The new novel from the Pulitzer-prize winning author of The Shipping News. In Accordion Crimes the hallucinatory power of Proulx's language and the radiance of her sentences confirm her genius. Accordion Crimes is a masterpiece of story-telling that spans a century and a continent. It opens in 1890 in Sicily, when an accordion maker and his son, carrying little more than his finest button accordion, begin their voyage to the teeming, violent port of New Orleans. Within a year, the accordion maker is murdered by an ...
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The new novel from the Pulitzer-prize winning author of The Shipping News. In Accordion Crimes the hallucinatory power of Proulx's language and the radiance of her sentences confirm her genius. Accordion Crimes is a masterpiece of story-telling that spans a century and a continent. It opens in 1890 in Sicily, when an accordion maker and his son, carrying little more than his finest button accordion, begin their voyage to the teeming, violent port of New Orleans. Within a year, the accordion maker is murdered by an anti-Italian lynch mob, but his instrument carries the novel into another community of immigrants, German-Americans, founding a new town in South Dakota. Moving from South Dakota to Texas, from Montana to Maine, the nine instantly compelling and intricately connected sections of the novel illuminate the lives of the founders of a nation, descendants of Mexicans, Poles, Germans, the Irish, Scots, and Franco-Canadians. Through the music of the accordion they express their fantasies, sorrows and exuberance.
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Seller's Description:
None. Fine in Fine jacket. Number 731 of a limited edition of 2, 500 copies, signed by the author Follows an accordion as it travels America, passing through the hands of a variety of different people. In a cloth binding with dustcover, with a protective plastic sheet. Externally: Slight mark to top right corner of dustcover. Boards fine. Internally: Pages and firmly bound, bright and clean. Fine.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Fine in fine jacket. Octavo, 381pp. A fine, crisp copy in like dust jacket. This is number 1860 of 2500 limited copies SIGNED by Proulx on the publisher's tipped-in leaf.
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Fine in Fine jacket. Size: 8vo 8"-9" tall; Another fine novel by the author of several fine novels and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the short story "Brokeback Mountain." A superior copy inside and out, being a sterling condition hardcover copy, with unbruised tips, tight binding, and clean internals, showing only very slight shelf-and edge-wear; not ex-library, with neither underlining nor highlighting anywhere. Bright and shiny dust jacket, illustrated, showing only very minor wear, not price-clipped. Gift-quality condition inside and out. Stated First Edition, with "1" in number line present. 500 pp. Member, I.O.B.A., C.B.A., and adherent to the highest ethical standards. Additional postage may be required for oversize or especially heavy volumes, and for sets.
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Good. 16 AUDIO CDs withdrawn from the library collection. Please expect to see some library markings. We will polish each Audio CD for you to promote a smooth listening experience. Enjoy this reliable AUDIO CD performance.
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Fine in Fine jacket. First edition. Fine in fine dustwrapper. Please Note: This book has been transferred to Between the Covers from another database and might not be described to our usual standards. Please inquire for more detailed condition information.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Fine jacket. First edition. Near fine in fine dustwrapper. Please Note: This book has been transferred to Between the Covers from another database and might not be described to our usual standards. Please inquire for more detailed condition information.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in fine jacket. Octavo, 381pp. A crisp, clean copy, about fine, in like dust jacket. SIGNED by Proulx on the title page and dated in the year of publication.
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Very Good. No Jacket. The uncorrected proof copy of her first book after the success of The Shipping News. Dampstaining last dozen pages and rear cover, now wavy; very good in wrappers. Unless otherwise noted, our first editions are first printings.
Accordion Crimes follows the stories of America?s many immigrants from 1890 to 1996. The novel is split into eight sections and reads like eight short stories where the only connection is a green accordion and the suffering and hardship that the immigrants each suffer; Germans, Italians and Mexicans etc.
The stories traverse America, Texas, Iowa, Florida and Louisiana to name but a few. The green accordion that connects the lives of the novel?s characters is crafted by a poor Sicilian in the last decade of the 19th century. Through the novel the accordion is stolen, lost or bought by the novel?s protagonists.
The novel?s premise is striking, applaudable and its ambition is as vast as the country in which novel is set, America. The novel attempts to show a hundred years of American history through its poorest people, through ?foreign? eyes if you will.
The novel begins in Italy where a Sicilian decides to emigrate to ?La Merica? in the hope to start a business of making and selling accordions. As an example of his craftsmanship he creates a green accordion. The accordion is an instrument one associates with the working class. Felida one of the novel?s characters goes further by stating that, ?The instrument of unsuccessful men, of poor immigrants and failures.? The green colour of the instrument is significant as it relates to the nativity of its many owners and to the vast verdant landscape envisioned by immigrants who travel to America. The accordion is a complicated and elaborate instrument that belies its lowly ranking in music world.
Like the accordion of the novel?s title the novel is beautifully crafted and one can only admire the author?s in depth research. However, I found the novel dull, bloated and as dry as the paper it is printed on. The author details the making and workings of instruments and cars and sport equipment to the nth degree. After reading the book you will be able to build and create your own accordion and combustion engine due to the complete and minute detail written by the author on these subjects. I understand the author wanted to demonstrate the ingenuity and skills that many immigrants brought with them to their new homeland but it makes for a dry and tedious read.
I found myself having no connection, no sympathy and no empathy with any of the novel?s characters. This is not helped by the ludicrous circumstances they sometimes find themselves in but also the farcical deaths that befall many of the characters. One individual, the grandson of a German immigrant, dies when he loses his balance and falls into a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park. However, he manages to drag himself out of the spring with his flesh falling off his bones only for him to fall into another hot spring like a character from a Mack Sennett film.
Many of Ms Proulx?s references and analogies are pretentious, obscure and at times obtuse: ?leaving the door ajar like Richard Widmark.? I could make no sense of this simile. Only film aficionados? would be aware of the actor Richard Widmark and even some of those would be hard pressed to name any of his films.
One feels guilty at having to negatively criticize Annie Proulx?s novel as it is a worthy and ambitious piece of work about a country?s immigrants and their place in that country. To that end it is still relevant in the world today as we move toward the middle of the second decade of the 21st century immigration still high on the agenda of not just governments but the voters.
Originally posted at http://womensprizeforfictionbookreview.wordpress.com/
