
White Birch
Category:Literary Fiction
Author:Paul Edmund Lessard
- Publisher: Atmosphere Press
- Publication Date: December 15, 2021
- Number of Pages: 387
- ISBN-10: 1639881158
- ISBN-13: 978-1639881154
- ASIN: B09M84ZFPZ
White Birch by
Paul Edmund Lessard is what Keats would call “a thing of beauty” and beauty in
the artistic sense of the term, a novel that utterly absorbs the reader with
the wonderful cast of characters and the author’s ability to create dramatic
scenes and bring characters to life. While this novel features unforgettable
characters, the humor and the White Birch Hotel occupy the central place in the
story, because the characters have a common denominator: the legendary hotel
and its unique pulse. Here, secrets are created and kept and here secrets are
sought. It is against this backdrop that Henry Huvvy, a vivacious character
seeks to create a life of power and wealth. But against him is the destiny of a
once-upon-a-time princess. In a game of intrigue and scheming, who wins at the
end?
What is fascinating about Paul Edmund Lessard’s novel
is the author’s ability to capture culture in the writing, and centering the
story on White Birch Hotel, the author explores the place of power and wealth,
prestige and pleasure, nobility and class in this spellbinding work. The hotel
becomes a character in its own rights, a place that acquires a symbolic
character in the narrative. I fell in love with the writing — gorgeous and
enticing — in which no word is wasted. The dialogues are intelligently crafted
to deepen the drama and strengthen the reader’s appreciation of the characters.
The gift of dialogue elevates the beauty of this novel and the author doesn’t
shy away from allowing the characters to reveal their thoughts, situations,
conflict, and temperament through dialogue. For instance, Hazel is not
comfortable when she speaks to the lazy-eyed hall porter in the lift:
‘“No one smiles anymore.”
“Ma’am?”
“Everyone used to smile here.”
“Did they?”
“But no one now does.”
The lift going up arrived with a ‘ding’.
“We’ll look into it,” said the lazy-eyed hall porter, grinning broadly as the door closed.”’
White Birch is
literary fiction at its best, a novel with writing that entices and characters
that are fully drawn and believable. The quirkiness in the writing and the
twisty nature of the plot will get readers racing through the pages until the
lovely end. The terrific descriptions help readers grasp the significance of
the place and the beauty of the characters, whether describing an aspect
of White Birch Hotel or a trait of a character like the prince who
“was slender, tall and fierce, her green eyes of such a piercing nature that
they tended to give pause to onlookers, adversary or admirer alike,” Paul
Edmund Lessard ensures readers miss no detail in this exciting read. This eminently
admirable book is singular and delightful; it’s original and just beautiful.