Men of Action plonge dans la relation père-fils, tout en embrassant la vie du père, le mariage des parents et la jeunesse du fils à Toronto. Mais son sujet le plus enfoui est l’acte d’écrire lui-même, démontré avec l’économie résonante et soigneusement observée de la poésie.
Men of Action
Quand un père sombre dans le coma après une opération, son fils interroge la conscience, la mémoire et l’écriture. Men of Action mêle récit intime et méditation sur ce qui nous définit, avec une économie de moyens remarquable.
After his father, Saul, undergoes brain surgery and slips into a coma, Howard Akler begins to reflect on Saul's life, the complicated texture of consciousness, and Akler's struggles with writing and his own unpredictable mind. With echoes of Paul Auster's The Invention of Solitude and Philip Roth's Patrimony, Men of Action treads the line between memoir and meditation, and is at once elegiac, spare, and profoundly intimate.
'Like Harley J. Spiller's Keep the Change, Howard Akler's Men of Action similarly compresses a great deal - whole lives - into a very few pages ... As might be expected, Men of Action delves into the father-son relationship, while also encompassing the father's life, the parents' marriage and the son's youth in Toronto, where Mr. Akler still lives. But its more submerged subject is the act of writing itself, which is demonstrated with the carefully observed, resonant economy of poetry.'
- The New York Times Holiday 2015 Gift Guide
`What makes someone who they are? What details and actions explain their inner thoughts? What moments matter in the telling of a life? These are futile questions, but what matters is that Akler is asking them in a way we haven't previously seen. Men of Action not only gracefully succeeds in depicting the nature of human tragedy, but the inherent failures of language to capture it. The book's brevity is its strength - a genuine testament to the writer's talent that he is able to take us so far with so little.'
- Stacey May Fowles, The Globe and Mail
`Men of Action is an insightful and heartbreaking exploration of consciousness, familial relationships, and the sense of self. As he and his family stand a restless vigil through his father's post-operative coma, Howard Akler explores and reorganizes the past, present, and future of his relationship with his father. Immensely relatable, this collection of essays delves fearlessly into loss, grief, and the understanding that often the moments in which we choose to be completely still are when we take the most important actions.'
- 2016 Toronto Book Awards Jury Citation
Lire plus
Lire moins
'Like Harley J. Spiller's Keep the Change, Howard Akler's Men of Action similarly compresses a great deal - whole lives - into a very few pages ... As might be expected, Men of Action delves into the father-son relationship, while also encompassing the father's life, the parents' marriage and the son's youth in Toronto, where Mr. Akler still lives. But its more submerged subject is the act of writing itself, which is demonstrated with the carefully observed, resonant economy of poetry.'
- The New York Times Holiday 2015 Gift Guide
`What makes someone who they are? What details and actions explain their inner thoughts? What moments matter in the telling of a life? These are futile questions, but what matters is that Akler is asking them in a way we haven't previously seen. Men of Action not only gracefully succeeds in depicting the nature of human tragedy, but the inherent failures of language to capture it. The book's brevity is its strength - a genuine testament to the writer's talent that he is able to take us so far with so little.'
- Stacey May Fowles, The Globe and Mail
`Men of Action is an insightful and heartbreaking exploration of consciousness, familial relationships, and the sense of self. As he and his family stand a restless vigil through his father's post-operative coma, Howard Akler explores and reorganizes the past, present, and future of his relationship with his father. Immensely relatable, this collection of essays delves fearlessly into loss, grief, and the understanding that often the moments in which we choose to be completely still are when we take the most important actions.'
- 2016 Toronto Book Awards Jury Citation
shield_question Foire aux questions
Men of Action offre une plongée rare dans la complexité des relations père-fils, à travers le prisme d’un coma qui suspend le temps. Howard Akler y explore avec justesse la conscience, la perte et les limites du langage, le tout dans une prose poétique et dépouillée. Ce livre touche par son authenticité et sa capacité à dire l’indicible.
Ce livre aborde la conscience, la mémoire, la relation père-fils, la maladie, et l’acte d’écrire. Il interroge aussi la façon dont on reconstruit le passé et le sens de soi face à l’absence. L’auteur mêle récit personnel et réflexion universelle.
Men of Action s’adresse aux amateurs de mémoires littéraires, de récits introspectifs et d’écriture minimaliste. Il séduira aussi ceux qui s’intéressent aux questions de conscience, de famille et de deuil. Sa brièveté et sa profondeur en font un livre accessible mais exigeant.
Vous pourrez interroger le smartbook sur les thèmes clés (conscience, mémoire, relation père-fils), les passages marquants, les références littéraires (Paul Auster, Philip Roth), ou encore les choix d’écriture de l’auteur. Posez-lui aussi des questions sur la structure du récit ou ses liens avec la philosophie.
newsmode Revue de presse
Men of Action ne se contente pas de dépeindre avec grâce la nature de la tragédie humaine, mais aussi les échecs inhérents du langage à la capturer. La brièveté du livre est sa force – un véritable témoignage du talent de l’auteur, capable de nous emmener si loin avec si peu.
Men of Action est une exploration perspicace et déchirante de la conscience, des relations familiales et du sens de soi. Immensément relatable, ce recueil d’essais plonge sans crainte dans la perte, le deuil, et la compréhension que les moments où nous choisissons d’être complètement immobiles sont souvent ceux où nous agissons le plus.
tag Mots-clés
men of action
howard akler
mémoire
conscience
coma
relation père-fils
deuil
écriture
toronto
canada
essai littéraire
méditation
philosophie
famille
maladie
identité
minimalisme
paul auster
philip roth
coach house books
exploded views
récit intime
littérature contemporaine
prix littéraire
canadian jewish literary award
toronto book awards
livre court
prose poétique
Comment lire ce smartbook ?
Sur les applis MySmartBook
(avec discussion)
(avec discussion)
Sur mon ordinateur
(sans discussion)
(sans discussion)
Avis des lecteurs
Connexion
Soyez le premier à donner votre avis !
