The Parrot Trainer: A Novel

by Swain Wolfe

At the center of this beguiling novel of the Southwest is an odd romantic triangle—an archaeologist, a former pot thief and art dealer, and a sassy spirit.

Jack, who had been a prominent art dealer and collector, finds a sketch of a parrot trainer from an ancient, Indian Mimbres bowl along with a map to a cliff dwelling, at the scene of a fatal accident. He is fascinated by the image of a parrot trainer and her haunting gesture. Obsessed, he finds the bowl and is stung by something venomous as he descends the cliff. He manages to drive home in spite of his violent reaction to the venom. There, to his confusion, Willow, the Parrot Trainer, comes alive and begs him to free her spirit from the bowl. Jack is certain she is an hallucination, a product of his own mind.

Lucy, an archaeologist from the east, is in New Mexico to give a speech at a convention when she receives a call from Philip, a renowned archaeologist, her mentor and lover. Philip has discovered that a secret DNA test at Berkeley has identified a caucasoidal specimen from a 15,000-year-old body found in a glacier in Alaska and that the sample was sent by a Jack Miller in Silverado. This significant find could revive his waning celebrity. Philip asks Lucy to find Miller and get him to reveal the location of the man in the glacier.

After Lucy’s speech, she has a run-in with Henri, a pixieish deconstructionist, who is the subject of a documentary by edgy Anita and her wildman/cameraman Billy. When Anita and Billy learn of Lucy’s plan to go to Silverado, they offer to take her so they can film the fireworks between Lucy and Henri. The drive from Albuquerque to Silverado turns into an antic—and sometimes violent—road trip, as they clash with each other and provoke the locals.

Tweaking knee-jerk political correctness and academia, Swain Wolfe provides a rich archaeological and anthropological background that deals with some of the fields’ most controversial issues. Witty, sexy, and packed with local color, this is a novel of ideas with the additional appeal of enchanting magic realism, high adventure, and a tender love story.

Genres: Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to learn about Mimbre pottery history and had an interesting story line about archeology and the issues with the process of learning from artifacts versus the greed in the field. I could have done without all the sexual references. Did nothing for the story line.

[Pammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is certainly an unusual genre for me. You can tell the author has deep feeling or affection for the southwest and its cultures. I'm no expert, but his take on the archaeological aspects he explores seem spot-on.
He's rather frank about the ways archaeologists are often portrayed as to being a bit too focused on achieving grants and publishing.... just like many academics: publish or perish!
Then, Wolfe manages to mix things up a bit with managing to have us believing in the living spirits inhabiting a Membres clay bowl. The Parrot trainer (the spirit in the bowl) is beguiling, clever, and funny!
One reviewer said this book is "thoughtful, hilarious, frightening, and at times, philosophical." I believe I agree with that!
Quotes I liked:
>>>(regarding purchase of a little clay bear trinket) "Sometimes I buy a thing because I feel sorry for the person selling it, but then I get it home and see it has some weight. At least it reminds me that I was somewhere different, and the people made me remember them."
>>>>( I may have lived in a vacuum , because I did not know these tips offered within the book): Boiling hot water is best at getting ketchup off your clothing; and hydrogen peroxide is good at removing blood stains!

[Greta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, entertaining and interesting is the story of The Parrot Trainer by Swain Wolfe of Missoula, Montana. Most of the action takes place in the southwestern USA around the town of Silvarado and the ancient caves of native Americans on Federal land until the adventure ends in Alaska. Amusing subplots keep the story fun to read.

[Scottsdale Public Library]

In this surreal Southwestern archaeological thriller, retired antiquities dealer Jack Miller plays by his own rules. He discovers the body of a German tourist who had a major find: a hidden cache of Mimbres pottery. Jack locates the cahce and grabs the prize piece, a bowl depicting a beautiful parrot trainer, but due to the effects of a scorpion sting the female spirit of the trainer begins to haunt him. There's also a real life woman, archaeologist Lucy Perelli, whose moral approach to pot hunting clashes with Jack's more liberal ethic, and her sleazy archaeologist ex-boyfriend, who want the cache to prove his theories. Added to the mix is a French deconstructionist filmmaker and his crew caught in the middle of this thoughful, hilarious, philosophical story about the significance of art, artifacts and culture. --Steven D.

[Emily Kestrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novel for the Southwestern setting and the exploration of postmodernism/culture/archaeology. I especially enjoyed Henri, the drunken French intellectual stumbling around America, with the two young hipsters making a documentary about his pronouncements. The portions of the story involving Willow, a thousand year old native spirit trapped in a bowl, were a little awkward, though. Overall: an entertaining but uneven novel.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool story, I really enjoy Wolfe's writing.

[Monica Emerich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Archaeology. The US southwest. Mystery. The paranormal. What's not to like? :)) I'd never heard of the author and found this book at the Taos Literacy Project bookstore. What a find!

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.. Like the book cover, amazingly colorful, intricate and imaginative. Plus a good love story!