The Raging Quiet | 
 enlarge | Author: Sherryl Jordan
Publisher: Thorndike Press
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy New: $3.34
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Avg. Customer Rating:  88 reviews
Sales Rank: 7492196
Format: Large Print
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 440
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.6 x 0.9
ISBN: 0786273135
EAN: 9780786273133
ASIN: 0786273135
Publication Date: March 2, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
New Zealand author Sherryl Jordan has crafted a riveting story, reminiscent of the work of Thomas Hardy, that's shimmering with the romanticism of a fairy tale but told with the vivid detail and suspense of a modern novel. In an ancient time, a newlywed girl is taken to a seaside thatched cottage by her much older husband. His drunken lovemaking repels her, but Marnie must endure because he is the lord's middle son and she has married him to save her family from starvation. When he is killed in a fall, she feels more release than grief, in spite of the village rumors that she caused his death with a witch's curse. Suspicions grow when she befriends an outcast, a "mad" boy called Raver whose rages and yammerings look to villagers like the work of the devil. But Marnie realizes that the boy is deaf, and his bursts of anger come from his inability to communicate. With the help of the kindly and wise village priest, she begins to invent a sign language for him. A tender love grows between them in the cottage, but Marnie still fears the marriage bed. Meanwhile, the scandalized villagers spy on the "witch," and at last force her to endure the bloodcurdling ordeal of trial by hot iron. Readers will gobble up this entrancing story, and may want to move on to Cynthia Voigt's Jackaroo, Michael Cadnum's In a Dark Wood, and perhaps Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. (Ages 12 to 15) --Patty Campbell
Product Description
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults Widowed just two days after her unwilling marriage to a man twice her age, Marnie finds herself an outsider - spurned by the townsfolk who suspect her involvement in her husband's death. She has only two friends: the local priest and the madman known as Raver. When Marnie makes a remarkable discovery about Raver, whom she renames Raven, the two forge a deep bond. But the villagers see Raven's transformation as evidence of witchcraft . . .
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| Customer Reviews: Read 83 more reviews...
 A book that stradels the line between young adult and adult, pleasing both sides April 23, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have never really understood what separates a young adult book from a plain old adult book. Oh I know there's a certain difference in style of writing, words chosen based on the expected vocabulary of the target audience, but beyond that it's just plots. And who can guess what plot will appeal to who? Some of the books I treasured as a young adult remain favorites today because they're simply good books. But this novel, though marketed and sold for young adults, perhaps even written for them, is one I think can safely be said to appeal to older readers as well.
"The Raging Quiet" is a novel about outsiders. Marnie is a newlywed when her much older husband dies, leaving her alone and without resources in a hostile and enclosed village. The friends she manages to make are the local priest and the village madman-who Marnie discovers quickly, is not mad at all-only deaf and re-names Raven. But soon her "magical" abilities to communicate with Raven make the locals suspense, and have Marnie on trial for her life.
I must say that when I first read this book when I was eleven, I was disturbed by some of the content. So the official warning to parents: this book includes not descriptions of but illusions to rape, sex and a rather descriptive scene of what would now be construed as torture. It's probably not fit for every kid to read. Another reason why I see it as a line crosser.
I enjoyed this the first time I read it but liked it even better the second time. Adult or child this is a good book that's well written.
Four stars.
 A story that is UNFORGETTABLE April 3, 2008
I have read and reread this book and will most likely read it again. It is sad at some points but the story is amazing and there are many happy parts too. The characters are very well developed and you will laugh and cry right with them. You fall right in the story of this girl who has to try to be accepted by people far away from home and helps another be understood. You must read this book.
Love and Humor February 23, 2008
I was captivated by this book during a time when I needed to be transported to another world. My husband David and daughter Angela got into it just as much when I shared it with them. The tough chapters at the beginning, covering Marnie's first marriage, and the painful ordeal near the end, are "fair comment" on the bad times life can dish out without dripping crass vulgarity. They make the positive energy between Marnie and Raven all the more precious as it grows. Marnie's relationship with Raven and with Father Brannan delighted my 60+ husband and my 15-year-old daughter, alike. I don't think it matters whether one views Marnie's experience as an approximation of "real life" in a mythical time appoximating the middle ages, or as metaphorical fantasy for bad love and good love and the challenge of getting by when you are different, in our own times. It works. That's all.
The Raging Quiet Speaks Loudly to Tender Hearts, by Melanie Pace November 10, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Because of the many different beliefs, creeds, and attitudes that are found today, there are few things that speak profoundly and universally to people in this world. There are people who respond well to logic, and there are others who believe that logical people are unfeeling, with hearts made of stone. Some people use their feelings to determine meaning, truth, and value, while others consider emotion to be a handicap. The majority of the people, however, will identify with the romanticism, courage, and valiancy of those caught in love's perils. In the book The Raging Quiet, the author Sherryl Jordan takes us back to a time in history when the differences of people and the act of showing compassion toward differences were punishable by death. In Sherryl Jordan's novel for the tender hearted, she is able to effectively appeal to the readers' sense of logos and pathos through the history and setting, through her strong characterizations, and by showing that every man is a flawed man.
History and Setting
Sherryl Jordan begins to unveil the setting in the novel as soon the reading begins. In the very first page, our minds are opened to a perfect image of an old village. The first sentence reads, "The afternoon Marnie came to Torcurra, the villagers were whipping the devils out of a mad boy." The logical reader will automatically deduce that Marnie, being a newcomer to the village, is feeling uncertain of her new situation. The appeal to logos is effective here because it interests the reader in continuing on to find out more about the village, Marnie, and her new predicament. The background information here works for both logical and emotional readers.
Those reading with more emotion will firstly assume that a main character has just been introduced. Marnie, the first main character, is beginning the story with a picture that draws on ethos. In this sentence strong words evoke strong emotions and images. Words such as "villagers", "whipping", and "mad boy" create a clear image that appeals to pathos. First of all, we can see this little antique village where public whippings are still acceptable. Also, imagery is created of village people gathered together to see the spectacle: the whipping of a mad boy. Whipping of the mad boy draws different emotions and pictures as well. It is strange that in Marnie's new village there is a mad boy, and it is assumed that he, being mad, did not know what he did to deserve being whipped. We draw our conclusion that Marnie feels empathy for his situation from the fact that we, as observers and readers, feel a certain amount of pain for his misfortune. This type of appeal in history and setting continue throughout the book.
In the following pages, we find out more about Marnie's situation. The village is described in depth, adding to the mental image the reader has of the setting. It is a small village on the coast. Also, the time period is described repeatedly through context. For example, Marnie and her new husband Isake are traveling by wagon to their new home. Another example is when she wants to eat something she pulls out an oiled cloth with bread and an apple. This book is set in times of antiquity, when the Bible, work, and family were the only things that "normal" people had. By continuously weaving and generating a background and setting for the reader to visualize, the author is allowing for a solid foundation whereon she can build her descriptions of characters and appeal to pathos and logos.
Characterization
From the first few pages, we, as readers, become acquainted with two of the key characters in the book. The first character of key importance is Marnie. Marnie is an interesting and complex character. Her character is impossible to sum up in a single paragraph of grandly written descriptions. To fully get to know Marnie, the entire book has to be read, but it goes without saying that by the time the book is finished, the reader has identified with Marnie in more ways than one.
Marnie is a young woman from a small, pastoral village called Fernleigh. There, she and her family worked as vassals for the Lords of the province. One example of strong characterization for Marnie is in the first chapter of the book. "More used to labor than to sitting still, her small body was shapely and strong. Her face striking, with astonishing blue eyes and a forthright look that often got her into trouble on the farm. Various youths, reading her boldness as brazenness, had at different times tried to grab her in the hay barn or behind the stables, and been soundly walloped for their trouble. Humiliated, they each crowed of success, and gave her a name she did not deserve. They were one part of her old life she did not grieve to leave behind." This characterization functions properly because of the use of concrete physical descriptions, appealing to logical people that read with the necessity to have precise descriptions. It also creates a feel for Marnie's strong personality, appealing to pathos. Because of it is so well written, both emotional and logical readers can identify with Marnie on several levels. Another main character in the book becomes significant through his interactions with Marnie throughout the course of the plot.
A second main character is introduced in the first line of the book, as well. As readers, we come to know intimately the mad boy, later known as Raven, who was being whipped in first part of the book. This is the first in depth description of him: "He was not a boy, she realized; he was a young man, perhaps a little older than herself. His eyes were age-old, sad, and an unusual violet gray. Long hair, dark as coal, shone wet against his pallid skin, and a shadow of a beard darkened his jaw and chin. His cheeks were bruised, there were welts on his wrists from the binding, and his knuckles were raw. He had been badly cut on the head, and blood, faint-colored from the rain, ran down his shoulder and chest. He was wearing a ragged brown knee-length tunic, but no leggings or shoes." For all readers, it has already been established that this young man is in some sort of predicament. It adds to our empathy for the mad boy because of the descriptions here. For example, "his eyes were age-old, sad..." lets the reader know he has suffered through many bad life experiences that have given him wisdom and understanding of the bottom side of life.
Every Man is Flawed
Throughout the course of the plot, various characters and situations define the theme that every man is a flawed man. Everybody has seen the bottom side of life and felt the type of pain that comes with happenstance and misfortune. This theme is apparent in many different aspects. The most obvious example of this theme is in Raven. Raven, we find out, is a deaf man. He has never been able to hear and has never been able to speak. The village people, thinking he was possessed, whipped him to "purify" him of his supposed devils. Readers respond well to this because we have the knowledge to understand that Raven has no idea that he's deaf. He only knows that he's different, and that difference causes him pain. Marnie is another example of the theme that everyone has flaws.
Marnie, though physically perfect and absolutely gorgeous, smart, funny, and compassionate, is labeled as "flawed" when she, in subsequent chapters, takes pity on Raven. Marnie begins to feed and look after the starving man, and soon, she realizes that he is extremely sweet, smart, and talented; he's an actual person. To help him develop his talents, she begins to try and teach him the only kind of language he can understand: sign language. As Marnie finds herself falling in love with Raven, the villagers begin to increasingly shun and ridicule her. The appeal to both logos and pathos here is in the fact that Marnie has a good heart, and she is being punished for her love and compassion.
Conclusion
Despite differences that each person has with the rest of the world, love is a universal concept. It is a timeless, age-honored, and classic theme that resounds in the hearts of both the very tender and even the most logical. The historical setting of the book takes the readers back to a time and place where differing from the social norm was unacceptable and punishable. In the case of Marnie and Raven, the villagers were able to inflict emotional and physical pain on both of them because their association with each other was wrongly considered by the villagers to be odd and therefore devilish. Because of the vivid setting, the author was able to develop versatile characters that related to the audience in multiple ways. The audience, by the end of the book, had a strong emotional attachment to the fates of Marnie and Raven. Throughout the entire book the themes of love and human imperfection are obvious. Every character in the plot presents a new aspect of human flaw, which creates an interesting element of the plot to consider while reading the book. The Raging Quiet is an inspiring novel that speaks loudly to its audience and forges compassion for the things in this world that seem impossible to love.
Nice Tale of Romance October 19, 2007
I read this book years ago, and even as a thirteen year old (back then) I loved it. It's a wonderful tale of a misunderstood young man, and a down-trodden girl who find each other and together they become one!
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