« Au cœur des ombres de l’honneur, le courage s’avance souvent en silence. »Qu’est-ce qui pousse une personne à aller au bout de ce en quoi elle croit ? Le courage. Courage. Ce mot est à l’honneur dans ce livre de Lorraine Heath, le deuxième de cette auteure que je lis, et elle nous en offre une splendide définition.Le jour se lève c’est la confrontation entre deux camps, deux façons de penser. Mais en définitive c’est une seule et même force qui pousse les gens à craindre et haïr les idées opposées aux leurs.Encore une fois, cette auteure m’a emportée dans un monde d’émotions qui vont au-delà des mots. Le jour se lève n’est pas un livre que l’on raconte, il est de ceux que l’on ressent. Alors, je vais quand même essayer de vous en dire plus sur son histoire, ses personnages et ce que j’ai ressenti, mais mes mots ne seront pas assez forts, assez beaux pour traduire mes émotions.Comme dans toute guerre, il y a les hommes qui se précipitent le fusils à la main et la fierté en étendard dans les troupes de leur armée et d’autres qui refusent d’utiliser une arme pour tuer un autre homme. Clayton Holland fait partie de ces derniers. Alors que la guerre de Sécession vient de prendre fin, avec la défaite du Sud que l’on connaît, les habitants de Cedar Grove, petite ville du Texas, pleurent leurs morts, pour certains leurs maris, pour d’autres leurs fils ou leurs frères. Mais le plus difficile pour eux c’est de voir revenir sain et sauf Clay, ce lâche, ce couard, qui a refusé de se battre aux côtés de la Confédération. Cet homme revenu atrocement brisé va être rejeté et haï mais n’aura par contre jamais failli à ses convictions. Contre l’esclavage et l’idée de tuer, il a été emprisonné pour être exécuté mais son destin en avait décidé autrement. Son retour dans son village ne lui épargnera rien de ce que l’on fait subir aux « lâches ». Mais le châtiment le plus terrible viendra de la belle Meg, dont le mari est mort lors de la bataille de Gettysburg, qui le déteste au plus au point et ne rêve que de vengeance. Elle n’aura qu’un but, celui de faire souffrir Clay au plus profond de sa chair en le faisant prendre conscience de sa lâcheté et le voir se repentir. Mais la haine est un sentiment très proche de l’amour comme l’on dit…Ce qui frappe le plus dans ce livre, c’est que le récit est assez lent et sans beaucoup d’actions mais toute l’émotion réside dans les sentiments des personnages. La haine que les habitants de Cedar Grove témoignent à Clay nous fend le cœur et nous pousse à ressentir de la colère ! Des regards détournés, des insultes murmurées ou proférées à hautes voix, de la violence barbare et gratuite, voilà le quotidien de Clay. Et la première à avoir ce comportement ignoble envers lui c’est Meg. La mort de son mari lui a donné tellement de tristesse que Clay fait un coupable tout choisi à ses yeux. On découvre petit à petit que le courage peut avoir plusieurs formes. Il y a le courage de celui qui se bat, de celui qui croit en ses idées, comme je l’ai dit avant, mais il y a aussi le courage de celui qui vit un deuil, de ceux qui ont vu leurs proches partir à la guerre, de ceux qui par amour défendront corps et âmes les êtres chers, de ceux qui admettent qu’ils se sont trompés et acceptent leurs torts et surtout de celle qui réussira à voir chez l’autre une personne au cœur bon et droit.Cette histoire à fendre le cœur nous plonge aussi dans un univers de douceur et de sensualité grâce à un bloc de granit. D’accord, il faut lire le livre pour comprendre, mais je peux juste vous dire que Clay a des mains, que pourtant il déteste, qui ont un talent certain pour manipuler, transformer et caresser les matériaux et ce don va provoquer chez Meg des émotions qu’elle ne pensait plus ressentir et encore moins pour celui qu’elle maudit le plus.Entre douleur et vengeance, amour et haine, violence et douceur, Le jour se lève vous transportera de la première à la dernière page, si vous aimez les histoires d’amours qui font renifler, sangloter, pleurer malgré vous tant les personnages vous émeuvent. Je crois que ce qui me marquera le plus sera la solitude qui entoure Clay. Détesté par tous, il n’a personne sur qui compter, personne pour l’aimer ni pour le croire. Le pire de tout c’est qu’il aurait les moyens de laver son honneur mais il veut que seules ses idées soient respectées et pas uniquement les actes. Clay est un héros qui vous fera pleurer j’en suis sûre, mais surtout n’ayez pas pitié de lui… il ne le supporterait pas.Une magnifique histoire à découvrir ou à re-découvrir.
This is the story of Clay, a sculptor and a conscientious objector from the American Civil war. 22 of his friends didn't come home from the war and the townsfolk resent the fact that he survived. From the moment he refused to hold a rifle, he was vilified and despised as a coward and deserter.The heroine, Meg, lost three brothers and her husband to the war. Texans all, they fought for the South, marching off almost joyfully to face the foe. Clay's existence is a constant affront and a reminder to her of her loss. She wants to see him suffer for his cowardice, for turning his back on the other young men, especially her husband Kirk who had been Clay's best friend all their lives.Meg broods over his iniquity, until she comes up with a plan to make him see the error of his ways. She will make him carve a monument to the 22 boys who didn't come back. She believes he will fail and in his failure will be diminished, ready to beg forgiveness and admit his cowardice.Of course things are not always what they seem. History shows that conscientious objectors have not been treated kindly. They's been imprisoned, tortured and shot as deserters/traitors. I remember reading and then watching the movie The Four Feathers, set in the Victorian era about a man who on the eve of war becomes engaged and sells out his commission (yes that phrase rings bells doesn't it). He then goes on to rescue his comrades with considerable courage in order to earn the right to return the white feathers his friends and fiancée gave him.Clay's experience is less dramatic. But as we learn more of what went on, we realise that courage is not something lacking in this young man who is only 25 when the story opens, having spent most of the war incarcerated. And of course Meg begins to see this as she becomes part of his life and that of his younger brothers.This is a very sweet story of a young man who never had the opportunity to experience the joys of courting and even kissing a girl because of the war. Meg has tasted love and resents the loss of it all the more. I'm sure there were faults but the deeply engaging story kept me interested and I loved the ending which was very emotional.
What do You think about Always To Remember (1996)?
I guess I am the odd (wo)man out. I love good stories of beta heroes and Clayton is definitely a beta hero. Clayton Holland was drafted on the Confederate side of the Civil War, except he didn't believe in war. He returns to his hometown and a brother who hates him. For some reason, unknownst to me at the time of reading the book, he can't talk to his brother and explain why he felt the way he did. He is not able to explain what happened during the war and, instead, lets everyone believe he was
—Linda
"I will not take up arms against my fellow man.""I didn’t believe we should fight the Northern states, and yet, I could not in all good conscience take up arms against the South, my home, and my friends. But more than that, I would not fight because I believe it’s a sin against God to kill another man."When Texas joined with the rest of the Confederate states, all the young men of Cedar Grove were ready and willing to join the glorious cause. All that is, except for Clayton Holland, who refused to bear arms and kill men in a cause he didn't believe in. Those beliefs landed him in a Confederate prison where he was subjected to brutal torture and a very close call with the firing squad. When he returns home the entire town shuns him as a traitor and a coward - including Meg Warner who hates him more for coming home alive when her young husband did not. Meg hires Clayton, an acomplished stone mason, to carve a monument to Cedar Grove's fallen men, and she's hoping it will give him some well deserved punishment."She wanted, needed him to face his cowardice, to have it carved into his heart so deeply that he would feel it with every breath he took for as long as he lived."Well, things don't quite work out the way Meg planned, as she soon finds that Clay's steadfast, honorable nature is a pretty damned attractive one, but let's just say that Meg's family and neighbors are none too thrilled with that idea.I’d rather spend my life with one man surrounded by love than the ignorance and hatred surrounding me now."*sniff*Lorraine Heath is an author I'd never come across until the library started adding a bunch of her titles to the Kindle lending list, and I'm very glad I decided to give her a shot. This was a lovely tale of love, faith and healing, and no surprise but Meg is the one most in need of it. Clayton is the perfect strong, silent manly man with a heart of mush inside, and Meg and her bitter soul was the the right match for him. I also adored Clayton's two younger twin brothers, they added a good mix of kid-humor and also giving us a look at Clayton's softer side. If that newer cover for the e-book editions is giving you the bodice ripping willies, don't panic. Any sex in this book is very understated and rather tame by today's comparisons - and you'll be a long time waiting for the first steamy kiss. Heath takes time building the sexual tension, focusing more on the story and the characters (how refreshing). This is the second book of Heath's I've tried and there will be more in my future, she's perfect for a rainy day lighter read.
—Misfit
Holy shit, this book. I loved this. It wasn't quite my idea of perfection, mind, so four stars instead of five, but it is really quite good. The reader is absolutely disgusted by Meg from the beginning, but that's purposeful. Clay is...wow. Clay. What can I say about Clay? He's a man who withstood imprisonment and torture (physical and psychological) because he refused to dishonor his beliefs. Conscientious objectors have always been castigated in society as cowards because most people don't grasp the amount of courage that's needed to stand apart from the crowd. I admired Clay, and that admiration caused a lit crush to develop. Oh, he's also quiet, artistic, and shy... I was actually slightly amazed at the amount of real interaction between all the characters. Clay's 10-year-old twin brothers are amazing,, and I'm wondering if Ms. Heath ever wrote any stories for them...Anyway, if you like historical romance (particularly post civil war America), and a sweet story with a wonderful HEA, I definitely recommend this one.
—Katrina Passick Lumsden
