Join facebook to connect with author brian r hall and others you may know. Its part of a small genre of books which have a powerful effect on me. Saskia is one of the quirkiest, most loveable and carefully drawn. Brian halls the saskiad falls into the broad category known as bildungsroman novel of education. Indeed, the gall of brian hall to claim epic status for his novel, a selfpromotion few writers would dare. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Author leah hager cohen recommends brian halls the saskiad, a comingofage tale with a. Get the best deal by comparing prices from over 100,000 booksellers. A journey through the last days of yugoslavia, 1994, etc.
Halls other novels include the saskiad houghtonmifflin, 1997. Saskia is an intelligent, quirky twelveyearold who lives with her mother in an rural new york commune that is past its prime. Her books skitter off the ends of her chasing fingers and fall. Buy a cheap copy of the saskiad book by brian hall. Brian hall born august 31, 1959 is an american author. Rich and haunting in language, the saskiad is an epic tale about the search for. An incisive and affecting yugoslavian travelogue from may to midseptember 1991, just as the country split up and its former republics went to war. More fall of frost is a searing, exquisitely constructed portrait of one mans rages, guilt, generosity, genius, paranoia, and.
Author leah hager cohen recommends brian hall s the saskiad, a comingofage tale with a. The saskiad, brian hall mental wilderness holden lees. Halls book will be competing with a spate of others commemorating the 200th anniversary of the expedition, but a 12city author tour should help this standout find an audience. Hall s other novels include the saskiad houghtonmifflin, 1997. Like all such works, it has a young protagonist who embarks on an adventure of selfdiscovery. Awards spur award for best western novel books i should be extremely happy in, the saskiad, the impossible country, lie groups lie algebras, fall of frost i should be extremely happy in, the saskiad, the impossible country, lie groups lie algebras, fall of frost. Brian hall books list of books by author brian hall. The saskiad by brian hall book cover, description, publication history. Not surprisingly, many comingofage novels have become staples of highschool reading lists and so should brian hall s fine new novel, the saskiad.
Its clichefree, sophisticated, and amazingly complete, and hall presents it in a marvellous thirdperson interior prose style that seems to flow straight from saskias head think of joyces. Journalist, critic, and memoirist, thomas larson is the author of three books. A sequel to nancy pearls 2003 book lust, this 2005 guide continues to pair books to readers through unique categories. More fall of frost is a searing, exquisitely constructed portrait of one mans rages, guilt, generosity, genius, paranoia, and sheer, defiant persistence. I very much enjoyed reading the saskiad, by brian hall, on account of the story being fraught with well crafted characters and a remarkably imaginative journey into the inner world of the main character, saskia. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. Longing to escape the rundown commune where she lives with her organic. Brian hall has used the novelists art to create a book that fills in the gaps and provides a new perspective on meriwether lewis and william clarks expedition to the pacific ocean.
Its about imagination, the desire to explore the unknown, the beautiful illusion of pinning fantasy over reality, contradictions of. New members save 20% off free curbside pickup jigsaw puzzles for all ages download our free nook app coloring books for. At the time, hall was completing work on his critically acclaimed novel about a 12yearold girl growing up in ithaca, the saskiad. Brian hall is the author of madeleines world houghton mifflin 1997, as well as a previous novel and two books about his travels in eastern europe. Absurd at times, pretentious throughout, great in theory and horrifying in reality. Based on his experiences in eastern europe, hall wrote his first book, stealing from a deep place published by.
A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. The saskiad is a riteofpassage story written in streamofconsciousness. The saskiad by brian hall longing to escape the rundown commune where she lives with her organicfarmer mother, assorted halfsiblings, and a cow named marilyn, the precociously wellread saskia white, 12, imagines herself the noble contemporary of odysseus, marco polo. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. His journalism has appeared in publications such as time, the new yorker, and the new york times magazine. Rather, he offers an elegy of sorts for the promise of humanism and an eyewitness account of the balkanization of mind and action. Founded in 1997, has become a leading book price comparison site.
Aug 21, 2012 the saskiad by brian hall longing to escape the rundown commune where she lives with her organicfarmer mother, assorted halfsiblings, and a cow named marilyn, the precociously wellread saskia white, 12, imagines herself the noble contemporary of odysseus, marco polo, and other adventurers. Brian hall a yearold, enriched by her knowledge of golden age mythologies but burdened with the pressures of family history and contemporary life, comes of. Search for library items search for lists search for contacts search for a library. Hall s 12yearold heroine, saskia white, endures the usual tribulations attending the passage from a childhood wonderland of fantasy and innocent selfabsorption into a darker. In halls case, he has taken the long and often troubled life of robert frost as a starting point for a rich tapestry of meditation on and exploration. I should be extremely happy in your company viking, 2003. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Dec 29, 2015 the saskiad, brian hall goodreads, detailed notes.
Yet it is not long into this absorbing, protean contemporary story of a 12yearold girls search for her mysteriously absent father, before we realize the claim is justified. Brian hall brian hall used books, rare books and new books. The sanctuary of illness, january 2014 from hudson whitman, the saddest music ever written and the memoir and the memoirist. Saskia, a bright, sardonic, fiercely imaginative adolescent, offers a salty record of her comingofage in this sharply observant novel. This list includes every book in bold but doesnt include books when only the author was recommended. Halls 12yearold heroine, saskia white, endures the usual. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors.
Brian halls novel fall of frost is an exquisite feat of imagination executed within a very contemporary form. I couldnt stop envisioning brian hall the author writing the prose of 12, and 14yearold sexual awakenings everpresent, might i add, particularly the parts wherein they intersect with older, mostly paternal figures. Coetzee, turns to his daughter when looking for his own redemption. I couldnt stop envisioning brian hall the author writing the prose of 12, and 14yearold sexual awakenings everpresent, might i add, particularly the parts. The saskiad rich and haunting in language, the saskiad is an epic tale about the search for home and family in the life of a precocious young girl.
The sanctuary of illness, january 2014 from hudson whitman, the saddest music. See all books authored by brian hall, including the impossible country. Buy the saskiad by hall, brian from amazons fiction books store. She lives on a commune and uses any free time that is not spent rearing the wild. Brian hall author alchetron, the free social encyclopedia. Brian hall, who is the author of one previous novel and two books of. Twelve years old and steeped in story, the ferociously bright saskia is growing up in, and largely holding together, a rundown commune in rural new york. She lives on a commune and uses any free time that is not spent rearing the wild bunch of children that live.
The saskiad 1997, i should be extremely happy in your company 2003, his acclaimed story of the lewis and clark expedition, fall of frost 2008, about the life of robert frost. He is a staff writer for the san diego reader, and he teaches in the mfa program in creative nonfiction at ashland university, ashland, ohio. Wrapped up in books and fantasies, saskia is lonely and has only the tiresome. The romantic power of words has the uncanny ability to lead us through the aches and pains of growing up. The saskiad by brian hall book club discussion questions. One of those books that you just want to tell everyone you see about the saskiad is an extraordinary tale of fantasy and reality melded by a young girls awakening into adulthood. Longing to escape the rundown commune where she lives with her organicfarmer mother, assorted. Saskia fills lunch boxes, checks book bags and clothing, tucks a wad of tissue paper in quinnys back pocket. The father in disgrace, the searing book by the nobel laureate j. A journey through the last days of yugoslavia, and i should be extremely happy in your company. Not surprisingly, many comingofage novels have become staples of highschool reading lists and so should brian halls fine new novel, the saskiad. In the judgment book, austin has eight demerits, mim. Brian hall a yearold, enriched by her knowledge of golden age mythologies but burdened with the pressures of family history and contemporary life, comes of age in this engaging novel. Author leah hager cohen recommends brian halls the saskiad, a comingofage tale with a bookish twist.
The book would soon spark a bidding war among european publishers that eventually afforded hall uninterrupted time to concentrate on his lewis and clark novel. She lives on a commune and uses any free time that is not spent rearing the wild bunch of children that live there with her, idolising and reading about epic adventurers. Odyssey of a young girl by linda barrett osborne sunday, february 9, 1997. Author leah hager cohen recommends brian halls the saskiad. Hall, a novelist the dreamers, 1988 and an accomplished travel writer the impossible country. I want the whole world to read this epic comingofage tale. The book is so rife with fanciful coinages and lavish metaphors, it risks.