Conceived in love and possibility, Bonaventure Arrow didn’t make a peep when he was born, and the doctor nearly took him for dead. No one knows Bonaventure’s silence is filled with resonance – a miraculous gift of rarified hearing that encompasses the Universe of Every Single Sound. Growing up in the big house on Christopher Street in Bayou Cymbaline, Bonaventure can hear flowers grow, a thousand shades of blue, and the miniature tempests that rage inside raindrops. He can also hear the gentle voice of his father, William Arrow, shot dead before Bonaventure was born by a mysterious stranger known only as the Wanderer.
Bonaventure’s remarkable gift of listening promises salvation to the souls who love him: his beautiful young mother, Dancy, haunted by the death of her husband; his Grand-mere Letice, plagued by grief and long-buried guilt she locks away in a chapel; and his father, William, whose roaming spirit must fix the wreckage of the past. With the help of Trinidad Prefontaine, a Creole housekeeper endowed with her own special gifts, Bonaventure will find the key to long-buried mysteries and soothe a chorus of family secrets clamoring to be healed. – Goodreads
——
Bonaventure Arrow is born into tragedy, and grows up unknowingly destined to lift the cloud that has settled over his family. There’s his mother, Dancy, who struggles against the bitterness and anger that come of losing her husband when their life together had only just begun. And there’s Grandma Letice, Bonaventure’s paternal grandmother who has turned to her Catholic faith to assuage the creeping guilt that is choking her heart.
The two women, who hardly knew each other when William Arrow was shot, cling to each other’s grief and help one another get through each day. They are united not only by their grief over William’s death, but also by their love and utter devotion to young Bonaventure, whose well-being is the only thing more important to them. Each woman has her own way of dealing with William’s death, and must overcome her own conviction that they were to blame.
There is another resident in Bonaventure’s home – William’s ghost. He watches over his family, and Bonaventure’s extraordinary gift allows him to hear his father’s voice from across the divide between reality and “almost heaven.” William’s presence leads Bonaventure to secrets long buried, that must be put to rest before everyone in the family – including William – can move on.
This story is full of secrets, and everything (and everyone) is connected. It’s not always a happy story, but it is always full of hope and the magic of Bonaventure Arrow.
You can’t help but love Bonaventure. He’s a bright, inquisitive young boy who, despite having no voice of his own, manages to show us a world full of magic and beauty.
I absolutely adored this book. I loved how it was written, I loved that it slowly unfurled its story and took its time introducing us to the characters. I loved the magical realism and the sense of endless possibility. This may be Leganski’s debut novel, but it speaks to a life-long love of storytelling. This is one of my top reads of the year, and one I’d happily recommend to… well, pretty much everyone.
Author: Rita Leganski
Series: No
Edition: Paperback
Published By: Harper
Released: Feb. 26, 2013
Genre: Fiction, Magical Realism
Pages: 400
Rating: 10/10
Hi there. My name is Rita Leganski, and I’m the author of THE SILENCE OF BONAVENTURE ARROW. Even though that book came out 6 years ago, every now and then a blurb, or a mention, or a review of it will pop up in the land of technology memories (Disclosure: I’m the least techy person you’ll ever find). Anyway, I’d never seen your review of Bonaventure Arrow before today. It’s just lovely, and I wanted to thank you.
Hi! It’s so wonderful to receive a comment from you! I remember a brief exchange on Twitter when I first read the book (I was Backlist Books at the time I think) and you were just lovely – and here you are being lovely all over again! I would like to thank you – this book is one of my all-time favourites, and I have passed it on to friends and family who are equally enthralled by it. I hope you are safe and well in this difficult time – and maybe that it’s not too much to hope that it’s giving you time to work on a new book? (Cheeky, I know!) Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’m very glad that my review found you!
Thank you! I was inspired. This book…. THIS BOOK. I think you'll enjoy it. It's got a lot of emotional depth, which I know you like based on the books you've reviewed, and it's original. There aren't many books I can compare it to. And I adore Rita Leganski – she seems like such a friendly, open, humble author (especially considering how awesome her writing is). She is on my auto-buy list from now until forever!
Thank you! I was inspired. This book…. THIS BOOK. I think you'll enjoy it. It's got a lot of emotional depth, which I know you like based on the books you've reviewed, and it's original. There aren't many books I can compare it to. And I adore Rita Leganski – she seems like such a friendly, open, humble author (especially considering how awesome her writing is). She is on my auto-buy list from now until forever!
Thanks Jennifer! Glad you enjoyed it! (Though honestly, with a book like this – reviewing it was easy!)
Thanks Jennifer! Glad you enjoyed it! (Though honestly, with a book like this – reviewing it was easy!)
What a beautifully-written review! It just reaffirms that I NEED to read this asap. I've been really enjoying magical realism in books lately. It also intrigues me to have a character that doesn't have a voice… I'm so interested in how that plays out and how that affects the novel.
What a beautifully-written review! It just reaffirms that I NEED to read this asap. I've been really enjoying magical realism in books lately. It also intrigues me to have a character that doesn't have a voice… I'm so interested in how that plays out and how that affects the novel.
This is a great review, I enjoyed reading 🙂
This is a great review, I enjoyed reading 🙂