Julian Price

Nicholas Evans “The Brave” – A Book Review of “The Horse Whisperer’s” Latest Beautiful Novel



Posted: Tuesday, September 07, 2010

by Julian Price
http://www.uk-freelance-content-writer.co.uk/

The Brave is Nicholas Evans’ fifth novel and follows in the footsteps of best sellers, The Horse Whisperer, The Loop, The Smoker Jumper and The Divide.

The Brave is perhaps the author’s most intimate and intricate novel to date and there is probably already enough material for a book to be written regarding Mr Evans’ dramatic journey in finally seeing the book published.

In 2008, Nicholas and other members of his family were poisoned by wild mushrooms and became very ill. Two years later and the author still has to undergo kidney dialysis every other day and is indeed on the kidney transplant waiting list, such was the severity of the damage caused by the mushrooms.

Thankfully, Nicholas Evans has recovered sufficiently enough to be able to complete and bring us another wonderful book.

The Brave takes the reader on a thrilling ride, from strict English boarding schools to the glitz, glamour and gossip of early 1960’s Hollywood, via the horrors of conflict in Iraq, whilst still leaving time to pay a visit to the spectacular vistas of Montana in a story that spans around 50 years.

Family, as with the author’s previous novels plays the central character in the book as we follow Tommy Bedford, both as child and adult, from ‘cowboys and Indians’ innocence to the stark reality and brutality of life.

Nicholas Evans has often told his readers of his love of the old “Wild West” and perhaps more than ever we see a snapshot of the author’s childhood fantasies through the eyes of young Tommy Bedford whose fascination with all things “Western” is perhaps both his saviour and his ultimate undoing.

In previous novels, the stunning American landscapes, especially those of Montana, play a pivotal poetic role and whilst we get a beautifully written glimpse once more, I think it’s fair to say that for the first time, the scenery itself is simply an ‘extra’ on the set of family drama and tragedy.

The Brave is a story of soul searching, of a lifelong battle with guilt and personal torment and ultimately a story of love and redemption amidst the most difficult circumstances. An accurate reflection of humanity’s daily emotional struggle, Nicholas Evans has done it again!

Taking off my ‘book reviewer’ hat for a moment and becoming just a fan, I loved The Brave! I am usually a slow reader both by nature and purpose as I love to be immersed into the written pages, but I found myself unable to be restrained and as the intrigue grew, the story simply flew by and unravelled all its shocking secrets.

I can heartily recommend The Brave by Nicholas Evans, easy to read with fascinating insight into a Hollywood era long since vanished and an unbiased, ‘brave’ look at some of the more delicate issues in Iraq all wrapped up in human tragedy and triumph.

Welcome back Nicholas Evans, your readers have missed you!

If you missed it first time out, then "The Brave" by Nicholas Evans has now been released in paperback form and is available from all good bookstores! (Updated 24.06.11)
Julian has diplomas in freelance journalism (with distinction), copywriting and proofreading. He is also a creative writer and poet who writes both professionally and for pleasure. Julian has written articles for an internet marketing company and although this medium is often restricted by topic, his writing still maintains a unique and often humourous style, with many of his articles achieving good results on search engines. He has found the discipline involved with this kind of work to be a great writing exercise and believes it enhances and improves other areas of his writing. Julian is becoming an established freelance writer and many of his articles here at searchwarp are a showcase of the variety and quality of his work.

This Article has been viewed 2,522 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)
» left by Jennifer Stewart
1 year 259 days ago.
153 fans.
This is a great review, Julian. You've got me interested in the book, and in the author!
» left by Julian Price 1 year 259 days ago.
58 fans. Follow Julian Price on twitter!
Thanks Jennifer! I think you would really enjoy the book!
» left by Grace O'Malley
1 year 258 days ago.
42 fans.
A very nice review about a wonderful author. I'm looking forward to picking it up and reading.
 
Grace
» left by Julian Price 1 year 253 days ago.
58 fans. Follow Julian Price on twitter!
Thanks Grace! I am sure you won't be dissapointed by the book!
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.