Alex Smyth grew up in Ireland but has spent his adult life in Canada;
now he and his wife Kay have retired to the Muskoka region of Ontario. One day he receives a letter which unsettles
him and stirs up vague childhood memories.
He returns to Ireland looking to find out what he has forgotten because
his memory “’has big holes in it.’” That
trip involves a visit with his estranged father. Surely, Alex didn’t murder someone when he
was seven years old, as he suspects?
The book examines sexual abuse and the long-lasting effects of
childhood trauma. Kay, a
psychotherapist, tells Alex, “’When we are young we often have encounters that
leave us deeply marked.’” More than one
character in the novel “has spent his adult life suffering wounds inflicted in
his childhood.”
The novel captured my interest immediately. What will Alex discover in Ireland? While Alex is away, leaving Kay and their young
grandson at home, Kay must deal with a man who is paying them untoward attention. Are they in danger? The chapters are short and so tension builds
quickly.
Several of the chapters include descriptions of the life of a trout and
the skills needed for fly fishing. These
brief passages serve as a metaphor for what is happening: “the trout’s greatest enemy is man” and “Fly
fishing allows man to revert to his state of being a natural hunter and to stalk
his quarry . . . Fly fishing allows man to act out an elemental part of the
forest glade that lies within us all.” A
description of night time fishing is juxtaposed with an episode where a man takes
a couple of boys fishing at night. When
a friend compliments that man on his fishing skills (“’Is there no fish in the county
safe from you?’”), the comment has a double meaning that is truly frightening.
The book is narrated in the first person by Alex. My issue is that several times he seems to
know more than he plausibly could about what others are thinking and
doing. For instance, Alex describes Kay: “She wishes she could see clearly into my
soul, for even though she once trusted me, now she is not so sure. Everyone has secrets, she reflects.” Three times, Alex explains that he knows his
wife’s thoughts because “she will later say” something to him about them, but
this approach is awkward.
The ending delivers a punch that will leave the reader re-evaluating
all that went before. I am certain the
book would reveal more depths on a second reading.
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