This story is narrated by the bird artist, and young man in rural Nova Scotia in the early 19th century. Like the other stories I’ve read by Howard Norman, there are no heroes. All the characters we meet are flawed and yet also are kind and compassionate. Like all of us, the are doing the best they can. In the not perfect lives of all his characters, Norman offers them redemption.
This story is narrated by the bird artist, and young man in rural Nova Scotia in the early 19th century. Like the other stories I’ve read by Howard Norman, there are no heroes. All the characters we meet are flawed and yet also are kind and compassionate. Like all of us, the are doing the best they can. In the not perfect lives of all his characters, Norman offers them redemption.
0 Comments
This book is filled with brilliance and compassion. Historian Pagels weaves a lifetime of Biblical study to conclude that we can’t understand why good and the bad things happen, but we can live and learn with them as we sit in the mystery of God. Thirty years ago her three year old son died of a heart condition; a year later her husband died in a hiking tragedy. I took Pagels all those years to work through her beliefs about the truth of all that happened. Writing publically was a necessary part of the process for her, and in doing so we are all helped along the journey. A new favorite author for me. Norman weaves the variant personalities of those who find their lives intertwined with each other—those usual way that include family, geographical location, and happenstance. Nothing new here, just life happening-- the particulars vary, but the human depth and nuance of each person is universal. This is a story of ‘every man’. Howard Norman tells it well. Another Maggie Hope Mystery. I have read five and I am aware that there is at least one more in the series. I’ve enjoyed following Maggie’s development as a spy as she solves mysteries and prevents catastrophes in World War II Britain. I’ve read the books in order, and suggest you do the same. I wait a month or so before picking up the next book, but I leave that up to you. |
Archives
January 2023
Categories
All
|