Site Overlay

Dolce Agonia

By Nancy Huston
Dolce Agonia Take a drop of existential angst mix with a group of old friends stir in the sweet agony of midlife nostalgia and you have the recipe for the Thanksgiving dinner from hell especially when it s narr

  • Title: Dolce Agonia
  • Author: Nancy Huston
  • ISBN: 9780099429630
  • Page: 480
  • Format: Paperback

    • Take a drop of existential angst, mix with a group of old friends, stir in the sweet agony of midlife nostalgia, and you have the recipe for the Thanksgiving dinner from hell especially when it s narrated in part by a mischievous God who pulls their strings and show us the workings.A group of cosmopolitan friends in midlife gather in New England for a Thanksgiving dinnerTake a drop of existential angst, mix with a group of old friends, stir in the sweet agony of midlife nostalgia, and you have the recipe for the Thanksgiving dinner from hell especially when it s narrated in part by a mischievous God who pulls their strings and show us the workings.A group of cosmopolitan friends in midlife gather in New England for a Thanksgiving dinner and are trapped there when it snows Sean, the Irish hard drinking poet is their host, but hasn t told them he s dying of cancer In fact none of them would be there if they didn t have the kind of dysfunctional lives and problems which prevent them being with their own families.With the exception of the enigmatic outsider, a new young trophy wife, they all know too much about each other, their weak points and failures Relationships and histories criss cross they have little in common except a mutual past and a search for meaning in the present And meanwhile they re all at the mercy of fate both inevitable and surprising, funny and tragic.

    • Dolce Agonia Best Read || [Nancy Huston]
      480 Nancy Huston
    Dolce Agonia

    About Author

    1. Nancy Huston says:
      from Huston lived in Calgary until age fifteen, at which time her family moved to Wilton, New Hampshire, USA She studied at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, where she was given the opportunity to spend a year of her studies in Paris Arriving in Paris in 1973, Huston obtained a Master s Degree from the cole des Hautes tudes en Sciences Sociales, writing a thesis on swear words under the supervision of Roland Barthes Actes Sud N e Calgary Canada , Nancy Huston, qui vit Paris, a publi de nombreux romans et essais chez Actes Sud et chez Lem ac, parmi lesquels Instruments des t n bres 1996, prix Goncourt des lyc ens et prix du livre Inter , L empreinte de l ange 1998, grand prix des lectrices de ElleJ et Lignes de faille 2006, prix Femina.

    Comment 506 on “Dolce Agonia”


    2. Katherine says:
      Well now, this book has it all alcoholism, drug abuse, eating disorders, depression, adultery, cancer, Alzheimer s disease, stroke, rape, incest, murder, suicide, cruelty to animals, the Chernobyl disaster, and even a plane crash In case you find yourself hoping that life just might get better for these characters, God interjects about every other chapter to tell you how one of them will die It s a great way to escapeif you re sick of feeling contented with life.
      Reply

    3. Etienne says:
      Une belle surprise Un roman avec lequel je ne savais pas trop quoi m attendre et qui m a agr ablement surpris Malgr une intrigue quasi inexistante, c est un des ces livres que j appel des r cits de vie, ce livre nous fait d couvrir un groupe de personnes et nous fait voyager et vivre toute une gamme d motions travers leurs souvenirs et ce qu ils les attents Un style d criture tr s int ressant, assez po tique par moment, des sc nes vraies et touchantes malgr s les clich s qui y sont parfois pr se [...]
      Reply

    4. Ca33 says:
      Nancy Huston propose d aborder toutes les facettes de l existence Parmi elles, l amour, la maternit , la mort et la vieillesse sont abord es avec pertinence et invite la r flexion Ainsi, Dolce agonia r unit pour Thanksgiving, des tres de tous ges du b b au vieillard , de tous m tiers et de toutes origines S alternent dans ce roman, dialogues, pens es int rieures des personnages et apports de la romanci re qui va jusqu d crire ce que sera la mort de chacune de ces figures imaginaires.
      Reply

    5. Evelyn says:
      Loved this book I found the alternating chapters in the voice of the creator of the universe very intriguing Somehow then when the story resumed I read it with a sense of I know something you don t know It made me look at each individual character as a living breathing human being and I was very sympathetic to each of them.
      Reply

    6. Natalie says:
      This book was amazing in every way The only problem is, a book should not be able to make you feel the weight of your own mortality at age 20 Morbid, and yet the ending makes me cry with joy every time I read it.
      Reply

    7. Amyc says:
      i found the characters very pompous but the story behind it very good God is hilarious interesting story
      Reply

    8. Mike says:
      A very entertaining look at the future of 12 friends united for a Thanksgiving dinnerrough the eyes of God and the death he will give them.Throughout, the party members reflect on their lives and the people who inhabited these lives.While sometimes turning a little whiney, there is a certain depth to these characters Particularly interesting was the newest member of the group, Chlo The fact that her past is unknown to all makes her a little mysterious.There are a few reservations for me It just [...]
      Reply

    9. Eliane L says:
      An in depth investigation of mid life anxiety, Dolce Agonia intertwines banal interactions in the huis clos setting of a snowed in Thanksgiving with the thoughts, memories and dreams of each of the protagonists Highly vivid and disturbing memories of past events, including incest, the death of a child, Chernobyl, and rape and necrophilia in the Vietnam War bring shattering complexities to the characters essentially making small talk around a turkey Confusing at times in its non linearity, this p [...]
      Reply

    10. sisterimapoet says:
      I like books and films that are set with a limited focus I find it makes them work harder, which can be a great thing for the story.This novel is set throughout one dinner party Alternate chapters are narrated by an omniscient god who shows us the death of each character.I found the witty parts of the story genuinely funny a rarity for me and the moving and thought provoking parts also achieved their aim.All in all it was better that I expected it to be Quite compulsive reading, and skillfully e [...]
      Reply

    11. Winnielou says:
      Un bon roman Cela faisait longtemps que je voulais lire du Nancy Huston, il se trouve qu une lushette bien intentionn e m a swap celui l C tait bien, a fonctionne bien, il y a quelques rebondissements et une brochette de personnages attachants et nervants la fois Ce qui m a plu aussi c est que je trouve que c est un roman plut t accessible ceux qui d habitude sont rebut s par la litt rature Ca m a donn envie de lire d autres romans de Nancy Huston.
      Reply

    12. Straw says:
      I liked another book by this author and thought I d give this one a try I don t know if it was one of her first but it certainly read that way Sort of a better written version of a Palanuik All sorts of sick little lives being led It came off as silly.cially the god parts that were thrown in
      Reply

    13. Véro says:
      J ai beaucoup aim la forme de ce roman, avec les parenth ses le ronron mental des personnages J ai aussi beaucoup appr ci le d coupage des chapitres ainsi que le narrateur Dieu qui acc l re la vie au d but de ceux ci a m a fait penser au dernier pisode de Six Feet Under Bien s r, le sujet du livre est grave, mais termine sur une note lumineuse lire.
      Reply

    14. Elisabeth says:
      Id e originale du narrateur Dieu J ai aim mais le roman ne m a pas laiss une grande trace de r flexion Comme si tout ce qui tait crit tait du d j vu part les pages crites par Dieu.3 5
      Reply

    15. Karen says:
      I loved the unusual style of this book which switches between chapters narrated by God and chapters narrated by one of the main characters I couldn t wait to find out what kind of end awaited everyone.
      Reply

    16. Anna says:
      C est un beau livre, mais il contient sans doute trop de sc nes horribles m me si ce ne sont que des souvenirs dans l histoire pour que je puisse dire l avoir vraiment aim Je crois qu il faut viter de lire trop de Nancy Huston la suite.
      Reply

    17. Maryse Boyce says:
      J ai bien aim la structure narrative hors du commun de ce r cit un souper d Action de gr ce o 13 convives sont invit s En parall le la soir e qui s tire, on apprendra comment d c deront chacun des protagonistes.
      Reply

    18. Emily says:
      It was an ok book had to read it for a class, its different but not the best.
      Reply

    19. Ann says:
      very dreary and depressing i didnt find anything sweet about the agony.
      Reply


    21. Luminalsl says:
      L auteure n a pas son pareil pour inventer des personnages, leur donner une paisseur, les rendre tangibles mais bon sang, ne pas lire si vous tes d prim
      Reply

    22. Debbie says:
      I could take or leave this book Interesting premise though.
      Reply



    25. Paula says:
      It didn t hold my interest enough to finish the book Read all but about 50 pages.
      Reply

    26. Matrou says:
      Les dialogues sont bien crits, les reflexions de chacun int ressantes En revanche, leurs n vroses sont vastes, beaucoup trop vastes, viol, inceste, accident d avion, cancer, mort d enfants, etc
      Reply

    27. Pierre-Olivier Lemay says:
      Un peu trop bas sur le style litt raire On s y perd un peu On m lange les personnages
      Reply

    28. Isabelle says:
      Un peu long, un peu confus, toujours tres trop intense mais on se prend a vouloir connaitre les personnages.
      Reply


    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *