Book
The stone carvers / Jane Urquhart.
Summary:
"Set in the first half of the twentieth century, but reaching back to Bavaria in the late nineteenth century, The Stone Carvers weaves together the story of ordinary lives marked by obsession and transformed by art. At the centre of a large cast of characters is Klara Becker, the granddaughter of a master carver, a seamstress haunted by a love affair cut short by the First World War, and by the frequent disappearances of her brother Tilman, afflicted since childhood with wanderlust. From Ontario, they are swept into a colossal venture in Europe years later, as Toronto sculptor Walter Allward’s ambitious plans begin to take shape for a war memorial at Vimy, France. Spanning three decades, and moving from a German-settled village in Ontario to Europe after the Great War, The Stone Carvers follows the paths of immigrants, labourers, and dreamers. Vivid, dark, redemptive, this is novel of great beauty and power."--Publisher, Back of cover.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780771086878 :
- ISBN: 9780771086854
- ISBN: 9780670030446
- ISBN: 0771086873 :
- ISBN: 0771086857 (pbk)
- ISBN: 0670030449
- Physical Description: 392 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.
- Publisher: Toronto : McClelland & Stewart, 2001.
Search for related items by subject
| Genre: | Canadian fiction. Historical fiction. |
| Topic Heading: | Festival of the Written Arts 2025 > Sechelt (B.C.) |
Available copies
- 18 of 19 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Valemount Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 19 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valemount Public Library | f urq (Text) | 35194001366798 | Adult Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Monthly Selections - #2 May 2002
/*Starred Review*/ Canadian novelist Urquhart, author most recently of The Underpainter (1997), brings a discerning visual sensibility and near obsession with what makes a man or woman an artist to her exquisitely rendered, morally inquisitive, and intelligently romantic imaginings of the North American past. Tilman is a mystical boy impelled to wander, and comes of age living a blessed hobo's life. Klara, his homebody sister, lovely yet stoic, is gifted in the arts of the needle and the chisel, one skill inherited from her mother, the other from her Bavarian grandfather, who carved the statuary for their tiny Canadian settlement's grand stone church, the brainchild of Father Gstir, who is sent to the frontier by mad King Ludwig in 1866. In a spellbinding tale that spans two time periods and is rife with pairings and parallels, Gstir is matched with Walter Allward, a real-life Canadian sculptor who built the enormous Canadian First World War Monument near Arras, France. With their edifices of faith and memory as her polestars, Urquhart orchestrates poetically dramatic adventures for nomadic Tilman and reclusive Klara, each of whom ultimately discovers the vicissitudes of love, faces the horrors of war, and embraces the solace of art, and of home. ((Reviewed May 15, 2002)) Copyright 2002 Booklist Reviews - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2002 March #2
Intermittently clunky symbolism and occasional outcroppings of melodramatic improbability dilute the force of this otherwise impressive fifth novel from the Canadian author.The story follows Urquhart's earlier fiction in its emphasis on the artistic life (The Underpainter, 1997, etc.). In a series of overlapping extended scenes ranging from the late 19th century to the aftermath of WWI, Urquhart creates a monument, so to speak, to the concept of creating monuments, and to their makers. Her background action is the arrival of Bavarian Catholic priest Archangel Gstir, in 1867, in the southwestern Ontario village of Shovenal, populated mostly by German immigrants. Father Gstir's dream of building a magnificent church is realized with the help of Joseph Becker, an accomplished woodcarver (who also works in stone). Joseph's gift is inherited by his granddaughter Klara, a seamstress whose artistic energies are awakened after her mother's death from cancer, the disappearance of her older brother Tilman (named for a celebrated 16th-century woodcarver, but indifferent to the craft so long practiced in his family), and the death of her lover Eamon O'Sullivan on a battlefield in France. The novel's major themes draw together when the bereaved Klara, learning of the plans of Canadian sculptor Walter Allward (a real historical figure) to create a stone memorial in France honoring his country's war dead, travels to France, disguises herself as a man in order to join Allward's crew of sculptors, and finds peace through both the exercise of her skill and a climactic reconciliation with the restless Tilman. This process is affecting because Klara is a closely observed and vividly portrayed character. Most of the others are far less distinct (with the partial exception of the passionately idealistic Father Gstir).Not Urquhart's best, but another memorable illustration of her conception of the revivifying power of art. Copyright Kirkus 2002 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2002 May #1
Urquhart's fifth novel (after The Underpainter) opens with a striking image: in 1934, an enormous stone structure rises from the French countryside. When finished, it will be the Vimy Memorial, honoring thousands of Canadian World War I dead. Among those carving the monument are Tilman and Klara Becker, siblings from a line of brilliant carvers, who are drawn from their tiny Ontario village by the great undertaking. Each is fleeing an existence both peculiar and unfulfilling. Klara, an independent, middle-aged spinster, mourns unceasingly for her great love, Eamon, lost forever in the trenches. Tilman's military service cost him a leg and the peace of mind he maintained even during his years on the road as a youthful tramp after being driven away from home. The reunited sister and brother risk an Atlantic crossing, with Klara disguised as a man in order to be hired at Vimy. Their scarcely articulated hope centers on the redemption of their blighted lives through the wonder of carving virtual life from cold stone. Though at times the Beckers and other characters seem more like emblems than convincing individuals, Urquhart's tale of a talented but tragic clan will find many readers among fans of family sagas. Recommended for larger public libraries. Starr E. Smith, Fairfax Cty. P.L., VA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2002 April #2
The bell-llike clarity of its prose initially masks the eloquent pathos of this Canadian bestseller by Urquhart (The Underpainter), which examines WWI through the experiences of siblings Klara Becker, whose first love, Eamon, enlists and never returns, and Tilman Becker, who loses one of his legs in the battle at Vimy Ridge in France. Their largely separate stories along with the evolution of Shoneval, their Ontario farming village form the core of this moving novel and converge in the 1930s, when the sister and brother travel to France to participate in the creation of Walter Allward's Vimy Memorial honoring some 11,000 Canadians missing in action after the Great War. Klara and Tilman share a knowledge of woodcarving, a legacy of their grandfather, a Shoneval pioneer. They end up putting their talents to work in the construction of the memorial and, in the process, rebuild their own damaged lives. The panorama of WWI serves as a powerful backdrop for Klara and Tilman's finely drawn, heartfelt stories and gives Urquhart the canvas on which to depict mature, sophisticated themes. Urquhart charts the collapse of the pastoral ideal an agrarian prewar Canada lured into the conflicts of Europe, losing a generation of young men as a result but her bigger theme is the possibility of redemption, achieved with great struggle, through love and through art. These are familiar premises, but Urquhart's deft, poetic prose and psychological acuity make this a stirring look at one of the signal events of the 20th century. (May 13) Forecast: While she is yet largely unknown to American readers, Urquhart's previous novels earned good review attention here, which is likely to continue with this latest effort, nominated for the Giller Prize in Canada. Increased sales should follow. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
