Perfecting isn't a conventional realistic novel. The breadth of its canvas and the cadences of its prose recall, at different times, the Bible or an epic or a Greek tragedy, and its people are both larger than life and more emblematic than the characters of conventional realistic fiction. Curtis is the prodigal son; Martha is the perpetual naïf. They are like figures in a carpet--distinct, but more meaningful for what they contribute to the pattern than for themselves, for only the carpet as a whole tells the story. Having said all that, Hollis Woolf will remain in my mind as one of the most formidable personifications of evil I've met in literature--or, for that matter, in film. In fact, he reminded me of Marlon Brandon in some of his key roles--Stanley Kowalski, Don Corleone, and especially Kurtz. The power he wields over his family is all too believable, and the legacy of pain that he passes to others is not only the stuff of myth, but of reality.

Perfecting (Goose Lane) is slender, but there are hints of the epic here and though Kuitenbrouwer’s style is muscular and spare, one gets the feeling that more would have been better. Perfecting is tight, certainly and it’s not that anything has been left out, but I found myself wanting more.

Still, that’s a quibble and, indeed, a high class complaint. Kuitenbrouwer has fulfilled the promise of The Nettle Spinner. This Toronto-based author continues to be one of the hot new Canadian voices to watch.

Usually, this is the part of the review where I find minor fault, something to complain about so it doesn’t seem that I’m raving. Truth be told, there’s no fault to be found in Perfecting: it’s a powerful story, brilliantly told, and it surprised me from its opening page to its closing words. It’s all I want in a book, and I’m grateful that I didn’t miss it. You shouldn’t, either.