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Sarah Canary
When an enigmatic woman cloaked in black wanders into a Chinese labor camp in the Pacific Northwest of 1873, one man is chosen to lead her out into the woods. But soon, he becomes the enchanted follower. Thus begins a magical journey. . . .
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
About the author
Karen Joy Fowler
141 books1,540 followersKaren Joy Fowler is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels and three short story collections. Her 2004 novel, The Jane Austen Book Club, spent thirteen weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list and was a New York Times Notable Book. Fowler’s previous novel, Sister Noon, was a finalist for the 2001 PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction. Her debut novel, Sarah Canary, won the Commonwealth medal for best first novel by a Californian, was listed for the Irish Times International Fiction Prize as well as the Bay Area Book Reviewers Prize, and was a New York Times Notable Book. Fowler’s short story collection Black Glass won the World Fantasy Award in 1999, and her collection What I Didn’t See won the World Fantasy Award in 2011. Her most recent novel We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, won the 2014 PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction and was short-listed for the 2014 Man Booker Prize. Her new novel Booth published in March 2022.
She is the co-founder of the Otherwise Award and the current president of the Clarion Foundation (also known as Clarion San Diego). Fowler and her husband, who have two grown children and seven grandchildren, live in Santa Cruz, California. Fowler also supports a chimp named Caesar who lives at the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Sierra Leone.
She is the co-founder of the Otherwise Award and the current president of the Clarion Foundation (also known as Clarion San Diego). Fowler and her husband, who have two grown children and seven grandchildren, live in Santa Cruz, California. Fowler also supports a chimp named Caesar who lives at the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Sierra Leone.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 258 reviews
September 30, 2016
Exhaustive research and exquisite writing, but this one just didn't add up to an enjoyable story for me. It is viscerally uncomfortable, with its depiction of madness, race and gender in the post-Civil War West.
April 5, 2022
Karen Džoj Fauler je većini čitalaca poznata kao teta koja je napisala nekakav roman po kome je snimljen film "Čitalački klub Džejn Ostin". Onda ide jedan manji krug onih koji su čitali "Svi smo potpuno van sebe", roman o jednoj... specifičnoj... porodici i tome kako naučni eksperimenti u krugu familije možda i nisu dobra ideja (bilo šta više od ovoga pokvarilo bi foru) a tek onda i uz delimično preklapanje nailazimo na one koji je znaju kao SF autorku čiji prvi roman pokušava (i dobrim delom uspeva) da ostvari mađioničarski trik: da ga mejnstrim čitaoci čitaju kao mejnstrim a SF čitaoci kao SF i da funkcioniše i ovako i onako.
Ali. Mila majko. Ja sam ova tri romana čitala upravo navedenim redosledom i svaki put sam doživljavala priličan šok koji bi se dao opisati kao "uh, ovo je dobro, uh, očekivala sam nešto sasvim drugo". A iako sam Sari Keneri prišla znajući za poentu, svejedno me je iznenadio način na koji autorka sprovodi svoju ideju.
Naime, na početku romana se Sara pojavljuje niotkuda u nekoj severnoameričkoj nedođiji 1873: žena kratke kose, u crnoj haljini, sasvim nekoherentna, bez ikakve sposobnosti da komunicira s drugima, ne vlada nijednim poznatim jezikom, ne poznaje društvene konvencije, ništa. Jednom rečju: luda. I tu u priču ulazi Fuko ili makar (da ovo sad maksimalno uprostim i verovatno izgrešim pritom) njegova ideja da je moderno društvo pokušalo da ludilo odvoji od prethodne ideje o njegovom božanskom poreklu i da ga na sve moguće načine zauzda, omeđi, protumači, smesti u nekakav sebi razumljiv i prihvatljiv kontekst, a pre svega kontroliše, pre svega odvaja i izopštava.
Društvo u koje je Sara dospela pokušava da je smesti u takav okvir. Ali pošto se društvo (nažalost po njegove težnje ka monolitnosti) sastoji od pojedinaca, a među njima ima i drugih izopštenika sem ludaka, sticajem okolnosti i autorskim izborom Sara će nailaziti upravo na takve različite marginalce koji će, svako za sebe, pokušati da joj daju nekakav kontekst. Kinez Čin smatra je božanskim bićem koje je poslato njemu lično na brigu i staranje. Protuva i traumirani veteran Harold vidi u njoj osobu koja može da prođe kao primerak divljeg deteta, idealnu za pokazivanje na vašarima. Adelaida Dikson, putujuća sifražetkinja, ubeđena je da je Sara zapravo žena koja je ubila svog ljubavnika i sad se krije od zakona. Bezazleni ludak B. Dž. misli... e, on zapravo jedini ne pokušava da smesti Saru u neki unapred zadati okvir i stoga je možda vidi malčice bolje nego drugi, ali s druge strane, B. Dž je lud kao struja i njegov dar zapažanja mu nije od velike pomoći u životu.
Životi njih četvoro ukrštaju se oko Sare i dramatično menjaju, i tu možemo i da stanemo s prepričavanjem zapleta jer on, ma koliko promišljen, nije ono glavno u ovom romanu. Karen Džoj Fauler piše specifičnim stilom koji je, naročito u početku, srazmerno jednostavan, ali onda počinje da nam otvara mentalne krajolike svojih likova uz pomoć začudnih slika i kratkih spojeva u zaključivanju koji su me, neočekivano, najviše podsetili na Andreja Platonova a ne na često pešačko pripovedanje savremenog istorijskog romana. Tu skokovitost pojačava činjenica da su epigrafi svakog poglavlja pojedini odlomci Emili Dikinson koji su i u najlucidnijim trenucima skloni mistično-neshvatljivom. Dodatno je važno i zahteva izvesnu pažnju tokom čitanja to što se određeni lajtmotivi - ptica rođena s jednim krilom, leptiri itd. - ponavljaju u različitim kontekstima od strane različitih likova I NISU NEBITNI tj. autorka nas uporno gura prema jednom određenom zaključku koji, međutim, neće da nam eksplicitno saopšti.
Jedna od lepših i uspelijih lajtmotivskih struktura (? može li ovako da se kaže? može, moj GR nalog moja prćija) jeste više puta ponovljena situacija u kojoj neko B. Dž-u ispriča neku priču, a on onda kaže otprilike: "Ah, pa ja znam tu priču. Samo što u njoj nije bio kralj nego trgovac i nisu bili prestoli nego kavezi i nisu bile sirene nego kojot. Ali osim toga, bila je to ista priča" i što je najlepše, svaki put je u pravu: on prepoznaje dubinsku strukturu priče, ne njenu promenljivu i plutajuću ikonografiju. I kako je više čitalaca primetilo u komentarima (nikad mi to ne bi palo na pamet), dubinska struktura Sare Keneri je ista kao u Čarobnjaku iz Oza, s tim što se ne treba upinjati da se doslovno mapiraju likovi iz jedne knjige na likove iz druge.
I još jedan nagoveštaj za kraj: ako mene neko pita, ključ Sarine misterije može se prepoznati u jednoj od brojnih umetnutih priča, konkretno onoj koju B. Dž.-u priča indijansko ćebe dok leprša na vetru oko svoje vlasnice. Ali - i u tome je još jedna od lepota ove knjige i njen finalni okretaj zavrtnja - možda se zapravo radi o klasičnoj navlakuši u kojoj nas autorka mami da Saru smestimo u naš, savremeni kontekst, da je iz njega protumačimo i tako pogrešimo na isti način kao i njeni savremenici.
U stvari, za kraj još ovo: sem što pruža mnogo povoda za razmišljanje, Sara Keneri je i pedantan i često brutalan prikaz života u SAD toga doba, i melanholična studija mirenja sa sopstvenim nedostacima i gubitkom, i uopšte jedan pet plus od knjige kad se sve sabere.
Ali. Mila majko. Ja sam ova tri romana čitala upravo navedenim redosledom i svaki put sam doživljavala priličan šok koji bi se dao opisati kao "uh, ovo je dobro, uh, očekivala sam nešto sasvim drugo". A iako sam Sari Keneri prišla znajući za poentu, svejedno me je iznenadio način na koji autorka sprovodi svoju ideju.
Naime, na početku romana se Sara pojavljuje niotkuda u nekoj severnoameričkoj nedođiji 1873: žena kratke kose, u crnoj haljini, sasvim nekoherentna, bez ikakve sposobnosti da komunicira s drugima, ne vlada nijednim poznatim jezikom, ne poznaje društvene konvencije, ništa. Jednom rečju: luda. I tu u priču ulazi Fuko ili makar (da ovo sad maksimalno uprostim i verovatno izgrešim pritom) njegova ideja da je moderno društvo pokušalo da ludilo odvoji od prethodne ideje o njegovom božanskom poreklu i da ga na sve moguće načine zauzda, omeđi, protumači, smesti u nekakav sebi razumljiv i prihvatljiv kontekst, a pre svega kontroliše, pre svega odvaja i izopštava.
Društvo u koje je Sara dospela pokušava da je smesti u takav okvir. Ali pošto se društvo (nažalost po njegove težnje ka monolitnosti) sastoji od pojedinaca, a među njima ima i drugih izopštenika sem ludaka, sticajem okolnosti i autorskim izborom Sara će nailaziti upravo na takve različite marginalce koji će, svako za sebe, pokušati da joj daju nekakav kontekst. Kinez Čin smatra je božanskim bićem koje je poslato njemu lično na brigu i staranje. Protuva i traumirani veteran Harold vidi u njoj osobu koja može da prođe kao primerak divljeg deteta, idealnu za pokazivanje na vašarima. Adelaida Dikson, putujuća sifražetkinja, ubeđena je da je Sara zapravo žena koja je ubila svog ljubavnika i sad se krije od zakona. Bezazleni ludak B. Dž. misli... e, on zapravo jedini ne pokušava da smesti Saru u neki unapred zadati okvir i stoga je možda vidi malčice bolje nego drugi, ali s druge strane, B. Dž je lud kao struja i njegov dar zapažanja mu nije od velike pomoći u životu.
Životi njih četvoro ukrštaju se oko Sare i dramatično menjaju, i tu možemo i da stanemo s prepričavanjem zapleta jer on, ma koliko promišljen, nije ono glavno u ovom romanu. Karen Džoj Fauler piše specifičnim stilom koji je, naročito u početku, srazmerno jednostavan, ali onda počinje da nam otvara mentalne krajolike svojih likova uz pomoć začudnih slika i kratkih spojeva u zaključivanju koji su me, neočekivano, najviše podsetili na Andreja Platonova a ne na često pešačko pripovedanje savremenog istorijskog romana. Tu skokovitost pojačava činjenica da su epigrafi svakog poglavlja pojedini odlomci Emili Dikinson koji su i u najlucidnijim trenucima skloni mistično-neshvatljivom. Dodatno je važno i zahteva izvesnu pažnju tokom čitanja to što se određeni lajtmotivi - ptica rođena s jednim krilom, leptiri itd. - ponavljaju u različitim kontekstima od strane različitih likova I NISU NEBITNI tj. autorka nas uporno gura prema jednom određenom zaključku koji, međutim, neće da nam eksplicitno saopšti.
Jedna od lepših i uspelijih lajtmotivskih struktura (? može li ovako da se kaže? može, moj GR nalog moja prćija) jeste više puta ponovljena situacija u kojoj neko B. Dž-u ispriča neku priču, a on onda kaže otprilike: "Ah, pa ja znam tu priču. Samo što u njoj nije bio kralj nego trgovac i nisu bili prestoli nego kavezi i nisu bile sirene nego kojot. Ali osim toga, bila je to ista priča" i što je najlepše, svaki put je u pravu: on prepoznaje dubinsku strukturu priče, ne njenu promenljivu i plutajuću ikonografiju. I kako je više čitalaca primetilo u komentarima (nikad mi to ne bi palo na pamet), dubinska struktura Sare Keneri je ista kao u Čarobnjaku iz Oza, s tim što se ne treba upinjati da se doslovno mapiraju likovi iz jedne knjige na likove iz druge.
I još jedan nagoveštaj za kraj: ako mene neko pita, ključ Sarine misterije može se prepoznati u jednoj od brojnih umetnutih priča, konkretno onoj koju B. Dž.-u priča indijansko ćebe dok leprša na vetru oko svoje vlasnice. Ali - i u tome je još jedna od lepota ove knjige i njen finalni okretaj zavrtnja - možda se zapravo radi o klasičnoj navlakuši u kojoj nas autorka mami da Saru smestimo u naš, savremeni kontekst, da je iz njega protumačimo i tako pogrešimo na isti način kao i njeni savremenici.
U stvari, za kraj još ovo: sem što pruža mnogo povoda za razmišljanje, Sara Keneri je i pedantan i često brutalan prikaz života u SAD toga doba, i melanholična studija mirenja sa sopstvenim nedostacima i gubitkom, i uopšte jedan pet plus od knjige kad se sve sabere.
February 7, 2016
First, I didn't know Karen Joy Fowler had written so many books.
Second, this one is as different from the only other one I've read by her, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves as it's possible to be - leading me to think her repertoire is appealingly eclectic.
Third, it's fantastic, especially if you like:
1) quirkiness, lots of humour
2) picaresque (sort of; it's episodic and adventuresome at least)
3) historical fiction, with
4) a post-modern twist (many twists)
5) summarizing interjections of real history that illuminate the narrative like little jewels
6) plus same goes for Emily Dickinson epigraphs heading each chapter
7) the year 1873 (it seems to have been a doozy)
8) myth - subtle, unobtrusive but definitive, which offers also
9) a meta- and sly wink to storytelling more generally
10) a fantastically strong cast of characters who really bond with and love on another despite their vast differences, revolving around the eponymous Sarah Canary - whom we never really meet, but who acts as a foil and catalyst for all the action
11) PNW setting, dripping with rain, populated by seals, mermaids and dragons - and lots of fleas (!)
12) a layered, subtle social commentary about misogyny and racism
People have called this a re-telling of The Wizard of Oz, but I didn't get that at all. Also, I have no idea what is sci-fi about it, tho' it seems to have been Nebula-nominated (there's some myth and fantastical story elements, but nowhere did this read as sci-fi to me). Please to edumacate me in comments, if you get either of these references.
Super-worthwhile read.
Second, this one is as different from the only other one I've read by her, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves as it's possible to be - leading me to think her repertoire is appealingly eclectic.
Third, it's fantastic, especially if you like:
1) quirkiness, lots of humour
2) picaresque (sort of; it's episodic and adventuresome at least)
3) historical fiction, with
4) a post-modern twist (many twists)
5) summarizing interjections of real history that illuminate the narrative like little jewels
6) plus same goes for Emily Dickinson epigraphs heading each chapter
7) the year 1873 (it seems to have been a doozy)
8) myth - subtle, unobtrusive but definitive, which offers also
9) a meta- and sly wink to storytelling more generally
10) a fantastically strong cast of characters who really bond with and love on another despite their vast differences, revolving around the eponymous Sarah Canary - whom we never really meet, but who acts as a foil and catalyst for all the action
11) PNW setting, dripping with rain, populated by seals, mermaids and dragons - and lots of fleas (!)
12) a layered, subtle social commentary about misogyny and racism
People have called this a re-telling of The Wizard of Oz, but I didn't get that at all. Also, I have no idea what is sci-fi about it, tho' it seems to have been Nebula-nominated (there's some myth and fantastical story elements, but nowhere did this read as sci-fi to me). Please to edumacate me in comments, if you get either of these references.
Super-worthwhile read.
September 6, 2016
Mystified. I'm completely mystified. Clearly I missed something. Why is this listed as SF? And why was it a Tiptree nominee? What did I miss?
A woman wanders into Chin's camp. His uncle decides that Chin should take her to a nearby asylum; both men fear that she might be an enchantress or an immortal. Along the way, the woman later called Sarah Canary (she doesn't speak except in nonsense sounds) repeatedly slips in and out of Chin's life as he desperately tries to care for her without understanding his own motivations. Along the way he picks up a couple of other people; all of the people involved seem to orbit around Sarah.
It's really very strange and I'm absolutely sure that I missed something. Hopefully my reading buddy has some insight.
A woman wanders into Chin's camp. His uncle decides that Chin should take her to a nearby asylum; both men fear that she might be an enchantress or an immortal. Along the way, the woman later called Sarah Canary (she doesn't speak except in nonsense sounds) repeatedly slips in and out of Chin's life as he desperately tries to care for her without understanding his own motivations. Along the way he picks up a couple of other people; all of the people involved seem to orbit around Sarah.
It's really very strange and I'm absolutely sure that I missed something. Hopefully my reading buddy has some insight.
July 25, 2020
Well, Scotti, thanks for bringing me back to the familiar after that unconventional little interlude in another world. I'm not sure I can sufficiently capture this unusual read, but here goes.
An odd woman (ghost? supernatural being? demented escapee from an insane asylum? refugee from an animal pack who raised her from birth?) mysteriously appears from nowhere, and begins attracting followers/protectors/obsessers like a string of planets trapped in her orbit. Who is she? What is she? Where does she belong? What should they do with her?
Her circling planets include Chin, a Chinese man driven to find answers and a positive outcome, without fully understanding why, and BJ, a cling-0n escapee from the mental asylum Sarah and Chin were fleeing. Chin has brains and wisdom and can problem-solve, but because of the prejudices of the time must do so by feeding ideas through BJ's mouth (his white companion), in a wild-west twisted version of Cyrano de Bergerac. BJ, on the other hand, was a transplanted Sheldon (Big Bang Theory) on steroids. "I heard a story like this once....only instead of a closet, he lived in a tower, and instead of toy horses, he had books and lots and lots of wonderful toys and a magic rug, and instead of having trouble walking, he was completely lame, and instead of being alone, he had a godmother who loved him." BJ, who heard stories from blankets and was never sure if he was actually real or not, was a hoot.
As this ragtag group of misfits ran into each other in a variety of ways, the story touched on themes of mental illness, prejudice (race and gender), relationships and different-ness as it wove together humor, history and adventure in a very unique way.
What was this book? I don't know for sure, but this passage at the ending seemed to sum up our own individual takes on what we'd read, and life in general. A "smart" book, disguised as a farce.
What we say occupies a very thin surface, like the skin over a body of water. Beneath this, through the water itself, is what we see, sometimes clearly if the water is calm, sometimes vaguely if the water is troubled, and we imagine this vision to be the truth, clear or vague. But beneath this is yet another level. This is the level of what is and this level has nothing to do with what we say or what we see."
Perhaps the reason BJ had to look for outward signs he existed.
An odd woman (ghost? supernatural being? demented escapee from an insane asylum? refugee from an animal pack who raised her from birth?) mysteriously appears from nowhere, and begins attracting followers/protectors/obsessers like a string of planets trapped in her orbit. Who is she? What is she? Where does she belong? What should they do with her?
Her circling planets include Chin, a Chinese man driven to find answers and a positive outcome, without fully understanding why, and BJ, a cling-0n escapee from the mental asylum Sarah and Chin were fleeing. Chin has brains and wisdom and can problem-solve, but because of the prejudices of the time must do so by feeding ideas through BJ's mouth (his white companion), in a wild-west twisted version of Cyrano de Bergerac. BJ, on the other hand, was a transplanted Sheldon (Big Bang Theory) on steroids. "I heard a story like this once....only instead of a closet, he lived in a tower, and instead of toy horses, he had books and lots and lots of wonderful toys and a magic rug, and instead of having trouble walking, he was completely lame, and instead of being alone, he had a godmother who loved him." BJ, who heard stories from blankets and was never sure if he was actually real or not, was a hoot.
As this ragtag group of misfits ran into each other in a variety of ways, the story touched on themes of mental illness, prejudice (race and gender), relationships and different-ness as it wove together humor, history and adventure in a very unique way.
What was this book? I don't know for sure, but this passage at the ending seemed to sum up our own individual takes on what we'd read, and life in general. A "smart" book, disguised as a farce.
What we say occupies a very thin surface, like the skin over a body of water. Beneath this, through the water itself, is what we see, sometimes clearly if the water is calm, sometimes vaguely if the water is troubled, and we imagine this vision to be the truth, clear or vague. But beneath this is yet another level. This is the level of what is and this level has nothing to do with what we say or what we see."
Perhaps the reason BJ had to look for outward signs he existed.
June 11, 2008
The Jane Austen Book Club somewhat misrepresents Karen Joy Fowler's prowess as a storyteller. Sarah Canary is her first novel, and it's riveting, mystical, gorgeous...a mysterious mute woman wanders into a 19th century Washington railworkers camp and gets misplaced when the Chinese laborer who finds her attempts to escort her to an insane asylum. I have no idea what else to say about it except that you should read it immediately!
January 15, 2016
Sarah Canary, wearing a battered but fashionable black dress, appears out of thin air to Chin in the archetypal forest of the American west. Initially, he mistakes her for the "ghost lover," who will abduct him for an enchanted evening of love and return him a century later in human years, leaving him prosperous beyond his wildest dreams. Instead, Sarah Canary is a totally addled, ugly white woman. Is she a crazy woman? A traumatized victim, left to roam the woods? Someone's lost, mentally challenged daughter? No one knows. Eventually, Sarah and Chin end up in an asylum where they meet B.J., an inmate who is sporadically insightful despite his general confusion. The newly formed trio resume their journey, and encounter a showman named Harold who has just purchased a mermaid for his act. Unbeknownst to him, the mermaid is a fraud, fashioned from a monkey. Harold, however, does not become one of Sarah Canary's loyal companions. Instead, Adelaide, a suffragette who fears the conventional roles of women--lover, wife, mother--joins Sarah Canary's merry band of followers. Harold develops a love/hate relationship with Sarah. Just when it looks like he will destroy her, she vanishes into thin air. She comes from nothing, and she returns to nothing. Sarah Canary is "like a sleepwalker, passing through without malice or mercy...We dare not waken the dreamer. We, ourselves, are only her dreams."
...I heard a story like that once. Only instead of a woman in black, it was a girl in ruby slippers. And instead of a Chinese man looking for love, it was a tin man without a heart. Instead of a mental patient, it was a scarecrow without a brain. Instead of an insecure suffragette, it was a cowardly lion. Instead of a creepy mermaid, it was flying monkeys... Except for that, it was the same story.
...I heard a story like that once. Only instead of a woman in black, it was a girl in ruby slippers. And instead of a Chinese man looking for love, it was a tin man without a heart. Instead of a mental patient, it was a scarecrow without a brain. Instead of an insecure suffragette, it was a cowardly lion. Instead of a creepy mermaid, it was flying monkeys... Except for that, it was the same story.
August 24, 2007
A vividly imagined and charming retelling of the Wizard of Oz, with a liberal pinch of sci-fi thrown in the mix. Fowler reimagines Dorothy, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Straw Man as Old West characters that romp their way through the Pacific Coast, San Fransico's Chinatown and numerous frontier towns. Along the way they butt up against an appropriate Wicked Witch of the West character,but continue on in pursuit of their individual and mutual dreams (just like the film). One suggestion: don't read the Epilogue, in fact, tear it out and forget it was ever there. Trust me on this. A very enjoyable read.
January 13, 2017
2,5/5 This book was not what I expected, it is a story about feminism, post war America, Indians and Chinese working in railroads, mental illness... I still love her writing very much but I must say that I was bored during the second half of the book...
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
October 5, 2018DNF'ing at page 100. I gave this a good try, but it just would not click with me. It felt meandering and rather glib about awful stuff, and what was the point?
August 22, 2011
WHY I READ THIS BOOK
Fowler is best known as the author of "The Jane Austen Book Club." Based on that book, I had dismissed the author as a chick lit writer and never so much as glanced at her other work.
Several months ago, there was an ongoing online discussion about why female authors were rarely nominated for a certain sci-fi book award. (Unfortunately, I didn't bookmark any of the articles, and now I can't find them.) As a result of that discussion, some well-known authors posted lists of what they considered underappreciated sci-fi books by female authors, and "Sarah Canary" was on one of those lists.
Fowler wrote sci-fi? Really? Yup. In fact, she began her writing career publishing sci-fi short stories. (Artificial Things, 1986) My understanding, though, is that she doesn't write hard sci-fi with spaceships and robots and such. Wikipedia defines her style as "eccentric tales of implausible history." I guess it's more like science fantasy.
MY THOUGHTS ABOUT "SARAH CANARY"
Oh. my. goodness. Wow.
And to think I might have missed this book based on a false assumption about the author.
"Sarah Canary" completely captivated me. It is very well-written in every way, from grammatical styling to story structure. And it has so many different angles - a fantastical journey that is a metaphor or a fable; examination of cultural differences and feminism; legends and history.
As soon as I finished it, I wanted to read it again. There is so much going on in this book that I could read it over and over to analyze it and dissect it.
I wish I could say something incredible to convince you to read this, but I really can't find the words except to say this: "Sarah Canary" is a treasure and I highly recommend it.
Fowler is best known as the author of "The Jane Austen Book Club." Based on that book, I had dismissed the author as a chick lit writer and never so much as glanced at her other work.
Several months ago, there was an ongoing online discussion about why female authors were rarely nominated for a certain sci-fi book award. (Unfortunately, I didn't bookmark any of the articles, and now I can't find them.) As a result of that discussion, some well-known authors posted lists of what they considered underappreciated sci-fi books by female authors, and "Sarah Canary" was on one of those lists.
Fowler wrote sci-fi? Really? Yup. In fact, she began her writing career publishing sci-fi short stories. (Artificial Things, 1986) My understanding, though, is that she doesn't write hard sci-fi with spaceships and robots and such. Wikipedia defines her style as "eccentric tales of implausible history." I guess it's more like science fantasy.
MY THOUGHTS ABOUT "SARAH CANARY"
Oh. my. goodness. Wow.
And to think I might have missed this book based on a false assumption about the author.
"Sarah Canary" completely captivated me. It is very well-written in every way, from grammatical styling to story structure. And it has so many different angles - a fantastical journey that is a metaphor or a fable; examination of cultural differences and feminism; legends and history.
As soon as I finished it, I wanted to read it again. There is so much going on in this book that I could read it over and over to analyze it and dissect it.
I wish I could say something incredible to convince you to read this, but I really can't find the words except to say this: "Sarah Canary" is a treasure and I highly recommend it.
July 20, 2012
When I first read this book I hated it, but after thinking about it for awhile I think its one of my favorite books. It's very odd and has an almost 19 hundreds circus feel too it. I would highly suggest reading it.
I read this for my AP english class and everyone in my class picked out the obvious topics in the book like race and gender in the 1800s but I skipped past all the and saw the real mystery. There was such a strange feeling that came with reading the book and I think that's why I hated it so much when I first read it. It confused me and put my mind in a state of distraction. I wanted to know who this Sarah Canary was and why she was there but of course at the end nothing is answered, not to mention my favorite character was killed.
But deffinitly read this book, it's weird and fasinating and wonderful.
I read this for my AP english class and everyone in my class picked out the obvious topics in the book like race and gender in the 1800s but I skipped past all the and saw the real mystery. There was such a strange feeling that came with reading the book and I think that's why I hated it so much when I first read it. It confused me and put my mind in a state of distraction. I wanted to know who this Sarah Canary was and why she was there but of course at the end nothing is answered, not to mention my favorite character was killed.
But deffinitly read this book, it's weird and fasinating and wonderful.
February 14, 2011
Now this book will rattle any feminist. Told from a historical standpoint of about 1873 it is full of antecedents about the treatment and psychological and physical characteristics of women. I have a feeling a lot of it is meant as black satire however it leaves an unsettling feeling in the pit of your stomach remembering how far women have come.
Having finished it now, definitely satire, and if taken in a different light quite funny too. I really enjoyed her opening couple of pages to each chapter that highlighted a current news event for the time period.
Having finished it now, definitely satire, and if taken in a different light quite funny too. I really enjoyed her opening couple of pages to each chapter that highlighted a current news event for the time period.
February 8, 2016
I’m not sure what to make of this dreamlike story. This is an exciting, wild, sometimes fractured woman chase, and the chasers are a wild team of men and one woman with varying levels of sanity and cultures laced with superstitions and myths. The wild woman they pursue is called Sarah Canary.
I’m a one-book-at-a-time reader who likes to sink into a story and read it straight through. Unfortunately I was constantly interrupted during my reading of this book, and it is a testament to the writing that I was as frustrated as I was. I had to restart many times and I often had trouble recalling who people were. And the details in this book are important.
My introduction to Karen Joy Fowler’s work was her novel We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves; it made me want to read all her other books. Sarah Canary is a very different creation—a historical novel that shows, from a sly writer’s perspective, the unfair plight of women and animals in our culture, and the unclear nature of truth:
I resonate with this quote. I understand it. But in this book I’m not sure what Fowler said or what I saw. Nevertheless, it was an interesting ride and I still want to read all of Fowler’s books.
I’m a one-book-at-a-time reader who likes to sink into a story and read it straight through. Unfortunately I was constantly interrupted during my reading of this book, and it is a testament to the writing that I was as frustrated as I was. I had to restart many times and I often had trouble recalling who people were. And the details in this book are important.
My introduction to Karen Joy Fowler’s work was her novel We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves; it made me want to read all her other books. Sarah Canary is a very different creation—a historical novel that shows, from a sly writer’s perspective, the unfair plight of women and animals in our culture, and the unclear nature of truth:
A man says something. Sometimes it turns out to be the truth, but this has nothing to do with the man who says it. What we say occupies a very thin surface, like the skin over a body of water. Beneath this, through the water itself, is what we see, sometimes clearly if the water is calm, sometimes vaguely if the water is troubled, and we imagine this vision to be the truth, clear or vague. But beneath this is yet another level. This is the level of what is and this level has nothing to do with what we say or what we see.
I resonate with this quote. I understand it. But in this book I’m not sure what Fowler said or what I saw. Nevertheless, it was an interesting ride and I still want to read all of Fowler’s books.
January 27, 2014
A beautifully written, philosophical work set in late nineteenth century America that explores issues of racism, sexism, mental illness and exploitation of the time.
Sarah Canary, so named by one of the central characters of the story, appears out of nowhere to blaze a path through Northwest America and the lives of the people she encounters despite not being able to understand anyone, nor speak intelligibly herself. Her origin remains a mystery throughout and it never becomes clear why she seems to have such a magnetic effect on those she meets, nor why everyone she encounters seem to project their own ideas about who or what she is.
I'm not so sure this is even a science fiction story at all although I accept it is one possible interpretation. I just think there is very little in the story itself to suggest this interpretation in particular. Whether Sarah Canary is or is not an alien doesn't really matter though, the important thing is the effect that she has on the lives of the characters she encounters and the way they come to understand themselves.
So, all in all a very good book marred only slightly by a somewhat weak sense of direction. I am definitely keen on trying something else she has written.
Sarah Canary, so named by one of the central characters of the story, appears out of nowhere to blaze a path through Northwest America and the lives of the people she encounters despite not being able to understand anyone, nor speak intelligibly herself. Her origin remains a mystery throughout and it never becomes clear why she seems to have such a magnetic effect on those she meets, nor why everyone she encounters seem to project their own ideas about who or what she is.
I'm not so sure this is even a science fiction story at all although I accept it is one possible interpretation. I just think there is very little in the story itself to suggest this interpretation in particular. Whether Sarah Canary is or is not an alien doesn't really matter though, the important thing is the effect that she has on the lives of the characters she encounters and the way they come to understand themselves.
So, all in all a very good book marred only slightly by a somewhat weak sense of direction. I am definitely keen on trying something else she has written.
June 4, 2016
What a strange story! Who or what was Sarah Canary? Was she a woman, a phantom, a ghost? Was she real or unreal or supernatural? Was this a myth, a fairy tale, or a dream? Who were these people that Sarah Canary brought into contact in 1873 or thereabouts? Chin, Tom, BJ, and Adelaide and others were all interesting characters, but this was more Chin's story. But all were fascinating characters.
There are 19 chapters, each beginning with a poem by Emily Dickenson, and eleven interludes. The interludes provide factual information about strange and weird but true events. The chapters tell the story of Chin after he finds himself responsible for Sarah Canary. Chin, a Chinese man, is everyone's scapegoat, except for Tom, BJ and Adelaide. He assumes responsibility for Sarah Canary, and he finds himself in scrape after scrape as he tracks her down and saves here from such potential disasters as live in a lunatic asylum and a stint as a wild woman. But we never learn anything about Sarah Canary. She appears and disappears.
I do not know why this was a finalist for a nebula award and is often classed as science fiction. It was like a fairy tale for me. And it was full of fairy tales and myths. I enjoyed it.
There are 19 chapters, each beginning with a poem by Emily Dickenson, and eleven interludes. The interludes provide factual information about strange and weird but true events. The chapters tell the story of Chin after he finds himself responsible for Sarah Canary. Chin, a Chinese man, is everyone's scapegoat, except for Tom, BJ and Adelaide. He assumes responsibility for Sarah Canary, and he finds himself in scrape after scrape as he tracks her down and saves here from such potential disasters as live in a lunatic asylum and a stint as a wild woman. But we never learn anything about Sarah Canary. She appears and disappears.
I do not know why this was a finalist for a nebula award and is often classed as science fiction. It was like a fairy tale for me. And it was full of fairy tales and myths. I enjoyed it.
August 26, 2024
3.5 stars.
Who is Sarah Canary ? A mermaid? A wild woman was raised by wolves? An immortal or something else? Find out your own answers of who is Sarah Canary is the point of the book.
Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler is her debut novel. It is hard to pin down Sarah Canary is a pure history fiction or Science fiction or other genre? The book seems to be a mixture of the both genres, or just a pure fantasy. Like Sarah Canary is a character who it is hard to discern of her true identity, this book also is hard to be described what exactly the story is about? It seems like characters are bonded with each others but lived in a dismal period of history time; their behaviors or actions seem to be around with Sarah Canary’s mysterious identity. Those characters’s stories were slowly intertwined with the most enigmatic figure in the novel; each chapters has the fair tales or mythos are seemingly connected to the mystic figure, Sarah Canary, and the vibe of the each characters’s backgrounds. It is interesting to see a story has more layers than a simple history story.
I think the motif which is common about characters were involved with a central character who is an unsolved enigma in the story. Sarah Carany also uses the formula but adds some interesting twists and turns, the telling of the story is quite compelling to read, and those tales were recounted by the characters are retinue to the background story which those characters were living.
The story is A white woman who wandered into a Chinese railroad camp. Chin’s uncle has demanded him to take the woman to the asylum. Although, Chin took the woman, Sarah Canary away from the asylum, one person who called J.B was accompanied him on the road to intermittently recapturing Sarah Canary, encountering with the other eccentric characters and events.
The story permeated a subtle discomfort feeling to readers, the story is not a smooth read for sure. I think the story tells the stereotypes of Chinese cultures and Chinamen. Even though it tries to be related to the history of China still I found it a bit amusing to see the stereotypes of Chinamen in the story. I wasn’t surprised at all about the stereotypes as it is profoundly common to see these kind of things in English written books. The story at some point is convenient to pick up the plots, for the central character Sarah Canary is like a magnet attracts the characters together.
Overall, it is an interesting book to read, the ending is for you readers to decide what had actually happened to Sarah Canary.
Who is Sarah Canary ? A mermaid? A wild woman was raised by wolves? An immortal or something else? Find out your own answers of who is Sarah Canary is the point of the book.
Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler is her debut novel. It is hard to pin down Sarah Canary is a pure history fiction or Science fiction or other genre? The book seems to be a mixture of the both genres, or just a pure fantasy. Like Sarah Canary is a character who it is hard to discern of her true identity, this book also is hard to be described what exactly the story is about? It seems like characters are bonded with each others but lived in a dismal period of history time; their behaviors or actions seem to be around with Sarah Canary’s mysterious identity. Those characters’s stories were slowly intertwined with the most enigmatic figure in the novel; each chapters has the fair tales or mythos are seemingly connected to the mystic figure, Sarah Canary, and the vibe of the each characters’s backgrounds. It is interesting to see a story has more layers than a simple history story.
I think the motif which is common about characters were involved with a central character who is an unsolved enigma in the story. Sarah Carany also uses the formula but adds some interesting twists and turns, the telling of the story is quite compelling to read, and those tales were recounted by the characters are retinue to the background story which those characters were living.
The story is A white woman who wandered into a Chinese railroad camp. Chin’s uncle has demanded him to take the woman to the asylum. Although, Chin took the woman, Sarah Canary away from the asylum, one person who called J.B was accompanied him on the road to intermittently recapturing Sarah Canary, encountering with the other eccentric characters and events.
The story permeated a subtle discomfort feeling to readers, the story is not a smooth read for sure. I think the story tells the stereotypes of Chinese cultures and Chinamen. Even though it tries to be related to the history of China still I found it a bit amusing to see the stereotypes of Chinamen in the story. I wasn’t surprised at all about the stereotypes as it is profoundly common to see these kind of things in English written books. The story at some point is convenient to pick up the plots, for the central character Sarah Canary is like a magnet attracts the characters together.
Overall, it is an interesting book to read, the ending is for you readers to decide what had actually happened to Sarah Canary.
November 2, 2010
Throughout this novel, I--like several of the characters--wondered why everyone kept chasing after the mysterious Sarah Canary, when she seemed to bring nothing but trouble and gave nothing in return. Indeed, toward the end I also found myself wondering why I kept reading the book. I did develop an extreme fondness for Chin, the Chinaman who first sets off with Sarah Canary and finds more adventure than he bargained for. Also, I did enjoy the introductory section to each chapter, where Fowler summarizes several contemporary real events that prove truth can indeed be stranger than fiction. On the whole, though, I was glad to be done with the book and move on to something more enjoyable.
June 11, 2022
I am not sure why this is classified as science fiction...there was no science involved, maybe people assumed Sarah was an alien? To me, it was more of a mystery who she was, as she seemed to be different things to each character.
August 7, 2019
I know this story. Only, instead of Chin Ah Kin, a Chinese immigrant who reluctantly sets off on an epic journey to protect the strange, otherworldly woman who crosses his path, it was a handsome prince. And instead of B.J., a gentle madman who accompanies him on his quest, it was a brave little jester. And instead of strange, otherworldly Sarah Canary (who may be, but almost certainly is not a demon, an enchantress, a mermaid, a wild woman raised by wolves, or a notorious murderess on the lam), it was the Pied Piper, who leads everyone who gets caught up in her wake to their doom – or, if they are truly worthy, a kind of transcendence.
Except for that, it was exactly the same story….
This is one darn peculiar book. And I mean that in a good, and thoroughly admiring way. If I was commanded to try to sum it up -- put up against a wall, say, and threatened with being mauled by a tiger (this actually happens …) if I didn’t -- I would say that it is the story of America, told from the perspective of those whose stories have usually been ignored and airbrushed away. But through the magic of Sarah Canary, for once we hear a version of those stories – from the reviled immigrant labourer, from the young man whose take on reality is skewed just a little off-center, from the voiceless women, from the Native Americans. Everyone who has had to hide behind an alien culture, struggle into alien clothes, and even adopt alien names, just to survive.
As usual, Fowler’s story (and its meanings) is multi-layered: a story about “otherness,” which recognizes that nothing is simple: the marginalized are quite capable of great cruelty and exploitation of those who are a little lower down the pecking order from them. A story about “civilization,” and how very uncivilized it can be. A story about story-telling, and its power to make sense of the most absurd situations.
And as usual, Fowler’s writing is a delight: dreamlike and funny. The “plot” may seem to take a while to get going but, if you’re like me, you will suddenly realize that it’s been there all along. That you, too, have been swept along in the churning wake of Sarah Canary, and nothing will seem quite the same again.
Except for that, it was exactly the same story….
This is one darn peculiar book. And I mean that in a good, and thoroughly admiring way. If I was commanded to try to sum it up -- put up against a wall, say, and threatened with being mauled by a tiger (this actually happens …) if I didn’t -- I would say that it is the story of America, told from the perspective of those whose stories have usually been ignored and airbrushed away. But through the magic of Sarah Canary, for once we hear a version of those stories – from the reviled immigrant labourer, from the young man whose take on reality is skewed just a little off-center, from the voiceless women, from the Native Americans. Everyone who has had to hide behind an alien culture, struggle into alien clothes, and even adopt alien names, just to survive.
As usual, Fowler’s story (and its meanings) is multi-layered: a story about “otherness,” which recognizes that nothing is simple: the marginalized are quite capable of great cruelty and exploitation of those who are a little lower down the pecking order from them. A story about “civilization,” and how very uncivilized it can be. A story about story-telling, and its power to make sense of the most absurd situations.
And as usual, Fowler’s writing is a delight: dreamlike and funny. The “plot” may seem to take a while to get going but, if you’re like me, you will suddenly realize that it’s been there all along. That you, too, have been swept along in the churning wake of Sarah Canary, and nothing will seem quite the same again.
August 11, 2014
I do not know what to make of this book. I suspected I wasn't going to enjoy it, since I haven't enjoyed other stuff by Karen Joy Fowler, but that's not exactly what happened. I did get caught up in the story, intrigued by the mystery of Sarah Canary. At the same time, I felt like it was one of a type of novel I don't get on very well with, something very opaque, where motivations aren't clear and things just happen to the characters as if they are just giving themselves over to whichever way life pushes them.
Not that there's anything particularly wrong with that kind of story, it just doesn't really do anything for me. Well, I'm sure there are exceptions, but this wasn't one -- the best I can say is that I read it very quickly, I had no intention of stopping, and I did find it interesting. Partially because of the genre-twisty is-this-SF question about it, rather than because of it -- ambiguous stories don't bother me, but the combination of style and character here did.
On the other hand, I did like the portrayal of B.J. For all that he's clearly "not all there" in colloquial terms, he's good at heart and the way he sees the world makes for an interesting point of view. The passages from his point of view were maybe the best in the novel, for me.
Not that there's anything particularly wrong with that kind of story, it just doesn't really do anything for me. Well, I'm sure there are exceptions, but this wasn't one -- the best I can say is that I read it very quickly, I had no intention of stopping, and I did find it interesting. Partially because of the genre-twisty is-this-SF question about it, rather than because of it -- ambiguous stories don't bother me, but the combination of style and character here did.
On the other hand, I did like the portrayal of B.J. For all that he's clearly "not all there" in colloquial terms, he's good at heart and the way he sees the world makes for an interesting point of view. The passages from his point of view were maybe the best in the novel, for me.
July 25, 2020
What a story! A very unique telling of American Wild West in 1870s. We have an unusual combination of characters - a Chinese labourer, a Forest Gump, an ideological suffragette, a mysterious mad woman, and a morally ambiguous immortal.
I like the two numbering systems in the book - chapters in Arabic numbers tell the main story, while chapters in Roman numbers provide historical facts. Did Karen Joy Fowler study history and Eastern culture before she became a writer? She certainly has done a superb research. This historical fiction is a reminder that not so long ago women were not allowed to vote, racism was the norm and mental health sufferers were treated worse than prisoners.
3.5 stars - The writer writes in a detached way, which probably won't work for readers who expect stronger emotional involvement, but I like it. However, the ending could have been stronger.
I like the two numbering systems in the book - chapters in Arabic numbers tell the main story, while chapters in Roman numbers provide historical facts. Did Karen Joy Fowler study history and Eastern culture before she became a writer? She certainly has done a superb research. This historical fiction is a reminder that not so long ago women were not allowed to vote, racism was the norm and mental health sufferers were treated worse than prisoners.
3.5 stars - The writer writes in a detached way, which probably won't work for readers who expect stronger emotional involvement, but I like it. However, the ending could have been stronger.
May 5, 2015
Having had my socks blown off by We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, I picked this off my shelf wondering if it would stand up to a backwards look, or if it would come across as a lesser early work.
It was the former. The traits that make WAACBO amazing - the compassion, the comfort with ambiguity, the sense of the liminal, the delightful nuggets of research that never become overbearing but serve the story the way capers serve the pasta - are all present here as well. I find myself quite intimidated by Fowler. And excited to fill in more of the gaps in my reading of her.
It was the former. The traits that make WAACBO amazing - the compassion, the comfort with ambiguity, the sense of the liminal, the delightful nuggets of research that never become overbearing but serve the story the way capers serve the pasta - are all present here as well. I find myself quite intimidated by Fowler. And excited to fill in more of the gaps in my reading of her.
Shelved as 'xx-dnf-skim-reference'
January 30, 2017Got to page 68. But I don't know how. Sure, the writing style is impressive, and the setting, with all the historical details, is intriguing. But the yuck factor is above my comfort level, and trying to read it as Satire only makes me feel more disturbed. And then I learn from other reviews that we never do learn more about the title character? Um, no, totally not for me.
(And, no, I don't agree with the Wizard of Oz comparison, even if we improve the accuracy as: Chin is the Questing, Homesick Dorothy, Sarah the Scatter-brained Scarecrow, and BJ the Lovelorn Tin Woodsman.)
(And, no, I don't agree with the Wizard of Oz comparison, even if we improve the accuracy as: Chin is the Questing, Homesick Dorothy, Sarah the Scatter-brained Scarecrow, and BJ the Lovelorn Tin Woodsman.)
August 9, 2017
What a profoundly original and strange novel; a litmus test for a reader. Some elements actually reminded me of Fowler's masterpiece We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves; certainly, not knowing the twist is quite relevant.
I loved the interrupted news pieces and I loved the chorus of "I know a story like this one".
But it took me ages, literally months, to finish it, because for all my love for Fowler's talent... I can't even describe how much or explain why I hate picaresque novels.
I loved the interrupted news pieces and I loved the chorus of "I know a story like this one".
But it took me ages, literally months, to finish it, because for all my love for Fowler's talent... I can't even describe how much or explain why I hate picaresque novels.
June 26, 2010
It is a widely accepted fact that our passions and interests are not evenly distributed among the eras of human history. Some prefer tales of neolithic courage; others are interested in ancient Greece, Ilium, Rome. I have a soft spot for medieval and Tudor England; even Victorian England has its allure. Late 19th-century America, not so much. I do not avoid books set in that time, nor do I go out of my way to read them.
The atmosphere of Sarah Canary's time period holds little appeal for me. Asylums and steamboats . . . carnivals and freakshows . . . a time where the frontier of the Wild West has been settled, but not yet successfully civilized. Amid all these distractions, we have a migrant Chinese railroad worker, an escaped asylum inmate, and a woman with no identity, no personality, no intelligible voice.
I should say at this point that Sarah Canary is not what I expected at all—and that is fine. Actually, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I was not expecting the mix of mystery and magical realism that Fowler delivers. What starts as a slow, almost plodding quest to discover the nature of Sarah Canary metamorphoses into an interstate adventure. Sarah Canary passes through a quixotic chain of custody, and each of her keepers have their own motivations for helping her. Chin thinks that she is an immortal, and thus it is his duty to help. BJ seems to be along for the ride. Harold wants to profit off of Sarah Canary, billing her as the "Alaskan Wild Woman." Adelaide Dixon mistakes Sarah Canary for a murderer.
Sarah Canary is the thread common to all these people's lives, the nexus that brings them together in a grand chase stretching from Steilacoom, Washington all the way to San Francisco, California. Of all the strange characters who populate this narrative, Sarah is perhaps the least well-defined, because she has no voice. Instead, she is like negative space in a painting, her shape defined by those around her. Is she a wild woman? An escaped murder? A poor, innocent, insane woman? Or an immortal, seeking acts of human kindness?
Discovering the truth about Sarah Canary is never the point of this novel. We learn very little that is definite about this woman—if indeed she is a woman—but she has a very definite impact on the characters' lives. Chin travels down the West Coast for her, dragging BJ in his tow. His actions are at times questionable, even illegal, and usually dangerous. Harold, perhaps the most delusional character (bar none), looks to Sarah Canary for quick cash and discovers his own immortality. Adelaide seeks to use Sarah Canary for her own purposes and nearly ends up a tiger's lunch.
So yeah, I'm calling MacGuffin on Sarah Canary. She's a plot device that creates the convergence of characters, the motivation for all the events in the novel. And there is nothing wrong with that, although I wish the characters in question were somewhat more three-dimensional.
By and large I enjoyed Fowler's characterization. Chin and BJ have an interesting dynamic. Both of them are somewhat outsiders from society, and they each have an interesting perspective on the world: Chin's is coloured by his Chinese heritage, full of Confucian metaphor and mythical messages; BJ, high-functioning but still not quite there, liberally mixes fact and fiction. Personality quirks aside, however, the characters never fully rise above the archetypes they represent. In particular, Adelaide is a tireless campaigner for women's rights . . . and that's about all. The characters have personalities but not fully-developed personae.
Sarah Canary didn't leave me awestruck, but it did touch me—especially the ending. Chin's reflection on the nature of story and the role of reader is poignant and true. That being said, what was up with that epilogue?
The atmosphere of Sarah Canary's time period holds little appeal for me. Asylums and steamboats . . . carnivals and freakshows . . . a time where the frontier of the Wild West has been settled, but not yet successfully civilized. Amid all these distractions, we have a migrant Chinese railroad worker, an escaped asylum inmate, and a woman with no identity, no personality, no intelligible voice.
I should say at this point that Sarah Canary is not what I expected at all—and that is fine. Actually, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I was not expecting the mix of mystery and magical realism that Fowler delivers. What starts as a slow, almost plodding quest to discover the nature of Sarah Canary metamorphoses into an interstate adventure. Sarah Canary passes through a quixotic chain of custody, and each of her keepers have their own motivations for helping her. Chin thinks that she is an immortal, and thus it is his duty to help. BJ seems to be along for the ride. Harold wants to profit off of Sarah Canary, billing her as the "Alaskan Wild Woman." Adelaide Dixon mistakes Sarah Canary for a murderer.
Sarah Canary is the thread common to all these people's lives, the nexus that brings them together in a grand chase stretching from Steilacoom, Washington all the way to San Francisco, California. Of all the strange characters who populate this narrative, Sarah is perhaps the least well-defined, because she has no voice. Instead, she is like negative space in a painting, her shape defined by those around her. Is she a wild woman? An escaped murder? A poor, innocent, insane woman? Or an immortal, seeking acts of human kindness?
Discovering the truth about Sarah Canary is never the point of this novel. We learn very little that is definite about this woman—if indeed she is a woman—but she has a very definite impact on the characters' lives. Chin travels down the West Coast for her, dragging BJ in his tow. His actions are at times questionable, even illegal, and usually dangerous. Harold, perhaps the most delusional character (bar none), looks to Sarah Canary for quick cash and discovers his own immortality. Adelaide seeks to use Sarah Canary for her own purposes and nearly ends up a tiger's lunch.
So yeah, I'm calling MacGuffin on Sarah Canary. She's a plot device that creates the convergence of characters, the motivation for all the events in the novel. And there is nothing wrong with that, although I wish the characters in question were somewhat more three-dimensional.
By and large I enjoyed Fowler's characterization. Chin and BJ have an interesting dynamic. Both of them are somewhat outsiders from society, and they each have an interesting perspective on the world: Chin's is coloured by his Chinese heritage, full of Confucian metaphor and mythical messages; BJ, high-functioning but still not quite there, liberally mixes fact and fiction. Personality quirks aside, however, the characters never fully rise above the archetypes they represent. In particular, Adelaide is a tireless campaigner for women's rights . . . and that's about all. The characters have personalities but not fully-developed personae.
Sarah Canary didn't leave me awestruck, but it did touch me—especially the ending. Chin's reflection on the nature of story and the role of reader is poignant and true. That being said, what was up with that epilogue?
July 5, 2012
I love that after the interspersed wonderful snippets of how weird and racist late 19th century America was Fowler ends by listing even more bizarre and terrible stuff that a historical novelist might select from the late 20th century (when the novel was written). Don't get the illusion that it's only people in the past that are fucked up. We're all inmates in the same mad house, just at different times.
Fowler is an amazing writer and had me in her grasp from line one. That said, the first chapters felt like linked short stories rather than a cohesive piece. I know this is her first novel so wondered perhaps if the book started out as short stories or if it just took her a bit to get going. They are good chapters regardless and once past them the book starts to flow, especially when the main characters are all together.
I don't know if I was as hooked on the mystery of Sarah Canary as I was supposed to be. Well, no, I just didn't care about the mystery of Sarah. I think the goal was to get the reader to project their own idea of what she was onto her blank slate, as did all the other characters in the book. But that strategy became clear early on, there isn't really anything there but Fowler's conceit (which, spoiler in my spoiler review may be completely sf makee upeee immortal male-female creature by the end or just mentally ill).
If Sarah's origins and particulars were the only thing going on then the book would be a failure, but there is so much more. There is Chin trying to survive the white demons (the racist white north-west folk), B.J. an escape mental patient, Adelaide Dixon an suffragette and the whole truly foreign landscape of the past that Fowler puts together in a way that is so off kilter as to be true.
So not a complete success for me, but miles ahead of your run of the mill historical-science-fictional book.
Fowler is an amazing writer and had me in her grasp from line one. That said, the first chapters felt like linked short stories rather than a cohesive piece. I know this is her first novel so wondered perhaps if the book started out as short stories or if it just took her a bit to get going. They are good chapters regardless and once past them the book starts to flow, especially when the main characters are all together.
I don't know if I was as hooked on the mystery of Sarah Canary as I was supposed to be. Well, no, I just didn't care about the mystery of Sarah. I think the goal was to get the reader to project their own idea of what she was onto her blank slate, as did all the other characters in the book. But that strategy became clear early on, there isn't really anything there but Fowler's conceit (which, spoiler in my spoiler review may be completely sf makee upeee immortal male-female creature by the end or just mentally ill).
If Sarah's origins and particulars were the only thing going on then the book would be a failure, but there is so much more. There is Chin trying to survive the white demons (the racist white north-west folk), B.J. an escape mental patient, Adelaide Dixon an suffragette and the whole truly foreign landscape of the past that Fowler puts together in a way that is so off kilter as to be true.
So not a complete success for me, but miles ahead of your run of the mill historical-science-fictional book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2019
My rating for Sarah Canary is a beneficiary of Goodreads' granularity problem; it's really a 4.5-star book. The writing is witty and engaging, and the characters are distinctive and memorable. Fowler's comedic timing is impeccable, in a way that punctuates the narrative flow, rather than being a digression. There's also enough social commentary to make me feel like maybe I'm learning something. I'm not sure the plot entirely makes sense, but I'm not sure it doesn't, either. Fowler's writing style is reminiscent of Flannery O'Connor, full of seemingly superficial observations that reveal greater insight. (Fowler doesn't have O'Connor's awe-inspiring genius, but no one else does either, so that's okay.) This among the best books I've read so far this year.
August 11, 2017
In the spring 1998, my honors seminar class read a collection of 19th century Continental European novels (
Madame Bovary
,
Anna Karenina
, and
Effie Briest
), all to discuss feminism, the historical context of same (esp. w/r/t/ marriage, suffrage, women-as-property, etc.), literary symbolism, literature as a vehicle for social change, how science can be perverted to do combat with that, and also how translations of these novels can be (and often are) fraught with their own problems.
Anyway, this book could have done the trick for all those topics except maybe the bit about translations.
The book has challenging moments. By the end of the novel, we have been introduced to many characters, and many plot threads have been woven together. As I closed the covers, I could not say with confidence that I had closure on every aspect. Perhaps I was not meant to? Regardless, the backdrop is colorful the way a physically rugged and socially bleak backdrop can be, and my imagination was often populated with images evocative of David Lynch or Jim Jarmusch films. (If you've seen Dead Man then you have an idea of what I'm talking about.)
via http://io9.com/361597/the-twenty-scie...
Anyway, this book could have done the trick for all those topics except maybe the bit about translations.
The book has challenging moments. By the end of the novel, we have been introduced to many characters, and many plot threads have been woven together. As I closed the covers, I could not say with confidence that I had closure on every aspect. Perhaps I was not meant to? Regardless, the backdrop is colorful the way a physically rugged and socially bleak backdrop can be, and my imagination was often populated with images evocative of David Lynch or Jim Jarmusch films. (If you've seen Dead Man then you have an idea of what I'm talking about.)
via http://io9.com/361597/the-twenty-scie...
June 18, 2007
After loving The Jane Austen Book Club so much, I was really expecting to love this, too; however, I found it disappointing. It's Fowler's first novel, published more than a decade before Book Club, and I guess it shows—Sarah Canary contains a great cast of characters, including a struggling feminist and a Chinese immigrant whom I loved, and it makes evocative use of its setting, the Pacific Northwest in the early 1870s. Yet nothing really seems to come of the various bar fights, the river boat chase, the escape from the mental institution, the kidnapping, or the tiger attack. I closed the book feeling like neither the actual plot nor—worse—the emotional plot had really resolved.
I'm still very interested in reading more of Fowler's work, because I love that she's willing to genre-blend and she creates really memorable characters. This book, however, felt like the efforts of a really interesting novelist that just utterly failed to work.
I'm still very interested in reading more of Fowler's work, because I love that she's willing to genre-blend and she creates really memorable characters. This book, however, felt like the efforts of a really interesting novelist that just utterly failed to work.
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