Fiction

The Book of Goose

The Book of Goose

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-10-20 06:52:30
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Yiyun Li
  • ISBN：0008531811
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Summary

A gripping， heartbreaking new novel about female friendship， art， and memory by the award-winning author of Where Reasons End。

Fabienne is dead。 Her childhood best friend， Agnès， receives the news in America， far from the French countryside where the two girls were raised--the place that Fabienne helped Agnès escape ten years ago。 Now， Agnès is free to tell her story。

As children in a war-ravaged， backwater town， they'd built a private world， invisible to everyone but themselves--until Fabienne hatched the plan that would change everything， launching Agnès on an epic trajectory through fame， fortune， and terrible loss。

A magnificent， beguiling tale winding from the postwar rural provinces to Paris， from an English boarding school to to the quiet Pennsylvania home where Agnès can live without her past， The Book of Goose is a haunting story of friendship， art， exploitation， and memory by the celebrated author Yiyun Li。

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Reviews

Sharon ，

This is a pretty dark read （for me）。 I just didn't connect with the story or the characters whose dysfunctional friendship was unsettling and， at times， toxic。 Fabienne is the creepy， manipulative and often mean friend and Agnes， the insecure， needy and easily exploited friend。 Together they complete each other。 Or do they？ The Book of Goose shows us the power of illusion， as in a fairytale， and its lasting effect on a life。 This is a pretty dark read （for me）。 I just didn't connect with the story or the characters whose dysfunctional friendship was unsettling and， at times， toxic。 Fabienne is the creepy， manipulative and often mean friend and Agnes， the insecure， needy and easily exploited friend。 Together they complete each other。 Or do they？ The Book of Goose shows us the power of illusion， as in a fairytale， and its lasting effect on a life。 。。。more

MaryEllen Garde ，

I found this book to be somewhat disappointing。 It garnered great reviews from trusted sources so I was anxious to read it。 Unfortunately I forgot that while I appreciate literary fiction， I tend to enjoy books that are more plot driven。 I found the writing to be beautiful but the slow pace and the plot itself just didn't work for me。 I can see how people who love this genre would be enamored with this book but ultimately it just wasn't for me。 I found this book to be somewhat disappointing。 It garnered great reviews from trusted sources so I was anxious to read it。 Unfortunately I forgot that while I appreciate literary fiction， I tend to enjoy books that are more plot driven。 I found the writing to be beautiful but the slow pace and the plot itself just didn't work for me。 I can see how people who love this genre would be enamored with this book but ultimately it just wasn't for me。 。。。more

Mariel ，

The Book of Gooseby Yiyum LiI received a complimentary copy and am voluntarily leaving a review。Agnès and Fabienne， two budding teenage girls and best friends， live in a small village in rural France。 To observers， Agnès is the quieter girl of the two， while Fabienne is more forthright， generally regarded as coarse or rebellious。 Whatever others assumed， their relationship worked， identifying themselves as unique compared to the rest of the world， like two peas in a pod or two halves making a wh The Book of Gooseby Yiyum LiI received a complimentary copy and am voluntarily leaving a review。Agnès and Fabienne， two budding teenage girls and best friends， live in a small village in rural France。 To observers， Agnès is the quieter girl of the two， while Fabienne is more forthright， generally regarded as coarse or rebellious。 Whatever others assumed， their relationship worked， identifying themselves as unique compared to the rest of the world， like two peas in a pod or two halves making a whole。Playing one of their games， the girls compose a book with the guidance of their local postmaster。 Agnès rises to fame， is plucked out of poverty， sent to Paris and later to a finishing school for debutantes in the UK。 Leaving her former life behind， Agnès accomplishes what they expect of her， performing like a circus animal and keeping in touch with Fabienne by correspondence。 But she ultimately tires of her new life， unsure of the future， feeling overwhelmingly out of place and experiencing the loss of her childhood companion。Agnès returns home， expecting to pick up from when she left， but sadly they both quickly acknowledge that it is not possible。 Time apart has marked them both。This is the first book I have read by Yiyum Li and definitely not my last。 The Book of Goose is written from the pov of Agnès when adult and residing in America。 It is startlingly shocking， intriguing and poignant; an intimate memoir of friendship in a time when children had far more freedom。It is one of those works that lingers after you finish the last page， and one that you contemplate the why’s and what if’s long after the book is closed。Thank you to NetGalley， 4th Estate and William Collins for allowing me the opportunity to read and complete a review。 。。。more

Savannah ，

*4。5

Julie ，

Beautiful

Kate ，

Oh my God， it is so good。 Goes to places you wouldn’t expect and had me from the jump。 I loved it。

Debbie ，

I'm in the minority on this one。 I didn't feel connected to the story or the characters， it felt cold and detached。 It just wasn't for me。 I'm in the minority on this one。 I didn't feel connected to the story or the characters， it felt cold and detached。 It just wasn't for me。 。。。more

Mitch Loflin ，

Yiyun Li - queen of reflecting on complicated relationships decades after they’ve ended…。queen of planting the seed and seeing the harvest…。 queen of sticking the landing。 Just a wonderful wonderful writer and this is another wonderful novel。

Mingham ，

🐖🐖🐖“One half orange plus another half orange do not make a full orange again。 And that is where my story begins。 An orange that did not think itself good enough for a knife， and an orange that never dreamed of turning itself into a knife。 Cut and be cut， neither interested me back then。”

Seigfreid Uy ，

3。75/5

M ，

He is a loving husband， but love does not often lead to perception。 8I have not met a child who is not lopsided in some way。 And when children grow up， they become lopsided adults。 11Such were the conversations we often had then， but the world， we already knew， was full of nonsense。 We might as well amuse outselfeves with our own nonsense。 12We never seriously carried out our plans。 It was enough to feel that we could， if we wanted， make things happen。 16This was how it had unfolded in my memory He is a loving husband， but love does not often lead to perception。 8I have not met a child who is not lopsided in some way。 And when children grow up， they become lopsided adults。 11Such were the conversations we often had then， but the world， we already knew， was full of nonsense。 We might as well amuse outselfeves with our own nonsense。 12We never seriously carried out our plans。 It was enough to feel that we could， if we wanted， make things happen。 16This was how it had unfolded in my memory。 It was possible that it did not happen exactly so， but between facts and memories I always trust the latter。 27"Boredom，" Fabienne said。 "Sad people don't often know they are sad *and* bored。 30The journalists and critics， mindless people ， refused to see that the distance between life and death was always shorter than people are willing to understand。 53We forgive many people for what they cannot do for us， but not our mothers; we protect our mothers more than we protect others， too。 66No one can stop you from wanting something for your children， but most of the time what you want will never be granted。 Some people have to become parents themselves to truly understand that。 Not me。 I learned that by watching my parents。 73 。。。more

Erin Goettsch ，

This was lovely and it also left me feeling unsettled and a little hand flappy。 But it was masterfully told and I will read more from her。

Jocelyn K ，

Liked this one a lot。 I love stories that show what childhood can be — small and dark but also rich and wild， all at once。 And Li’s storytelling and pacing are ruthless。

Lauran Vetuschi ，

Still thinking about this rating…so much I loved about the book but somehow I think I may have missed something。

Darryl Suite ，

Loved this beautiful book。 Subtle elements of classic literature， fairytale， gothic， and Bildungsroman。 A gorgeous and tragic exploration of the loss of childhood innocence。 Pitch-perfect prose; I need to read more Yiyun Li。

Karis ，

received a free and signed copy of this book from yiyun li as part of the windham-campbell prize festival at yale！ i am still carrying with me one of her responses to an audience question about grief and sadness in her writing: "none of my characters are unhappy。 i write many characters who are sad。"as i sit here and ruminate on what has been a bedtime book for the past week（s？）， a couple thoughts come to mind in response to this book:1） legacy: a construct for fools。 an obsession for what？2） ar received a free and signed copy of this book from yiyun li as part of the windham-campbell prize festival at yale！ i am still carrying with me one of her responses to an audience question about grief and sadness in her writing: "none of my characters are unhappy。 i write many characters who are sad。"as i sit here and ruminate on what has been a bedtime book for the past week（s？）， a couple thoughts come to mind in response to this book:1） legacy: a construct for fools。 an obsession for what？2） are those we love the most enigmatic to us？ because our desire awakens us to all that we will never know of someone we want to know so desperately？ can two people ever be apples together？oh， to be a goose indeed。 。。。more

Krista | theliterateporcupine ，

I gave this about 30 minutes of listening time， but just couldn't get into it。 It is beautifully written， but just lacks a solid plot and flow that I look for in literary fiction。Thank you @netgalley for an ALC！ I gave this about 30 minutes of listening time， but just couldn't get into it。 It is beautifully written， but just lacks a solid plot and flow that I look for in literary fiction。Thank you @netgalley for an ALC！ 。。。more

Charlotte ，

The Book of Goose is a dark， deeply affecting story of intense female connection， told as a retrospective by Agnès after she learns of the death of her brilliant childhood friend Fabienne。 From the safe distance of Agnès’ new life in America， we discover that the two girls grew up in poverty together in rural France， spinning extravagant fantasy worlds as a means of escapism。 Aged 13， they’re both obsessed with each other – or at least， Agnès is obsessed with Fabienne – spending most of their ti The Book of Goose is a dark， deeply affecting story of intense female connection， told as a retrospective by Agnès after she learns of the death of her brilliant childhood friend Fabienne。 From the safe distance of Agnès’ new life in America， we discover that the two girls grew up in poverty together in rural France， spinning extravagant fantasy worlds as a means of escapism。 Aged 13， they’re both obsessed with each other – or at least， Agnès is obsessed with Fabienne – spending most of their time together， despite the disapproval of Agnès’ parents。 One afternoon， the girls concoct a bizarre plan to befriend the village’s recently widowed postmaster: the need for a reason to speak with him leads them to decide to write a book together and ask for his help。 The resulting collection of macabre tales of village life is drawn from the girls’ memories and imaginations。 Published under Agnès’ name， it’s an unexpected success， transforming her into a child prodigy。 Soon， she’s whisked away to Paris to meet the press – but can she keep up the illusion without her friend and， more importantly， does she want to？ Dotted with observations on the duality of friendship， and how the most meaningful connections hold the potential to hurt the most， this is a thought-provoking and gripping read。As featured in Cambridge Edition Book Club – thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC 。。。more

Penny ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The story of Agnes and Fabienne， childhood friends living in post war rural France。 Fabienne has to give up school early to look after the family’s farm animals。 Her mother has died and her father is an alcoholic。 She is a strong character and has quite a hold over her friend Agnes - appears manipulative and mean at times。 Agnes’ parents don’t like Fabienne but are more concerned about nursing her older brother， Jean who has come home from the war with war injuries。 She also has older sisters wh The story of Agnes and Fabienne， childhood friends living in post war rural France。 Fabienne has to give up school early to look after the family’s farm animals。 Her mother has died and her father is an alcoholic。 She is a strong character and has quite a hold over her friend Agnes - appears manipulative and mean at times。 Agnes’ parents don’t like Fabienne but are more concerned about nursing her older brother， Jean who has come home from the war with war injuries。 She also has older sisters who are married with children。 Agnes appears to be an incidental who has to make her own way in life。Fabienne seems to be the one who comes up with the ideas for keeping them both amused。 At one stage she decides they should write books and basically dictates to Agnes， who acts as the scribe。 Fabienne also decides they should befriend the local post master who has recently been widowed。 He helps them with their books and indeed finds someone to publish for them。 For some reason， Fabienne does not want any part in the book and Agnes gets the credit for writing it。 Fabienne and Agnes write a second book about a post master which is a fictitious story but somewhere along the line Fabienne feels a need to ditch the real life post master and basically accuses him of trying to seduce her， which is not true。 His life is ruined and he ends up moving away。A haughty Headmistress from a Finishing School outside London contacts the Parisian publisher and offers a scholarship to Agnes。 Agnes is told what a great opportunity it is for her so she ends up going…but all is not as it would appear。 The Head， Mrs Townsend （a creepy individual who likes to be called Kazumi） basically sees Agnes as an experiment to transform her from pig tender to high society。 Agnes is really unhappy and does not fit in with the other girls。 She does not complete the year and returns home early。 Sadly， her meeting with her Fabienne on return is far from joyful。 Fabienne was basically the one who hatched the plan that sent Agnes on the trajectory of fame， fortune and ultimately humiliation and loss。The two friends become estranged。 Agatha， who is working in a department store in Paris meets an American called Earl。 She marries him and moves to Pennsylvania， an opportunity that allows her to distance herself from her past。 Yet it does catch up with her when her mother writes to say that Fabienne has died in childbirth。 Agnes decides to take up her pen again and write their story。The story of friendship？ Or the story of exploitation？ A sad melancholic read。 Did I like it？ Not sure… 。。。more

Jake ，

Absolutely phenomenal。 Creates stunning， innate beauty out of such wonderful but inevitable tragedy。 I was really hesitant going into this one， but I'm exceedingly pleased to report that this is certain to go down as one of my favorites of the year。 Absolutely phenomenal。 Creates stunning， innate beauty out of such wonderful but inevitable tragedy。 I was really hesitant going into this one， but I'm exceedingly pleased to report that this is certain to go down as one of my favorites of the year。 。。。more

Jenny ，

An unusual novel about an intense childhood friendship。 The plot at the centre of this feels secondary to the existential questions it considers （the meaning of existence， creating a reality and feeling real）。 A taut and beautifully written book， which makes me want to read more by Yiyun Li。

Kristen ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 More like 4。5 starsVery captivating story of two girls growing up together in the French countryside。 They live as if they are the only two in the world-- the one only needs the other to be content。 Fabienne is the knife to Agnès' whetsone; Agnès describes herself as 'hard'， and Fabienne as the only one able to 'cut' her。 They spend their childhood making games out of the world， using their imaginations to carve out paradise in whatever grim or boring existence the world otherwise has to offer。 More like 4。5 starsVery captivating story of two girls growing up together in the French countryside。 They live as if they are the only two in the world-- the one only needs the other to be content。 Fabienne is the knife to Agnès' whetsone; Agnès describes herself as 'hard'， and Fabienne as the only one able to 'cut' her。 They spend their childhood making games out of the world， using their imaginations to carve out paradise in whatever grim or boring existence the world otherwise has to offer。 They're just fine like that。。。 until the world of adults， growing expectations， responsibilities-- growing up gets in the way。 Yiyun Li compares growing up to dying。 The body lives on， but the effortless imagination and carefree attitude distinctive of a child dies。 Only a rare few hold onto that precious spark， resisting the gradual melting into the common mould of a proper， successful adult。 Agnès succumbs， against her will， which ultimately opens up an impassable gulf between herself and Fabienne。 Lots more to digest in this book， but was overall an excellent read 👌 。。。more

Ophelia ，

I do not know why the author decided to set the majority of this book in France and make the protagonists French because I don’t think she is that familiar with many language and cultural aspects of France。 I am intrigued to see if the rights have been bought to translate to French and what the translator will do。 Then there is the fact that this is such a dark and morbid tale。 Really this was not for me at all。

Joseph Jerr ，

The story flowed gracefully through elegant prose and short， digestible chapters。 The book’s smaller pages and quality paper also added to a positive reading experience for me。 The world can be relentlessly unfair， as most of us already know， but the author was able to make me feel it in both new and familiar ways through Agnes and Fabienne， best friends who together creatively adapted to and momentarily escaped from the severe and intractable limitations imposed by their reality of growing up i The story flowed gracefully through elegant prose and short， digestible chapters。 The book’s smaller pages and quality paper also added to a positive reading experience for me。 The world can be relentlessly unfair， as most of us already know， but the author was able to make me feel it in both new and familiar ways through Agnes and Fabienne， best friends who together creatively adapted to and momentarily escaped from the severe and intractable limitations imposed by their reality of growing up in poverty。 Thankfully， it is not all despair—there is at least some vindication of their hopes and dreams。 But not nearly enough in my opinion。 。。。more

Natsumi Paxton ，

Not sure why this book fucked me up so much， but it did

Rusha ，

‘A child does not seek to bond with another child。 The bond， defying knowledge and understanding， is either there， or is not; once a bond comes into existence， no child knows how to break from it until the setting is changed。’A wise， unsettling book about the intersection between female friendship and first love。 Li writes like she was born to it， like it is easy。 Exceptional。

Ling Ling ，

Loved every moment reading this book。 The ways children hurt adults and other children out of ignorance…the way adults take advantage of children’s innocence are all themes that take a backseat to the complex friendship between two young girls in a french countryside。 Yiyun Li writes about love and it’s many offshoots of fixation， obsession， envy with prose as sharp as a knife and as warm as the orange it slices through。 If a friend asked me to describe it， I would probably say that while it’s e Loved every moment reading this book。 The ways children hurt adults and other children out of ignorance…the way adults take advantage of children’s innocence are all themes that take a backseat to the complex friendship between two young girls in a french countryside。 Yiyun Li writes about love and it’s many offshoots of fixation， obsession， envy with prose as sharp as a knife and as warm as the orange it slices through。 If a friend asked me to describe it， I would probably say that while it’s entirely its own unexpected and marvelous thing， it could be comped as My Brilliant Friend goes to Lowood in Jane Eyre which is run by Annie Wilkes in Stephen King’s misery。 AKA a must-read。 。。。more

Aoife Cassidy McMenamin ，

3。5-4 ⭐️ My first Yiyun Li novel， this is an unusual and unsettling tale of the unorthodox childhood friendship between two girls， the narrator Agnès Moreau and Fabienne， who grew up together in a small village in rural France post World War Two。  Agnès is looking back on their friendship many years later， and there is a palpable sense of nostalgia and sadness throughout the book。  Fabienne is a spiky， charismatic type， strongly reminiscent of Ferrante's Lila from the Neapolitan Quartet， while A 3。5-4 ⭐️ My first Yiyun Li novel， this is an unusual and unsettling tale of the unorthodox childhood friendship between two girls， the narrator Agnès Moreau and Fabienne， who grew up together in a small village in rural France post World War Two。  Agnès is looking back on their friendship many years later， and there is a palpable sense of nostalgia and sadness throughout the book。  Fabienne is a spiky， charismatic type， strongly reminiscent of Ferrante's Lila from the Neapolitan Quartet， while Agnès is her malleable， admiring friend who does her bidding。  Bored and idle， Fabienne hatches a plan whereby they will write a book together and enlist the help of the local postmaster to get it published。 When the book is published and Agnes attracts fame as a child prodigy author， life changes dramatically for her but in doing so， she loses Fabienne as her anchor。 This was a somewhat strange and compelling tale。  It reads almost like a fantasy， and with the wild imaginations the girls had， as a reader I was left wondering if I had been hoodwinked just as many of the characters in the book were。  Could this really be the life Agnès led？ Many of the characters were fantastical and curious。  There are definite parallels with Ferrante's work but this has a different， dream-like quality to it and a pathos I found hard to put my finger on， until I read a review of it in the Sunday Times， which shed light on the author’s own travails and family tragedy 😢。 I enjoyed it and will read more of Yiyun Li's work on the back of it。  3。5-4/5 ⭐️*The Book of Goose was published on 20 September。 Many thanks to the publisher @4thestatebooks for the eARC via @netgalley。 As always， this is an honest review。* 。。。more

Erica ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I agree with others that as soon as the girls were separated， the pace of the story hit the brakes abruptly and never quite got its stride back。 Agnes didn’t have the chops to carry the story on her own， and I found myself wanting her to be reunited with Fabienne just so the story would pick up。 I also found the English characters a bit flat， particularly Mrs。 Townsend。 I thought she had some potential to be more complex， but in the end she was just evil。 Kind of a boring and one dimensional tur I agree with others that as soon as the girls were separated， the pace of the story hit the brakes abruptly and never quite got its stride back。 Agnes didn’t have the chops to carry the story on her own， and I found myself wanting her to be reunited with Fabienne just so the story would pick up。 I also found the English characters a bit flat， particularly Mrs。 Townsend。 I thought she had some potential to be more complex， but in the end she was just evil。 Kind of a boring and one dimensional turn in an otherwise interesting character。 Also， I didn’t quite understand Agnes and Fabienne’s last conversation or why it ended their friendship。 Maybe this was intentional to convey how Agnes felt listening to her friend speak？ I’m not sure。 。。。more

Bill Silva ，

3。5 stars。 Well-written and thoughtful， but very slow paced and the story didn’t grab me…but the novel is not intended to be plot driven， so that’s on me。 This is a close-up examination of an intense， all-consuming friendship between two young women and what binds them and comes between them。 I found it interesting and it made me think…but it’s ultimately not my thing。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Book of Goose

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Book of Goose&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Book of Goose&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0