The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow
A Novel
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4.4 • 69 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A magical debut novel from Rita Leganski, The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow is the tale of a mute boy whose gift of wondrous hearing reveals family secrets and forgotten voodoo lore, and exposes a murder that threatens the souls of those who love him.
Bonaventure Arrow didn’t make a peep when he was born, and the doctor nearly took him for dead. But he was listening, placing sound inside quiet and gaining his bearings. By the time he turns five, he can hear flowers grow, a thousand shades of blue, and the miniature tempests that rage inside raindrops. He also hears the voice of his dead father, William Arrow, mysteriously murdered by a man known only as the Wanderer.
Exploring family relics, he opens doors to the past and finds the key to a web of secrets that both hold his family together, and threaten to tear them apart.
Set against the backdrop of 1950s New Orleans, The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow is a magical story about the lost art of listening and a wondrous little boy who brings healing to the souls of all who love him.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In her debut novel, set in 1950s New Orleans, Leganski chronicles the life of young Bonaventure Arrow, a mute child with extraordinary hearing, born to recently widowed Dancy. Although Bonaventure doesn't speak, his inner life is filled with chatter, produced by sources ranging from other people's emotions and thoughts to colors and inanimate objects. He can also hear the dearly departed, most notably his father, William, who was murdered shortly before Bonaventure's birth ("He'd built up a great store of words, every one of them left unspoken, save for those telepathic talks with his father"). Bonaventure's gift makes him keenly aware of the continued grief over William's death that both his mother and paternal grandmother, Letice, quietly harbor in the house they share. Bonaventure thus convinces them to hire Trinidad Prefontaine as their cook, knowing that her mystical powers, which harmonize with his own, could be instrumental in freeing them from the weight of the past. Leganski's lyrical if sometimes overwritten prose underscores the magical realism that appears throughout the novel.
Customer Reviews
Beautifully Written
A wonderful book! I cried two times! Amazing author that I hope to see more work from. The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow, is a great read.