The adventures of John Carson in several quarters of the world A novel of Robert Louis Stevenson

Brian Doyle, 1956 November 6-2017 May 27

Book - 2017

"The young Robert Louis Stevenson, living in a boarding house in San Francisco while waiting for his beloved's divorce from her feckless husband, dreamed of writing a soaring novel about his landlady's adventurous and globe-trotting husband--but he never got around to it. And very soon thereafter he was married, headed home to Scotland, and on his way to becoming the most famous novelist in the world, after writing such classics as Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Kidnapped. But now Brian Doyle brings Stevenson's untold tale to life, braiding the adventures of seaman John Carson with those of a young Stevenson, wandering the streets of San Francisco, gathering material for his fiction, an...d yearning for his beloved across the bay. An adventure tale, an elegy to one of the greatest writers of our language, a time-traveling plunge into The City by the Bay during its own energetic youth, The Adventures of John Carson in Several Quarters of the World is entertaining, poignant, and sensual"--

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Subjects
Genres
Biographical fiction
Historical fiction
Published
New York : St. Martin's Press 2017.
Language
English
Main Author
Brian Doyle, 1956 November 6-2017 May 27 (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
viii, 229 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
ISBN
9781250100528
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

In 1880, after following his ladylove, Fanny Osbourne, halfway across the globe, Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson lives in San Francisco, waiting for her impending divorce from her unfaithful husband and hoping the money he earns from his scribblings will support a wife and family. John Carson, his landlady's husband, is a longtime maritime man, and as they warm themselves by the fire and amble along the hilly streets, Carson recounts episodes from his adventurous life, a subject the historical Stevenson had planned to write about but never did. With abundant wit and mellifluous prose, expressed using generously long sentences, Doyle (Chicago, 2016) transports readers to diverse lands, including the Borneo jungle, Sydney, war-torn America, and a haunted Irish village. He also perceptively imagines the young Stevenson, a man soaking up new friendships and life lessons while sharpening his talents. It's a wondrous sort of paradox that a fiction nested inside another fiction can convey many poignant truths. Doyle's irresistible novel, which practically begs to be read aloud, is a triumphant ode to the power of storytelling.--Johnson, Sarah Copyright 2017 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

If fans of Robert Louis Stevenson want to read Doyle's latest novel, they should not be misled by the word "adventures" in the title. The book is actually a subtle contemplation, told through the eyes of a young Stevenson, as he passes a year at a boarding house in San Francisco. There he waits for his sweetheart to divorce her unfaithful husband, earning money for his future wedding by writing. His favorite inspiration is the owner of the boarding house, Mrs. Carson, and her husband, Mr. John Carson. As he listens to their tales of traveling the world, he reflects on his life, his future, and the kind of writer he wants to be. Readers looking for a thrilling adventure story would be better off rereading Kidnapped or Treasure Island, but, as Doyle's Stevenson narrates, he is aware of the quietness of his story and is not afraid of drawing attention to it. While the book could perhaps have a more apt title, anyone looking for rich prose and a unique perspective on one of the world's most beloved authors will enjoy Doyle's characterization. A fine homage to the writing of Stevenson that will suck you into the mind of a working writer. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A young Robert Louis Stevenson is regaled by his landlord in tales of high adventureFor a few months in 1879-1880, the scrappy, sickly "writer of slight essays" Robert Louis Stevenson resided at the boardinghouse of Mrs. Mary Carson on Bush Street in San Francisco while awaiting the liberation of his beloved Fanny from a cruel marriage so that she might marry him, despite her greater age and the disapproval of his parents. From these slight facts, Doyle (The Kind of Brave You Wanted to Be, 2016, etc.) has spun a yarn composed of the spun yarns of another, those told by Stevenson's landlady's husband, John Carson, a seafaring man adept at telling a tale"when John Carson told a story you were soon inside the story yourself"as Carson tells stories and Stevenson drinks them in, sitting by a fire in the parlor, awaiting the fine dinners of Mrs. Carson. From tracking and rescuing a kidnapped boy in the jungles of Borneo to encountering a stalwart girl who is the only surviving inhabitant of a stone village in Ireland to bringing to refuge a fragile chaplain shattered by what he witnessed in the American Civil War, the kind and brave Carson has earned his narrative authority. He feeds young Stevenson's appetite for tales as Mrs. Carson feeds his threadbare body. Both Carsons guide the "capering boy inside the illusion of maturity" as Stevenson devours all they have to offer. In Doyle's deft hands, we are shown how the Carsons influence the young Stevenson to appreciate and explore his own gifts as a storyteller and to contemplate the reward he might find in writing adventurous tales of his own. From them, he learns "about the nature and power of stories...about how stories actually shape our lives." An accomplished writer celebrates the nascent inspiration of a legendary one in this tender, affectionate, and terribly fun homage to the joys of storytelling and storytellers. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.