Howard Norman

Narrator and protagonist Fabian Vas, an illustrator of birds, lives in a small town in Newfoundland in 1911. He admits to killing Botho August, the town’s lighthouse keeper. The novel reads as his confession – what led up to the murder, and what happened in the years afterward. It is not a traditional mystery, since we know Fabian killed August from the first page. The reader is drawn into the story in trying to figure out why Fabian would have done such a thing.

The harsh landscape plays a key role in this story – the sea, the cliffs, the elements. The imagery and descriptions of Fabian’s artworks are well-done. The narrative, like the setting, feels remote and cold. Fabian seems to be drifting through life with no direction. This is a book about decisions and choices, and that the lack of choosing is also a decision.

I felt a sense of vague discomfort in reading this book. Perhaps this is due to the author’s skill in creating a menacing tone. The characters are not particularly likeable, and it was difficult to care about them. At the end I did not feel I knew Fabian any better than at the start. I found it at times engaging and at other times frustrating.
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