The bird artist

Such a strange story of an unhappy family in a seaside Canadian village in the early part of the 20th century. In some ways this is a story of village life; everyone knows each other's business, each person has an important role to play in keeping the village alive. The characters and their relationships are what make this such a strange story. Why does Margaret hate the church rector? Why are Orkney and Alaric Vas so unhappy with each other? Why is the lighthouse keeper so unpleasant, and why does he still seem to be attractive to women in spite of this? The people and the things they do are startling and raise so many questions about their lives outside the boundaries of the novel. Against this background, the young man Fabian Vas is exploring his passion for painting birds and for sleeping with Margaret Handle, the mail boat captain's daughter. Other than his pursuit of improvement in his art, the events of the novel mostly happen TO Fabian, who is a rather passive young man even when he objects to what is happening. When he finally does do something definitive, the results are ambiguous. Is he a betrayer? Is the ending of the book happy?

I couldn't read this in long sittings. The characters were prickly and hard to sympathise with and it wasn't a comfortable story. However, Fabian Vas's voice felt authentic, and the uneasy, ambiguous story he told presents so many opportunities for exploring the motivations of our fellow humans. I recommend.