.

.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Little Is Left To Tell by Steven Hendricks

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)
about book:

Little Is Left to Tell is the haunting novel by master fabulist Steven Hendricks. Enter a nocturnal world where the unreal is seen on a liminal horizon of fading memory, illuminated by partial understanding and lyrical fictions. Virginia the Wolf writes her last novel to lure her daughter home. A rabbit named Hart Crane must eat words to speak, while passing zeppelins drop bombs. Mr. Fin tries to read the past in marginalia and to rebuild his son from boat parts. A novel that bridges between dreamscape and reality, Little Is Left to Tell is entrancing and enthralling.

“In Little is Left to Tell one scene is quietly illuminated and then that illumination glides to the next, equally quiet and wondrous. Like a dream that inhabits an entire life, even a life of reading, this is a deeply rich and surprising novel.” — Amina Cain, author of Creature

“A tale about the ravages of old age, the weight of the past and bunny rabbits. Debut novelist Hendricks tries to apply the whimsical mood of fairy tales to the mildly experimental fiction at play here, and he largely succeeds despite the grim nature of his story. …A vivid story that uses the language and metaphors of myth to reflect on the unkind nature of age and perception.” — Kirkus Reviews

my thoughts:

What a smart, beautiful story! I absolutely LOVED Hendricks' novel, Little Is Left To Tell - it was AMAZING!!  Here's what I loved:
  • The writing was beyond excellent. It was emotional, powerful, and beautiful. I enjoyed immersing myself in it tremendously.  
  • The stories intertwine - bunnies and Mr. Fin.  One minute you are reading about an elderly man with dementia grieving his son and then suddenly its all about the bunnies. How brilliant is that? Believe me, it is.
  • The disjointed feel of the story is difficult at first, and distracting at times.  However, you find yourself easily adjusting to these abrupt transitions in the story rather quickly.  Plus, I thought it was a clever way to show us what someone experiencing memory loss has to deal with - the way their mind must work jumping from one thought to another, because they are losing memories left and right.  It almost reads like a stream of consciousness, which I found to be rather illuminating.
  • Using the characters to introduce literary icons like Woolf and Hemingway added such depth and whimsy to the story.
  • Loss and grief were the big themes and the manner in which Hendricks' threaded them  throughout his story was creative to a tee. 
  • Never knowing what time period or who's viewpoint we are reading about begged the question, "Is this real?".  I loved trying to figure out what was truly happening with Mr. Fin - it made for such an emotional reading experience.  
  • This is definitely a hard book to summarize.  Just know that its wonderfully written, mesmerizing, and provides plenty of food for thought.  
I would happily recommend Little Is Left To Tell to anyone looking for a unique reading experience - you will not be disappointed! 

Here's the link to the TLC Book Tour schedule for: Little Is Left To Tell
Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!

2 comments:

Heather J @ TLC Book Tours said...

This seems like such a unique and ultimately memorable book. I'm so glad you loved it!

Thanks for being a part of the tour.

Nadia said...

Heather, thanks so much for having me on the tour :)