Just as in THE BIRD ARTIST, the book's essential tragedy is revealed in the first paragraphs.

I chose this book thinking it would reveal new perspectives on The Northern Lights;
instead, it centered on a movie theatre with the same name.

While the spare and descriptive sentences, notably about Lake Piwese, New Year's Eve,
and the making of quill baskets, was welcome, the story unfolded improbably. ( )

I picked this Canadian novel up sometime last year, but didn’t get round to reading it before my holiday there last autumn. It's the story of a boy growing up in an isolated part of Manitoba in the 1950s, living with his mother and younger cousin. His father is rarely at home as he spends most of the year on trips to survey and map the interior of Canada. Noah spends his summers staying with his friend Pelly in the small village of Quill about 90 miles from his home and this part of the story was extremely enjoyable.

The part set in Toronto wasn't so interesting, and the story just seemed to stop dead rather than being finished properly. Why go on so much about Mina's obsession with Noah's Ark when that thread of the story goes precisely nowhere? ( )