"This is the gentle story of August Kleinman and the tribulations of his life. At times a commentary on present day Judaism it intersperses the present with various happenings in August's past. In the present day he is a retired millionaire ex-brewery owner who visits his son and daughter-in-law and grandson to be a kind grandfather. He escaped the rise of Nazism in Germany to settle in America with his mother. He was drafted in the final stages of the War and posted to the Far East. Here he has a life changing encounter with a Japanese soldier in a cave he is searching. The Japanese soldier is an artist who has painted a mural on the cave wall and lays down his arms to show it to August. But terrified August kills the soldier. He picks up various notebooks of the soldier's which contain a secret about the soldier's life written in Japanese. The story is about how August now wants to tell the translated secret to the soldier's son and so travels to Japan to settle the past. August has also taken on a job in a supermarket packing grocery bags, despite the fact that he is a millionaire, so that he can befriend Isabela a single mother from the Caribbean who he donates his pay cheques to. August is kind and gentle and the story also tells of the raising of his children, his love for his wife and how he cares for his wife as she is dying. Ethan Canin has a wonderful way of portraying August's life mixing terrifying ordeals with charming gentle prose. Ethan Canin is a master at writing about feelings and giving insights into people's lives through beautiful anecdotes. I thoroughly recommend Ethan Canin to you!"
John Marcel, Resident Scholar
Click above for the new Obama Girl Parody video!
Review Analysis of Carry Me Across the Water
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1980's-1999
Family, caring for ill
Yes
Who is sick?
- wife
because he/she is
- physically ill
Internal struggle/realization?
Yes
Struggle over
- vague finding self/purpose in life (i.e. no plot to book)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Pregnancy/Child rearing
Yes
Major part of story:
- general child raising
War/Revolt/Disaster on civilians
Yes
Coping with loss of loved one(s)
Yes
Loss of...
- wife/girlfriend/squeeze
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- wealthy
Age:
- 60's-90's
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 8 (a significant amount)
United States
Yes
The US:
- Midwest
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- Japan
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
