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In the Land of Birdfishes
This remarkable novel about myth-making and survival opens in rural Nova Scotia, where two sisters witness the suicide of their wild, beautiful mother. Their father, sick with grief, blindfolds the children to shield them from the misery of the world. Left that way for years, they are each scarred in their own way: Mara is rendered fully blind, and Aileen partly so. When a neighbour discovers their condition, they are immediately separated for treatment, and it isn’t until decades later, after Aileen’s marriage has fallen apart, that she decides to seek out her lost sister. She heads to Dawson City, Yukon, where Mara is said to be living, but instead finds Mara’s angry young son, Jason.
Soon Aileen has insinuated her way into the hard-drinking, hard-living existence of Dawson City’s residents, from whom she hears various conflicting stories about her sister. When the novel shifts to Jason’s perspective, the reader starts to understand the nature of these stories and the underlying secrets that compel their creation.
Engaging and deeply moving, In the Land of Birdfishes builds inevitably to a shocking and heartbreaking conclusion. When I had eyes, I saw my sister’s hair (yellow), my mother’s back, small rocks that the water took out and in from the shore with gasps of its deep ocean lungs. I remember my own hands, how tiny they were beside my father’s. One day he put my hands in his and showed me how they disappeared, like that, inside his fist. Both my hands: gone. I lost all this—lost everything—but slowly.
Soon Aileen has insinuated her way into the hard-drinking, hard-living existence of Dawson City’s residents, from whom she hears various conflicting stories about her sister. When the novel shifts to Jason’s perspective, the reader starts to understand the nature of these stories and the underlying secrets that compel their creation.
Engaging and deeply moving, In the Land of Birdfishes builds inevitably to a shocking and heartbreaking conclusion. When I had eyes, I saw my sister’s hair (yellow), my mother’s back, small rocks that the water took out and in from the shore with gasps of its deep ocean lungs. I remember my own hands, how tiny they were beside my father’s. One day he put my hands in his and showed me how they disappeared, like that, inside his fist. Both my hands: gone. I lost all this—lost everything—but slowly.
400 pages, Paperback
First published April 16, 2013
4 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
February 7, 2018
A friend of mine who is also a Toronto native recently moved to Cape Breton and recommended this book to me (written by a Cape Breton author).
The book is only partly set in Cape Breton and mostly set in another small community (Dawson City) at the other end of our vast country of Canada.
I loved it. I love that Ms. Silver Slayter is capturing the subtleties of small town Canadian life in lyrical and imaginative ways like this book did.
I feel that the lack of reviews for this book is not due to a poor quality but due to the urbanization of our world which unfortunately includes good literature.
The book is only partly set in Cape Breton and mostly set in another small community (Dawson City) at the other end of our vast country of Canada.
I loved it. I love that Ms. Silver Slayter is capturing the subtleties of small town Canadian life in lyrical and imaginative ways like this book did.
I feel that the lack of reviews for this book is not due to a poor quality but due to the urbanization of our world which unfortunately includes good literature.
March 17, 2018
I tried. I couldn't. It's her writing style. I persisted but felt no connection to any of them, even the unfortunate sisters who should have had an intervention way before they did. I'm not much of a fan of works balanced between myth and reality. so I tossed before frustration set in.
1/5
1/5
April 22, 2017
Meh. It was not what I anticipated.
June 11, 2015
Well. I was intrigued by the premise of the book--a father who blindfolds his twin daughters' eyes after their mother's death, to protect them from the world and, ultimately, turning them blind--but the premise was only the smallest seed of the novel to come.
The novel explores Aileen's search for her long-lost twin, Mara. The search takes her to Dawson City, where she meets Mara's son, Jason, and other members of the town, including Angel and Minnie. The novel rotates between all five perpectives, each in the first person narrative.
And this is where the story started to lose me. Each voice--other than Mara's--feels the same, and this sameness weighs the narrative down. Thoughts, sentence structures, preoc upations all merge together, leaving an indistinct mass of a story.
This novel, in the end, is more an examination of storytelling, and how we express our stories, more than anyhing else. Woven in to the primary narratives is Jason's retelling of First Nations-based myths, in an attempt to articulate his life and his mother's disappearance.
I was interested in all these stories, but by the end of the novel, there were too many ambiguities, too many unanswered questions, too many dropped threads for it to feel like a satisfying novel.
The novel explores Aileen's search for her long-lost twin, Mara. The search takes her to Dawson City, where she meets Mara's son, Jason, and other members of the town, including Angel and Minnie. The novel rotates between all five perpectives, each in the first person narrative.
And this is where the story started to lose me. Each voice--other than Mara's--feels the same, and this sameness weighs the narrative down. Thoughts, sentence structures, preoc upations all merge together, leaving an indistinct mass of a story.
This novel, in the end, is more an examination of storytelling, and how we express our stories, more than anyhing else. Woven in to the primary narratives is Jason's retelling of First Nations-based myths, in an attempt to articulate his life and his mother's disappearance.
I was interested in all these stories, but by the end of the novel, there were too many ambiguities, too many unanswered questions, too many dropped threads for it to feel like a satisfying novel.
May 26, 2013
Quite a good book that was told by the main characters in the book. I quite enjoyed it, but found the ending a bit confusing and still pondering what it meant. :) Thanks for a good read!!
July 20, 2013
Sad, weird and confusing. I liked the Native American tales. But it is not enough to recommend this book.
December 9, 2024
I struggled with this book. I bought it at the library book sale, happened to choose it to take to Cape Breton on our visit for Mattie’s birthday. I didn’t know it, but Shandel knows the author, a Cape Breton girl. Shandel saw the book in the cabin and asked if I liked Rebecca’s books. I said I haven’t read any of hers yet but this one looked intriguing. She said “you know the author lives here though, right?” I did not. It was a total coincidence I brought this book with me on the trip. When she explained who Rebecca was, I realized I have met her but more often her husband Conrad and her son, at the Margaree library I believe. Shandel did not like the book but would not share why until I finished reading it.
I found the book to be very cryptic. Events or people were mentioned and not explained until much later. The first person narration of several different characters had me flipping back to the pages identifying the speaker of the moment as it was sometimes hard from the prose to remember who was speaking.
I found some of the descriptions/scenes were very “out there” and did not understand the meaning of them. Descriptions of being the salmon in the river, Mara’s trip to Dawson with her new husband Jason and her jumping out of the truck at a gas stop and walking away in bare feet, Aileen out in the boat with Jason the son.
In the end, I’m not sure what happened. I think Jason the son did not drown Mara but she went to Calgary with the minister who got her pregnant. I think Aileen visited her there maybe before she went back to her husband in Toronto. I’m not sure why Aileen’s husband decided he wanted her back or why she decided to go back when he asked. Why did Mara not connect with Jason after she went to Calgary? All of a sudden, we find out Aileen has been talking to her husband every night when we were lead to believe he had left their house and could not be contacted. Why did Minnie lead us to believe Jason had drowned his mom, like she was the only one who knew the secret.
A lot of questions and no answers.
I found the book to be very cryptic. Events or people were mentioned and not explained until much later. The first person narration of several different characters had me flipping back to the pages identifying the speaker of the moment as it was sometimes hard from the prose to remember who was speaking.
I found some of the descriptions/scenes were very “out there” and did not understand the meaning of them. Descriptions of being the salmon in the river, Mara’s trip to Dawson with her new husband Jason and her jumping out of the truck at a gas stop and walking away in bare feet, Aileen out in the boat with Jason the son.
In the end, I’m not sure what happened. I think Jason the son did not drown Mara but she went to Calgary with the minister who got her pregnant. I think Aileen visited her there maybe before she went back to her husband in Toronto. I’m not sure why Aileen’s husband decided he wanted her back or why she decided to go back when he asked. Why did Mara not connect with Jason after she went to Calgary? All of a sudden, we find out Aileen has been talking to her husband every night when we were lead to believe he had left their house and could not be contacted. Why did Minnie lead us to believe Jason had drowned his mom, like she was the only one who knew the secret.
A lot of questions and no answers.
January 9, 2021
While this story is intriguing ultimately it was confused and confusing. Was the point of the story that we as readers, listeners, lovers, friends and/or family should mistrust every tale told to us as just another version of the truth? Jason, the son, was not the only character in this novel who could not be trusted to be "straight"? However, when the author throws up different narrators with different points of view, which one is more convincing? The one who has suffered no trauma? Not enough trauma? The right kind of trauma? After reading this story, I feel that I've been led around the bush just one too many times and I'm not willing to put this tale under the microscope, dissect it and attempt to discern which microbe has the tint of truth about it. Sorry Rebecca Silver Slayter, next time tell a story to believe in.
October 30, 2017
The first part was very captivating and emotional. It set a clear and interesting context. However throughout the book, new characters were introduced and I felt pressed to move to new contexts when I wasn't ready to do so; that was a little bit confusing and distracting. In regards to content, I really enjoyed the portrayal and narration of Indigenous stories and values. I also applaud the author for ensuring clearly depicting many of the struggles that occupation has inflicted on the Han people. I would mainly recommend the book for the first part and for its cultural appropriateness.
September 19, 2017
had to read this for book club. Found it to be very confusing and did not like the ending at all. The first third of the book was ok. The rest of the book was disappointing and leave more questions than answers. I would pass on this one if it was not for my book club.
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April 12, 2022Started on a very low note but the moment we meet Jason......(BANANAS)..... I loved how the author changes her writing skills when it comes to this character everything about Jason exemplifies contemporary and the END......worth the wait
December 18, 2018
A brilliant novel. Mysterious, fascinating, well paced and exciting to read. Clever, sophisticated, lots of intrigue, lots of colour.
December 15, 2020
Tremendous read from a very talented young writer. Looking forward to her next work.
July 26, 2013
In the Land of Birdfishes is told from the perspective of Mara, her sister Aileen; Angel; Minnie and in the final chapter Jason, Mara's son. Inspired to find her family after her husband leaves her Aileen sets out from Toronto to find her estranged twin sister Mara whom she was separated from as a teenager. When Aileen tracks her sister down to Dawson City, Yukon she learns of her sister's death and discovers a nephew, Jason. Jason agrees to tell Aileen what happened to her sister if she stays long enough to hear his eight stories. The story about how both sisters became blind and partially sighted through their father's neglect unfolds throughout the book; Jason, Mara and Aileen all have different versions for what happened.
The main narrative floats between stories and truth. As the plot evolves I was left wondering whose voice to trust and who was lying. It seems that no one is telling the truth and you have to grasp at straws and read between the lines to determine what happened to Mara and Aileen.
Silver Slayter explores the attachment place has on people and that mothers have on their children. Jason and his mother have a violent bond, neither wants to let the other go. Mother and son don't converse, they tell stories to relate to each other but these tales confuse and hide the truth. Both characters seem mentally unstable and dangerous.
Aside from Mara and Jason, Minnie seems the most unreliable narrative voice because she seems to be covering for Jason.
I chose to take away the positive interpretation of the ending based on Minnie's vague statement about 'her' letters and Mara's final narrative.
The main narrative floats between stories and truth. As the plot evolves I was left wondering whose voice to trust and who was lying. It seems that no one is telling the truth and you have to grasp at straws and read between the lines to determine what happened to Mara and Aileen.
Silver Slayter explores the attachment place has on people and that mothers have on their children. Jason and his mother have a violent bond, neither wants to let the other go. Mother and son don't converse, they tell stories to relate to each other but these tales confuse and hide the truth. Both characters seem mentally unstable and dangerous.
Aside from Mara and Jason, Minnie seems the most unreliable narrative voice because she seems to be covering for Jason.
I chose to take away the positive interpretation of the ending based on Minnie's vague statement about 'her' letters and Mara's final narrative.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2023
After two twins Mara and Aileen, witness their mother’s suicide their father is wild with grief. He blindfolds both girls, so they won’t see the worst in the world, causing Mara to become blind and Aileen ‘s eyesight to be damaged. When a Nova Scotia neighbour discovers what he has done to his children, they are separated from their father and each other and it is not until years later that Aileen discovers where her sister is living. She leaves a broken marriage and heads to Dawson City, but when she arrives she struggles to decipher fact from fiction in the tales Mara’s son, Jason spins. Will she ever learn what happened to her sister?
A well written tale that because of Jason’s twisting of the truth, the ending couldn’t be fathomed until the very last page.
See more of my 5 out of 5 reviews on https://readandwrite.blog/malleestanley/
A well written tale that because of Jason’s twisting of the truth, the ending couldn’t be fathomed until the very last page.
See more of my 5 out of 5 reviews on https://readandwrite.blog/malleestanley/
August 28, 2016
At the beginning I was entranced by this book. The first third of the novel had me hooked; I was fascinated by the characters and by the sadness which seemed to envelope each of the voices of the book. But somewhere along the plot line, Slayter lost me. I pushed through to the ending (because it was our book club selection) but didn't connect with the narrative in the rest of the book. I found it confusing and incredibly sad which is fine if the plot mangoes to hang on to my attention. Unfortunately, it didn't.
July 1, 2016
(Fiction, Literary, Canadian) 4.5 star rating
Blinded in childhood, two young sisters are separated for treatment and lose contact with each other. As an adult, Aileen decides to search out her sister in the Yukon Territory, Canada.
This is a brilliant depiction of the long summer nights of the short northern summer near the Arctic Circle. Add an unreliable narrator (but who?) and it’s a smashing story.
Read this if: you’re looking for a literary summer read; or are interested in new Canadian literary talent. 4½ stars
Blinded in childhood, two young sisters are separated for treatment and lose contact with each other. As an adult, Aileen decides to search out her sister in the Yukon Territory, Canada.
This is a brilliant depiction of the long summer nights of the short northern summer near the Arctic Circle. Add an unreliable narrator (but who?) and it’s a smashing story.
Read this if: you’re looking for a literary summer read; or are interested in new Canadian literary talent. 4½ stars
April 2, 2014
Four and a half stars.
"In The Land of The Birdfishes" is an exceptional novel, a mixture of myth, fairy-tale, and the "beauty of strangeness." Filled with wonderful voices in a northern land of constant light and encroaching darkness.
It won't appeal to everyone of course, but I just loved this story layered in stories, a feast of imagination.
"In The Land of The Birdfishes" is an exceptional novel, a mixture of myth, fairy-tale, and the "beauty of strangeness." Filled with wonderful voices in a northern land of constant light and encroaching darkness.
It won't appeal to everyone of course, but I just loved this story layered in stories, a feast of imagination.
February 24, 2016
As I usually begin these 'had to put it down' reviews, I really wanted to like this book! I don't bother with books I don't really want to like. Much of the summary sounded right up my alley. But I got up to page 60 or so and still don't empathize with Mara - the main character. The writing is clunky and the plot feels underdeveloped. This reads like a draft to a really wonderful book.
September 29, 2013
I feel I cant really review this book yet, as I am still processing it...it seemed I was teetering between confusion and enlightenment , due to the style of writing . It has an intriguing concept and i think i will have to reread this novel to gain clarity and understanding...
August 27, 2013
3.5/5 stars.
June 6, 2013
I found the book confusing and it just took too long to get to the point. The best part was the Native American tales.
August 2, 2013
I highly recommend this book.
October 20, 2013
Wow! Amazing conclusion. Excellent!
December 12, 2013
Myth and reality blur and...in the end I still didn't know what really happened. Disjointed.
June 7, 2021
Really good read!
June 10, 2013
Convoluted & confusing.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews