The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow

The Silence of Bonaventure Arrowby Rita Leganski

Conceived in love and possibility, Bonaventure Arrow didn’t make a peep when he was born, and the doctor nearly took him for dead. No one knows Bonaventure's silence is filled with resonance - a miraculous gift of rarified hearing that encompasses the Universe of Every Single Sound. Growing up in the big house on Christopher Street in Bayou Cymbaline, Bonaventure can hear flowers grow, a thousand shades of blue, and the miniature tempests that rage inside raindrops. He can also hear the gentle voice of his father, William Arrow, shot dead before Bonaventure was born by a mysterious stranger known only as the Wanderer.Bonaventure's remarkable gift of listening promises salvation to the souls who love him: his beautiful young mother, Dancy, haunted by the death of her husband; his Grand-mere Letice, plagued by grief and long-buried guilt she locks away in a chapel; and his father, William, whose roaming spirit must fix the wreckage of the past. With the help of Trinidad Prefontaine, a Creole housekeeper endowed with her own special gifts, Bonaventure will find the key to long-buried mysteries and soothe a chorus of family secrets clamoring to be healed. (goodreads.com)

I am a failure at blogging lately. I'm still here, just seem to have other priorities and am enjoying reading more than writing lately. That being said, I haven't read much in June at all (what's that? Oh, yes, I will be back-dating this post. ;)) May was an epic reading streak for me this year and I also have to say that HarperCollins has been on an epic streak of publishing AMAZING literature in 2013.  The last bunch of books I have been reading have been from HarperCollins and I have BOUGHT them all.The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow is a book you want to savour as you read it. Much like The Golem and the Jinni this is a book you want to spend quality time with - just you and the book. I actually read this book in 5 hours from start to finish and carried my eReader around the house with me and read as I did various things that day. I was completely captivated by the story-telling in this novel. I felt cocooned by the warmth and magic of Bonaventure Arrow's life and story. I felt warm and safe and content all through reading this book and the feeling stayed with me long after I was done.I loved the idea of a Bonaventure in the world. A being who never speaks but can experience life in a magical way through sound and feelings. The mystery of Bonaventure Arrow's father's death was also completely enthralling and the ending of the novel took me by surprise. Not once did I make a connection as to how the events would unfold.Every single character in this story is so rich and full you think they might be people you know in your every-day life. You know them, you can almost touch them. They are tangible beings whom you miss deeply the second the story ends.My one regret about this novel is that I don't own a hard-copy edition of it. I bought it on my Kobo and I think that having read it being able to touch and smell the paper it's written on would have added so much more to my experience. I have a habit of loving the experience of a book from story to physical object. Those elements always come together and make my love of a good book even stronger. I am pretty sure I will eventually have to buy a copy of the physical book to have in my collection because I will certainly read this story again and I now need to experience it on paper.However you experience this book, I truly encourage you to experience it. It will make your insides all warm and fuzzy and you'll be happy knowing you have witnessed an extraordinary piece of art.