The Evening Chorus (ePub)

narrative of nature’s constancy in a time of unspeakable human ruin. . . . In characteristically effortless prose, Humphreys relates a familiar tale of love and loss in war, but reveals a valuable truth: that nature in its timeless wisdom has the ability to remind humans, in the darkest of days, of their humanity.” —Quill & Quire   “A lyrical novel about loss, love and the natural world.” —Country Life   “Award winning Canadian author Helen Humphreys’ latest novel is a beautifully written exploration of the impact of war and peace on her four central characters . . . They all discover that, paradoxically, war brings unexpected freedom, which peace will eventually destroy.” —The Sydney Morning Herald   “Humphreys’ prose is nuanced and deceptively plainspoken; under its simplicity lies profound observation of human emotion.” —Cleveland.com  “Poignantly explores the sorrows of war and consolations of nature . . . A story of heartbreak and hope, it unfolds against a mesmerizingly described natural world.” —The Daily Mail   “Absorbing, richly characterized, and marked by smart, delightful twists and turns, the novel’s fruitful visitation of war and its aftermath never fails to captivate. If there is such a thing as a cultural vocabulary of war, Humphreys adds welcome new words to it. . . . In highlighting the wondrous (if at times vexing) unknowability of our lives—that a sudden impulsive idea, or a decision to turn left instead of right, can usher in unforeseeablle consequences—The Evening Chorus artfully imagines how that might play out for one quartet. And with her usual faultless eloquence, Helen Humphreys makes our witnessing of their causes and effects memorably instructive.” —National Post   “The Evening Chorusserenades people brutally marked by war, yet enduring to live—and relish—the tiny pleasures of another day. With her trademark prose—exquisitely limpid—Humphreys convinces us of the birdlike strength of the powerless.” —Emma Donoghue, author of Room “In The Evening Chorus the interventions of war, and the resulting human tragedies, play out against a natural world at once remote, alien and ultimately redemptive. The novel has a crystalline quality about it—it’s clear and complex and self-contained. It sparkles.” —Jo Baker, author of Longbourn “The Evening Chorus is a poised, lyrical novel about the griefs of war, written with poetic intensity of observation. It resonates afterwards. I read it with pleasure.” —Helen Dunmore, author of The Siege and A Spell of Winter “If there’s a writer of English prose with a more profound connection to the natural world and to the subtleties of human love and sorrow than Helen Humphreys, I don’t know who it is. The Evening Chorus is rich with her particular gift for symphonic cadences and beautiful imagery that moves a story forward with the momentum of a big train gathering speed. This riveting novel is a song. Listen.” —Richard Bausch, author of The Last Good Time and Before, During, After  “I love this book. It is so beautifully written.So sad and full of loss and so hopeful at the same time. I truly think that we all do not recognize those moments, or truly appreciate them, when they are happening, but only after many years can we look back and realize they were special, or even amazing. Bright spots in a long journey through life that is mostly made up of the everyday dull and even dreary. [There are] scenes that strike blows to your heart and make you realize the ultimate value of pain is that you are alive to experience it.” —Micheal Fraser, Joseph-Beth Booksellers   “Quietly profound and gorgeously written, The Evening Chorus is among the most moving new novels I’ve read in years.” —Garth Greenwell, Towleroad.com   “Hauntingly beautiful, and highly thought provoking . . . Beautiful on every page.” —History and Women  “Humphreys is a masterful writer; her prose is quiet and simple yet devastating and perfect.” —BookNAround  “Humphreys is an extraordinary prose stylist . . . I marveled at every sentence of The Evening Chorus.” —Lambda Literary   “This is such a beautiful story and elegantly told.” —A Work in Progress