natashamontgomery's review against another edition
2.0
[2 stars]
Caribou Island was disappointing. I think this is due mainly to me over-hyping the book and setting unrealistic expectations. One of my 2017 reading resolutions involved reading more from authors that I have read and liked/loved and David Vann was one of them. I read Aquarium in 2016 and it became an instant favourite; it was so mesmerizing in its prose while harboring one of the most disturbing stories I've ever read.
This novel is a study on romantic relationships and marriage and it sheds the most depressing light on the concept which I found incredibly interesting while reading although straight after I felt I needed to read a gushy romance ASAP. The themes Vann explores on the sturdiness of marriage, the destructibility of love and the extent of self-reliance were very well developed and examined.
Caribou Island like Aquarium had such beautiful prose but the pacing was all wrong and I say this because I cannot fault anything else. The characters were fine; they were properly developed. The plot, the actual going-ons of the book was fine as well. And the writing was perfect as I said before but something stopped me from wanting to pick this book up and I reckon it was the pacing and a general disinterest in what was going on. This book was slow and for anyone who enjoys more of a character-study and less of an enthralling plot, you may enjoy this one.
My disappointment in Caribou Island has not, in any way, quelled my desire to read more Vann in the future, I find his writing raw and beautiful and never pretentious in the way that many literary novels tend towards.
"...marriage not unlike a sense of self, something fleeting and changing, important and also nothing. You could rely on it for years, just assume it was there, but then if you looked for it, needed it, tried to find substance to it, something to grab on to, your hands closed on air."
Caribou Island was disappointing. I think this is due mainly to me over-hyping the book and setting unrealistic expectations. One of my 2017 reading resolutions involved reading more from authors that I have read and liked/loved and David Vann was one of them. I read Aquarium in 2016 and it became an instant favourite; it was so mesmerizing in its prose while harboring one of the most disturbing stories I've ever read.
This novel is a study on romantic relationships and marriage and it sheds the most depressing light on the concept which I found incredibly interesting while reading although straight after I felt I needed to read a gushy romance ASAP. The themes Vann explores on the sturdiness of marriage, the destructibility of love and the extent of self-reliance were very well developed and examined.
Caribou Island like Aquarium had such beautiful prose but the pacing was all wrong and I say this because I cannot fault anything else. The characters were fine; they were properly developed. The plot, the actual going-ons of the book was fine as well. And the writing was perfect as I said before but something stopped me from wanting to pick this book up and I reckon it was the pacing and a general disinterest in what was going on. This book was slow and for anyone who enjoys more of a character-study and less of an enthralling plot, you may enjoy this one.
My disappointment in Caribou Island has not, in any way, quelled my desire to read more Vann in the future, I find his writing raw and beautiful and never pretentious in the way that many literary novels tend towards.
bibliobethreads's review against another edition
An often difficult to read story of a marriage breakdown of Irene and Gary and how their relationships with their children and, in turn, how their own children's relationships are working. Quite a bleak look at love and marriage, reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
lisagray68's review against another edition
1.0
Reviews said this was a portrait of a dying marriage and the Alaska wilderness. Sounded interesting, especially since I see dying marriages all the time as a counselor. Just TOO depressing, though -- I hated all the characters, not a redeeming quality among them, and they were very narrowly drawn. Good premise, not such a good book.
m_d00lz's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Couldn't put this down. Couldn't stop thinking about it. The end is a blow. Haunting. I'll probably be thinking about this book still a week from now. And a month from now.
bobbo49's review against another edition
3.0
Grimly beautiful, filled with dysfunctional couples and the Alaskan wilderness. Vann captures believable human stories and paints them against the harsh encironment, stressing everyone to the breaking point. Well written and harsh, as usual for Vann.
alayasmith's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Murder, and Suicide
Minor: Death of parent
juniperusxx's review against another edition
5.0
Kylmäävä, karu ja suorastaan piinaava avioliittokuvaus, jonka miljöö - Alaska armottomine ja arvaamattomine luontoineen - sopi upeasti kehystämään tarinaa. Päähenkilöiden Garyn ja Irenen ympärillä olevien ihmisten parisuhteet eivät olleet ruusuisia nekään. Tämä musta kirja ei todellakaan ollut mitään hyvän mielen luettavaa, mutta vangitseva se oli. Innostuin selvittämään lisätietoa tästä Alaskassa syntyneestä kirjailijasta ja huomasin, että tarinalla on varmaankin varsin omakohtainen tausta. A Legend of a Suicide, hänen aikaisempi kirjansa, pääsi toivelistalleni.
stijnvercamer's review against another edition
5.0
Boek dat meeste indruk op mij naliet de voorbije jaren. Verwoestend is de beste omschrijving...
hylian_narwhal's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mythyagain's review against another edition
1.0
Have you ever been invited to a friend's house for dinner and then been subjected to a long simmering argument between a husband and wife? It starts with snipping at each other, and gets increasingly worse with no end in sight. That awkward, uncomfortable, feeling is akin to reading this book. The plot centers around a couple married 30 years, whose marriage is rapidly deteriorating, as they plan to build a cabin in Alaska. The descriptions of Alaskan scenery can only carry this nightmare so far and then you just search for an opportune time to leave the dinner party.