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May 8, 2003
The Gift of Stones - Jim Crace
The Gift Of Stones is one of the most extraordinary pieces of fiction I have read in years.
A young boy live in a village of flint-knapppers in an unspecified land during Neolithic times. He is gathering molluscs by the shore one day when a band of marauders pass by. One of them shoots him in the elbow with an arrow, so his arm is amputated. Flint-knappers need two hands to perform their work, so he becomes the village storyteller instead. And these are his stories.
Jim Crace, the author, has the most lyrical voice I have read in modern fiction. This slim volume covers such a range of human experience, personal and social. Who wd ever think that a book placed in Stone Age times could so vividly illustrate the impact of rapid technological change on a culture, too.
If you like this one, you may also like Arcadia, also by Crace; a very different story and a very different tone.
Posted by mvestrich at 8:51 PM
to Fiction
Comments
I read this book! It was good. Crace has a lovely writing style.
Posted by: Elise Bauer at May 8, 2003 10:02 PM
How Crace masters his suttle, in-your-face writing I will never know! As close to a first hand account as you'll get , considering the story takes place before recorded history. I love The Gift of Stones.
Posted by: curtis gormley at August 6, 2003 7:50 AM
Jim Crace is as good a writer as I have ever read!
His "Being Dead" was an incredibly descriptive book that has me in the "Crace grip".
Once you read him....you will definately be looking for more!
A fabulously talented writer.....
Posted by: Kathy at February 25, 2005 1:54 PM
