Synopses & Reviews
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Red Stag is one of the best novels I have read in years: a story set in the beautifully evoked deep countryside of Normandy, a landscape that surrounds the characters the way a river does a trout.” Field & Stream
A compelling novel of the hunt for a stag, a lost love, and the murderer of the hero’s uncle. Beautifully written, it is both a fine sporting novel and literature.” Jim Harrison, author of Dalva and True North
This book offers many old-fashioned pleasures. . . . Highly recommended.” Library Journal
A gripping, deeply felt story embedded in a cherished and closely observed world still ruled by the laws of nature.” Thomas McGuane, author of Nothing But Blue Skies and Ninety-Two in the Shade
An absolutely beautiful book. . . . Reading Red Stag is like walking outside on the most glorious October afternoon of your lifeyou are moved by grandeur.” Doug Stanton, author of In Harm’s Way
A debut with the feel of a nineteenth-century novel. . . . De la Valdene’s descriptions of the Norman forests and wildlife are rich and graceful.” Publishers Weekly
Guy de la Valdene was born and raised in France. His other books include The Fragrance of Grass (Lyons Press), as well as For a Handful of Feathers and Making Game: An Essay on Woodcock. His articles have appeared in Sports Afield and Field & Stream. He lives on an 800-acre farm near Tallahassee, Florida.
Review
"[This is] a debut with the feel of a nineteenth century novel. De la Valdène's description of the Norman forests and wildlife are rich and graceful, and he expertly captures the shades of difference between the privileged life of the aristocracy, town life and Vincent's sheltered existence."
--Publishers Weekly
"Guy de la Valdène's Red Stag is beautifully written; it is both a fine sporting novel and literature."
--Jim Harrison
"Red Stag is a gripping, deeply felt story embedded in a cherished and closely observed world still ruled by the laws of nature."
--Tom McGuane
"A highly appealing first novel. The novel's pleasures derive largely from de la Valdène's ability to bring an idyllic rural community convincingly to life. De la Valdène has also peopled the novel with a variety of vividly drawn characters. Part love story, part coming-of-age adventure, and part pastoral, this offers many old-fashioned pleasures--including a certain rustic, romantic charm. Highly recommended."
--Library Journal
"This is an absolutely beautiful book, whose intelligence and wit are testaments to the grandest storytelling. Reading Red Stag is like walking outside on the most glorious October afternoon of your life--you are moved by grandeur. The writing in this book lights up like a cathedral in your head. Guy de la Valdène is a masterful writer."
--Doug Stanton, author of In Harm's Way
"Red Stag is one of the best novels I have read in years: a story set in the beautifully evoked deep countryside of Normandy, a landscape that surrounds the characters the way a river does a trout."
--Field & Stream
“Red Stag is a lovely novel that offers an intimate glimpse into a rarified, forgotten world. A story of friendship and family, loyalty and betrayal, revenge and forbidden love, it is beautifully written, full of heartbreak and longing, and the final brutal solace of the natural world.”
—Jim Fergus, author of One Thousand White Women
Review
"This is an absolutely beautiful book, whose intelligence and wit are testaments to the grandest storytelling. Reading
Red Stag is like walking outside on the most glorious October afternoon of your life--you are moved by grandeur. The writing in this book lights up like a cathedral in your head. Guy de la Valdène is a masterful writer."
--Doug Stanton, author of In Harm's Way
"Red Stag is one of the best novels I have read in years: a story set in the beautifully evoked deep countryside of Normandy, a landscape that surrounds the characters the way a river does a trout."
--Field & Stream
Review
Synopsis
Set in Normandy, France, in the 1960s, RED STAG is a lush, rich novel. Nineteen-year-old bastard Vincent has just returned from boarding school to work on the Count's estate, where his uncle is gamekeeper, where Vincent himself was raised, where his mother, until her early death, was the Countess's maid. Shortly after his return, his uncle is viciously murdered. Vincent vows revenge.
It is also deer hunting season, and the village is wild with anticipation about this year's ritualized Royal Hunt for the giant red stag. This red stag defies all hunters, outsmarting them, and then outrunning their horses and hounds.
The Count's daughter, Nicole, returns to the estate as well. She, too, is nineteen These childhood friends haven't seen each other in years. As the search for the murderer's identity intensifies, and the Royal Hunt approaches, Nicole and Vincent find themselves inexorably drawn to each other. The three-pronged plot gains momentum, reaching a thrilling, violent, graphic conclusion, which reveals startling truths about Vincent's patronage and the potential for both extreme cruelty and friendship within the human heart.
RED STAG is wonderfully atmospheric and exotic, full of rich descriptions of wildlife and the rivers and woods of Normandy. It is beautifully written, near cinematic in its clarity, highly suspenseful, and utterly unforgettable.
Synopsis
A stunning debut novel by Count Guy de la Valdène.
Synopsis
Red Stag is a tantalizing coming of age love story set against the backdrop of a lush estate in Normandy, France. Nineteen-year-old Vincent, the son of the Countesss maid (and whose childhood was one of ambiguous privilege) has just returned from his last year at boarding school to spend the summer on the Count's estate, where his uncle is gamekeeper and where Vincent himself was raised. Shortly after his return, his uncle is discovered brutally murdered and Vincent vows revenge. Meanwhile, the village is in a state of agitation, anticipating the opening day of the ritualized hunt, with hounds and horses, for the royal red stag. In the midst of it all, Nicole, the counts daughter, returns to the estate from America.
As the search for the murderers identity intensifies and the stag hunt approaches, Nicole and Vincent find themselves inexorably drawn together. The secrets revealed leave no one innocent, exposing the potential of extremes—from devout loyalty to bitter cruelty—within the human heart.
Atmospheric and exotic, Red Stag is textured by the wildlife and the rivers and woods of Normandy. It is beautifully written, near-cinematic in its clarity, suspenseful, and utterly unforgettable.