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Chargement... Northline (Uncorrected Proof) (original 2008; édition 2008)par Willy Vlautin (Auteur)
Information sur l'oeuvrePlein nord par Willy Vlautin (2008)
Books Read in 2019 (1,970) Five star books (769) Chargement...
Inscrivez-vous à LibraryThing pour découvrir si vous aimerez ce livre Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre. Low key novel that I wasn't so sure about at first, as it portrayed a self-destructive waitress in Las Vegas with an abusive boyfriend--and an imaginary Paul Newman who gives her advice and encourages her. As it goes on, it grows on you, and the various characters are well drawn. The scenes in and around Las Vegas and Reno are convincing and give you a great idea of the hopelessness of many in such places--but there are always those who persevere, such as the woman setting up appointments for vacuum cleaner demonstrations. In the end I was won over. The audiobook was well read. At first, the narrator sounded a bit amateurish, but it is all in keeping with the character of the girl, and the narration, like the book itself, gets better as it goes along. Recommended. Allison Johnson (usually referred to here as ‘the girl’) as desperately in need of escape from her current life. Pregnant, stuck in an abusive relationship with boyfriend Jimmy and heavily dependent on alcohol, she decides to move away from Las Vegas to Reno to make a fresh start. As is always the way though, she carries her demons with her. This book charts Allison’s life in Reno, from a detached, third-person point of view. It follows her as she decides what to do with her baby, finds work as a waitress, strikes up tentative friendships, and unfortunately, continues to drink heavily and end up in dangerous situations with unpleasant men. In her darkest hours, she imagines conversations with her favourite film star Paul Newman, and these conversations help her through. As I always do when I finish any book, I looked for reviews of this online, and the vast majority I read were hugely positive. I really wanted to like this book – and there are lots of positives about it. The short abrupt chapters and eloquent writing meant that I flew through chunks of it really quickly and I thought it captured the late night smoky atmosphere of Reno pretty well (although I’ve never actually been there, ha!)….but the aforementioned detachment, and the very spare style of writing meant that I never engaged with any of the characters, because I never felt that they were fully fleshed out. And it is just so depressing and exhausting to read!! Just when I thought things were going to turn around for Allison, she screws it up again. Although it’s a quick read, it doesn’t exactly flow like a novel, and often felt more like a series of vignettes from Allison’s life with a connecting theme running through them. I love Paul Newman, but I also didn’t see the point of her imaginary conversations with him. So all in all, perhaps this was not the book for me. I can see why some people enjoyed it, but by the end of it, my main feeling was relief that it was finished. I have previously declared my interest in reading novels by musicians and this one is by the lead singer and writer for one of my favourite bands, Richmond Fontaine, so it has a head start. I actually brought this book at a gig! The rating is really four stars for the book and one extra for the "soundtrack" CD bound into the back cover. I think that this is a step up from his first book. It tells the story over a year or so of Allison, a loser with a bad taste in boyfriends, but she knows this, so moves from Las Vegas to Reno to escape her past. It is very sympathetically told in a sad tone with hints of optimism. I particularly enoyed her "conversations" with Paul Newman! aucune critique | ajouter une critique
Distinctions
Comme une balade country de Johnny Cash, mélancolique et prenante, Plein nord raconte une histoire américaine par excellence. Entre désespérance et rédemption, la trajectoire d'Allison, une gamine de vingt-deux ans, abîmée par l'alcool et les mauvais hasards, qui décide de rompre avec son passé en quittant Las Vegas pour Reno, après avoir appris qu'elle était enceinte. De nouvelles rencontres vont l'aider à se reconstruire, mais surtout Paul Newman, dont elle connaît tous les films par coeur, et avec qui elle parle en secret dans ses moments de doute... Peuplé de personnages attachants, porté par une écriture sobre et une belle énergie, le roman de Willy Vlautin, est un portrait extraordinaire de l'Amérique des laissés-pour-compte. Après Motel Life, bientôt adapté au cinéma par Guillermo Arriaga, le scénariste de 21 grammes, Plein nord sera porté à l'écran par Courtney Hunt, la réalisatrice de Frozen River, révélation de Sundance 2008. Plein Nord rappelle le slogan d'une vieille édition des Souris et des hommes de Steinbeck: Deux heures pour le lire, vingt ans pour s'en remettre. Booklist Mélancolique, discret, plus léger que Carver et moins puéril que Bukowski, Vlautin parvient à faire sien le mème territoire et, c'est le plus important, à le rendre comme neuf. The New York Times Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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Allison gets overwhelmed with anxiety and regret about giving her baby away. She meets a gentle guy named Dan who may be more traumatized than her – which is why she sticks with him – he can’t control her. She clings to Dan and hopes for the best. And to not be found by her boyfriend – or anyone else really. ( )