A Good Man - Brossura

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0771086083 ISBN 13: 9780771086083

Riassunto

Multi-award-winning author Guy Vanderhaeghe's eagerly awaited new novel is a dazzling follow up to his bestselling The Englishman's Boy and The Last Crossing (a Canada Reads winner!).

A Good Man culminates what could be thought of as a trilogy of books set in the late nineteenth-century Canadian and American West, and it is a masterpiece. Vanderhaeghe skilfully weaves a rich tapestry of history with the turns of fortune of his most vividly and compellingly drawn cast of characters yet. Vanderhaeghe entwines breathtaking, intriguing, and richly described narratives that contain a compelling love story, a tale of revenge and violence, a spectacular battle scene, the story of an incident in Welsely's past that threatens his relationship with Ada, and much, much more. While raising moral questions, this novel weaves the historical with the personal and stands as Vanderhaeghe's most accomplished and brilliant novel to date.


From the Hardcover edition.

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Informazioni sull'autore

GUY VANDERHAEGHE was born in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, in 1951. His previous fiction includes The Last Crossing, The Englishman's Boy, Things as they Are (stories), Homesick, My Present Age, The Trouble With Heroes, Man Descending (stories). Among the many awards he has received are the Governor General's Awards (twice), The Pierre Elliot Trudeau Prize, the Writers' Trust Timothy Findley Award, and the Harbourfront Literary Prize, all for a body of work. He has received many honours including the Order of Canada.

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CITIZENS OF FORT BENTON TAKE NOTE!
You are cordially invited to an EVENING OF MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT! COME ONE, COME ALL!
 
A free-will offering will be collected, all proceeds intended for the relief of friends and neighbors driven from their homes and occupations by the continuing menace from Sioux hostiles.
 
Fort Benton’s own, the charming and talented MISS CELESTE TARR, shall offer a selection of songs both sacred and secular, accompanied by MRS. RANDOLPH TARR on the pianoforte.
 
MOSES SOLOMON, ESQ., has generously donated the use of the MAJESTIC STAR SALOON for this charitable endeavor. Mr. Solomon graciously extends an invitation to the entire populace of Fort Benton, of every age and sex.
 
The sale of alcoholic beverages of any variety or description whatsoever shall not take place during the duration of the concert, nor any disorderly conduct deleterious to a full appreciation and enjoyment of the musical program be countenanced.
 
Program to take place AUGUST 6TH, EIGHT O’CLOCK SHARP!
ALL WELCOME WHO KNOW HOW TO CONDUCT THEMSELVES!
 
The saloon is hot as a boiler room, steaming with the animal heat of closely packed bodies. All the faces around him are beaded with perspiration. The odour is as extreme as the heat, the vinegary, pickling brine smell of sweat laced with the barnyard aromas of manure, horse, and mule given off by teamsters, bullwhackers, and hoop- legged waddies. An undercurrent of river mud and fried catfish wafts off the boatmen; the hide hunters and wolfers stink of old blood, the sharp tang of rusty iron. Add a dollop of spilled beer, sweet and yeasty, the reek of cheap tobacco, and Case feels his eyes are about to water with every pungent breath he draws.
 
The din is terrific. Despite the owner’s assurances that tonight decorum and propriety will rule, the inexorable inching of the hands of the clock towards the hour of the concert and the suspension of the sale of alcohol has led to a panic among the Majestic’s customers. They are swarming the bar, banging glasses on the zinc top, jostling for position, shouting and gesticulating to catch the attention of harried bartenders who scurry back and forth slopping whiskey into out- thrust shot glasses.
 
Case’s gaze falls on the Majestic’s proprietor, Moses Solomon. The one serene, still point in bedlam, he stands with his back propped against a beer barrel, squinting at the room through a haze of blue tobacco smoke. His beard is biblical, long and forked. He wears a crimson satin waistcoat buttoned over a white linen shirt; the red satin rosettes on his sleeve garters perfectly match the colour of his vest. His hairstyle is Disraelian, ruffled sissy- boy waves that sweep over his ears and seem scarcely in keeping with his fearsome sobriquet, Moses Mayhem. Case had learned that when Solomon had established Fort Benton’s toniest saloon, the citizenry had not appreciated his success, and had subjected him to a barrage of insult and calumny. But one day Solomon had turned on two of the most persistent Jewbaiters and shot them down on a corner of Front Street. Since then, people stepped very lightly in his presence.
 
The skull- cracking uproar, the stench, the sweltering temperature, the tight press of bodies is almost too much to bear. Hathaway has disappeared, swallowed up in the crowd, and Case is at the point of beating a strategic retreat when he sees Major Ilges looming above the throng, beckoning him. It’s a struggle for Case to reach the Major but when he does, he discovers a relatively calm island in the stormy saloon, a row of chairs reserved for the town’s notables in front of the piano, most of them already occupied.
 
“So glad to see you, Mr. Case,” says Ilges. “Will you be my guest? I’m sure Lieutenant Blanchard would surrender his seat so you might sit beside me.” The officer asked to relinquish his place shows no evidence of a willingness to surrender anything but withdraws with a sullen, put- upon look as Case demurs accepting. But finally he has no alternative but to settle down on the gracelessly vacated chair.
 
The Major immediately launches into introductions to the Fort Benton quality. In turn, Case is presented to a young dentist who has just opened a practice in town, the pressman of the Fort Benton Record, a goggle- eyed druggist, and Dr. Cornelius Hooper, Fort Benton’s most accomplished surgeon. The town’s biggest fishes follow: the merchant princes T.C. Power, Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Baker, the Conrad brothers, and the tycoons’ wives. The gentlemen are solemn and sober in black broadcloth. The ladies are bedecked, bedizened, and loaded down with jewellery, lavishly swathed in yards of taffeta and silk, and severely corseted.
 
Ilges insists on describing Case as a young man come to Benton seeking business opportunities. Hearing that, most of the leading businessmen’s faces take on a bored, patronizing look, a look that says, How often have I heard that and how often have I seen the results – bankruptcy. Apologetically, Case qualifies the Major’s description. “Not so much business as ranching. In a small way.”
 
One of the Conrad brothers remarks, “If it’s land you’re after, now’s the time to plunge. Some of the cattlemen are looking to sell up. The recent troubles have them spooked. If you want to drop by the office sometime, I can give you the name of one or two who are looking for a buyer. I don’t touch land myself. It’s not liquid.”
 
 “Very generous of you,” says Case, becoming aware that the racket is subsiding to a low murmuring and expectant shuffling of feet.
 
In this instant of almost quiet, Major Ilges leans over, puts his mouth to Case’s ear, and whispers, “What we spoke about the other day – I have weighed things carefully. I am agreeable. Come to see me tomorrow.”
 
“Very well. I will indeed.”
 
Behind them, Moses Solomon bellows at those still lingering hopefully at the bar, “Stand back! Clear off ! Immediate! Music about to begin!” Fort Benton’s princes of commerce brace themselves on their seats as if a tooth- puller were approaching, while their wives coyly survey the scene over fluttering fans, straining for a glimpse of the musical entertainment. Case hears one of the women say, “Now young Miss Tarr is a dear, sweet thing, but the way Mrs. Tarr acts is another matter. So very superior.” As his eyes search the room for a glimpse of this superior woman, he spots Hathaway loitering hard by the improvised stage, a smile on his face, his Adam’s apple dancing as he swallows his excitement.
 
There is a voluntary parting, a shifting and stirring of the multitude to make way for the Tarr family. With a stately and measured tread, Randolph Tarr escorts wife and daughter, one on each arm, their white gloves perched on the sleeves of his best frock coat like obedient doves. The saloon falls into a respectful hush as blond, pink Celeste and dark- haired, pale Ada advance on the piano.
 
Case is surprised to see Michael Dunne stalking along behind the Tarr family, his colourless eyes restlessly sweeping over the assembly. Briefly they hold on Case, and Dunne bares his teeth – whether in a smile of recognition or a challenge Case can’t decide. When the procession halts before the piano Dunne looks a bit befuddled, at a loss as to what to do or where to go. But then he collects himself and plods to a location near Hathaway where he folds his arms over his chest and assumes a look of self- important, alert readiness. Tarr ushers his womenfolk to their respective places, gives a courtly bow to each, and takes a chair that has been held open for him beside Mr. T.C. Power.
 
Case nudges Ilges and asks, “That fellow Dunne skulking about there. What connection does he have with this?”
 
“It’s said an unhappy client of Tarr’s has threatened the peace of his household. Apparently Dunne has been hired as some sort of bodyguard.” Ilges juts his jaw disapprovingly. “But I think his presence is hardly necessary here.”
 
Ada Tarr is fussing with her music, and Miss Celeste is offering the room her profile, one slender, gloved hand resting on the piano top. The thrust of her chin, the way her stance displays her figure to full advantage, suggests she has spent hours posing before a mirror, indulged in many finicky adjustments and sidelong glances at herself in the glass. The cuirasse bodice of her lilac gown displays a slender waist and gives an upward thrust to plump, girlish breasts. An intricately beaded polonaise bustle, elaborately pleated and ruffled, cascades behind her to the floor. A thick plait of white- blond hair dangles over her left shoulder like the tail of a docile cat; her tiny mouth is vivid with lip rouge. She stands as perfectly still as a Wedgwood figurine. Her stepmother is another picture altogether. Ada Tarr is dressed in a modest high- necked grey gown, hair primly parted down the middle and drawn into a tight bun. But she wears a wry, enigmatic smile at odds with her severe and spinsterly appearance. She makes Case think of the older, unmarried sister at the wedding, the one who knows unflattering comparisons are being made between her and the bride, but remains determined to rely on her own estimation of her worth.
 
Moses Solomon is making his way towards the front, a piece of paper clutched in his hand, a sure sign that a ponderous introduction is about to be delivered. Seeing him coming, Ada Tarr tilts her head at her stepdaughter and slams out a thunderous chord, transfixing the publican in his tracks. The melody established, Celeste’s high, tremulous voice scrambles...

Dettagli dell'edizione

• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0771086083
• ISBN 13: 9780771086083
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 480
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
• Persona responsabile: non disponibile