. I really enjoyed all three of these.

DivineDiana Well, I just learned something! Thank you! 🙂 6y
batsy You might enjoy this if you haven't already read it :) 6y
Lindy @batsy Thanks for the recommendation. It looks good! 6y
36 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Waynegjr
Pastoral | Andre Alexis
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Pickpick

Lots of great #onewordtitles out there I could choose for #riotgrams but I don't think this one got enough attention. Pastoral is a fantastic short novel about a priest who goes to a small rural town outside of Toronto where seemingly miraculous things start happening to him. Beautiful, briskly paced, thoughtful and entertaining. Highly recommended.

magictoyshop that cover looks evil-ish. love it! 8y
51 likes8 stack adds1 comment
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A.Shari.A
Pastoral | Andre Alexis
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Last night of vacation and I will be spending it with this little gem. When in Canada...

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Waynegjr
Pastoral | Andre Alexis
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My Fun Friday Photo. Canadian literature! That hard to see one is Margaret Atwoods excellent poems The Journals of Susanna Moodie. Also, check out Pastoral by André Alexis, it's amazing. Also pictured, Seymour (he's the cat).

jordanerickson I love Seconds 8y
MrBook Great pic! 8y
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