Items related to A Good Death
On Christmas Eve, a family has gathered around the table for the obligatory dinner. The father, once an imposing figure who terrorized his children, has suddenly fallen prey to Parkinson’s. Yesterday’s tyrant is now trapped inside a disintegrating body. André, the eldest child, is nearing 60. He has never loved the father who lied too much, abused too much, manipulated too much. But still, this holiday week, André cannot help but be moved. How should he behave toward a parent to whom all pleasures are forbidden? Should he struggle to prolong the old man’s life, or help him end it? Around the dinner table, opinions are divided. At once intimate and universal, A Good Death is a deeply moving voyage into the essence of humanity. In it, Gil Courtemanche once again asks readers to confront the question that lay at the heart of his first novel: Why live? Why die?
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About the Author:
Gil Courtemanche was a journalist, essayist and novelist based in Montreal, Quebec. His best-selling first novel, A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali, was an international sensation; it has been translated into many languages, sold in over twenty countries and made into a film. In 2010, his novel A Good Death was made into a film, The Last Escape. On Friday, August 19, 2011, Courtemanche lost his two-year battle with cancer of the larynx. His work will live on as a testament to his commitment to outing injustices in the world. Wayne Grady is one of Canada's finest science writers and a Governor General's Award-winning translator. He has authored eleven books of nonfiction, translated fourteen novels, and edited more than a dozen anthologies of short stories and creative nonfiction.
Review:
"Canadian author Courtemanche beautifully captures the conflicted dynamic of a dutiful child who has never loved his father, desperately needs to please his loving mother, and can only survive by maintaining emotional distance from the whole messy swamp of lifelong familial grievances and entrenched behaviors...This follow-up to the brilliant Sunday at the Pool in Kigali (2003) beautifully compacts the big issues of aging, dying, and duty into scenes of resentful devotion, cheerful fatalism, and intimacy held at arm's length. Highly recommended." (Library Journal)
"[A Good Death is] a striking account of a family and its efforts to cope with the binding prospect of death. ...[The] rather original approach challenges readers to look at their own lives and examine past events which, for better or worse, have shaped the individuals they have become." (Books in Canada)
"Gil Courtemanche turns his unsparing eye...to a smaller but nevertheless seething locus for a political and ethical dilemma -- the family...it raises powerful questions -- what is a good death, or life, anyway? And the ending is literally breathtaking." (Kitchener-Waterloo Record)
"The beauty of A Good Death is in Courtemanche’s deft exploration of Andrea’s love for his father, even as he denies to himself that he feels this love. His quest for understanding, and the conflicting needs of parents and children, make for an intense emotional journey that is raw and honest." (Geist Magazine)
"[A Good Death is] a striking account of a family and its efforts to cope with the binding prospect of death. ...[The] rather original approach challenges readers to look at their own lives and examine past events which, for better or worse, have shaped the individuals they have become." (Books in Canada)
"Gil Courtemanche turns his unsparing eye...to a smaller but nevertheless seething locus for a political and ethical dilemma -- the family...it raises powerful questions -- what is a good death, or life, anyway? And the ending is literally breathtaking." (Kitchener-Waterloo Record)
"The beauty of A Good Death is in Courtemanche’s deft exploration of Andrea’s love for his father, even as he denies to himself that he feels this love. His quest for understanding, and the conflicting needs of parents and children, make for an intense emotional journey that is raw and honest." (Geist Magazine)
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- PublisherDouglas & McIntyre
- Publication date2009
- ISBN 10 1553652150
- ISBN 13 9781553652151
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages206
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. On Christmas Eve, a family has gathered around the table for the obligatory dinner. The father, once an imposing figure who terrorized his children, has suddenly fallen prey to Parkinson's. Yesterday's tyrant is now trapped inside a disintegrating body. Andre, the eldest child, is nearing 60. He has never loved the father who lied too much, abused too much, manipulated too much. But still, this holiday week, Andre cannot help but be moved. How should he behave toward a parent to whom all pleasures are forbidden? Should he struggle to prolong the old man's life, or help him end it? Around the dinner table, opinions are divided. At once intimate and universal, "A Good Death" is a deeply moving voyage into the essence of humanity. In it, Gil Courtemanche once again asks readers to confront the question that lay at the heart of his first novel: Why live? Why die? On Christmas Eve, a family has gathered around the table for the obligatory dinner. The father, once an imposing figure who terrorized his children, has suddenly fallen prey to Parkinson's. Yesterday's tyrant is now trapped inside a disintegrating body. Andre, the eldest child, is nearing 60. He has never loved the father who lied too much, abused too much, manipulated too much. But still, this holiday week, Andre cannot help but be moved. How should he behave toward a parent to whom all pleasures are forbidden? Should he struggle to prolong the old man's life, or help him end it? Around the dinner table, opinions are divided. At once intimate and universal, "A Good Death" is a deeply moving voyage into the essence of humanity. In it, Gil Courtemanche once again asks readers to confront the question that lay at the heart of his first novel: Why live? Why die? Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781553652151
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. On Christmas Eve, a family has gathered around the table for the obligatory dinner. The father, once an imposing figure who terrorized his children, has suddenly fallen prey to Parkinson's. Yesterday's tyrant is now trapped inside a disintegrating body. Andre, the eldest child, is nearing 60. He has never loved the father who lied too much, abused too much, manipulated too much. But still, this holiday week, Andre cannot help but be moved. How should he behave toward a parent to whom all pleasures are forbidden? Should he struggle to prolong the old man's life, or help him end it? Around the dinner table, opinions are divided. At once intimate and universal, "A Good Death" is a deeply moving voyage into the essence of humanity. In it, Gil Courtemanche once again asks readers to confront the question that lay at the heart of his first novel: Why live? Why die? On Christmas Eve, a family has gathered around the table for the obligatory dinner. The father, once an imposing figure who terrorized his children, has suddenly fallen prey to Parkinson's. Yesterday's tyrant is now trapped inside a disintegrating body. Andre, the eldest child, is nearing 60. He has never loved the father who lied too much, abused too much, manipulated too much. But still, this holiday week, Andre cannot help but be moved. How should he behave toward a parent to whom all pleasures are forbidden? Should he struggle to prolong the old man's life, or help him end it? Around the dinner table, opinions are divided. At once intimate and universal, "A Good Death" is a deeply moving voyage into the essence of humanity. In it, Gil Courtemanche once again asks readers to confront the question that lay at the heart of his first novel: Why live? Why die? Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781553652151
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