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Hummingbird
Beside a lake in the northern Canadian wilderness, fifteen-year-old Zachary Tayler lives a lonely and isolated life with his father. His only neighbors are a leech trapper, an eccentric millionaire, and an expert in snow. But then one summer the enigmatic and shape-shifting Eva Spiller arrives in search of the remains of her parents and together they embark on a strange and disconcerting journey of discovery. Nothing at Sitting Down Lake is quite as it seems. The forest hides ruins and mysteries; the past can never be fully understood. And as Zach and Eva make their way through this haunted landscape, they move ever closer towards an acceptance of what in the end is lost and what can truly be found.
194 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2017
1 person is currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
Tristan Hughes
11 books17 followersTristan Hughes was born in Atikokan, Ontario, and brought up on the Welsh island of Ynys Môn. He has a PhD in literature from King’s College, Cambridge, and has taught American literature in Cambridge, Taiwan, Wales and Germany. He won the Rhys Davies Short Story Award in 2002, and his first two novels, The Tower and Send My Cold Bones Home, were highly praised in the U.K. Revenant is his third novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
January 28, 2018
Visit the Lakes in Ontario
Ooh this novel made me shiver! It was a novel which spoke to me as I love the landscape of Ontario and felt I had to read it The writing, the setting, the overall feeling of it all.
And that cover! It’s the setting which shines here. The characters are thin and sparse but for me that doesn’t really matter in a way as the story is so ethereal and immersive. They are very eccentric however and there’s something unnerving about them that trickles into the waters of the lake
It almost reads as a travelogue in places as the landscape takes over and the glaciers, horseshoe bends and cabins which stand on stilts like something out of a fairytale..
It’s a brutal and awful world up there in parts of the novel – this is not the land for the unprepared. It bites, it stabs, it takes you hostage and chills. But it can also enchant and fascinate and this novel sways between the two.
The theme of loss runs throughout the novel and indeed the landscape like a stream of regret.
January 5, 2018
Hummingbird is about two young adults, Zachary and Eva, not the usual coming of age tale, nothing sexual, but they are linked by the grief of parental loss. The Canadian wilderness setting is beautifully described, and the eccentric characters resident around the lake sharply drawn.
It is tightly written, and brings out the sense of youthful uncertainty, whether puzzling over ruins in the landscape or strange adult behaviour.
A very fine read, more rewarding than many books twice its length.
It is tightly written, and brings out the sense of youthful uncertainty, whether puzzling over ruins in the landscape or strange adult behaviour.
A very fine read, more rewarding than many books twice its length.
December 14, 2017
"There were lots of things I didn't want to remember but I was so young there weren't enough years to hide them away in yet."
Hummingbird is a strange book. I didn't quite know how to describe it.
Tristan Hughes paints a beautiful setting and characters with quirky details. But despite the setting, and despite the details, the characters are thin and do not inspire sympathy.
This could be perhaps due to the fine control and subtlety of the prose. But even there, sometimes it is not quite so subtle. Any reader can glimpse the tropes or the miniature short stories within the overarching narrative and find some play-on-words or smart technique that tries to seduce its audience.
For these reasons, I think the author himself did not quite know how to present his story. He had the characters, the setting, the theme of loss and moving on, but did not know how best to achieve the vision in his mind.
Hummingbird is a not a bad novel by any means. The writing is, at times, glorious. But what it describes is either (a) too exploitative or unconvincing (Oskar's sister dies in a railway accident; Eva's parents die in a plane crash; Zachary's mother kills herself; His father's parents die in a boating accident) or (b) a strong setting for an array of thin and not-sufficiently-explored characters who are simply too obvious or conventional to populate this setting in a credible, powerful way.
Or both.
You can't have too much of a good thing or too much of a bad thing, and I think Hughes's novel was not well-balanced to be able to hold water. Without any contrast or natural flow to the narrative, Hummingbird unfortunately falls flat.
Hummingbird is a strange book. I didn't quite know how to describe it.
Tristan Hughes paints a beautiful setting and characters with quirky details. But despite the setting, and despite the details, the characters are thin and do not inspire sympathy.
This could be perhaps due to the fine control and subtlety of the prose. But even there, sometimes it is not quite so subtle. Any reader can glimpse the tropes or the miniature short stories within the overarching narrative and find some play-on-words or smart technique that tries to seduce its audience.
For these reasons, I think the author himself did not quite know how to present his story. He had the characters, the setting, the theme of loss and moving on, but did not know how best to achieve the vision in his mind.
Hummingbird is a not a bad novel by any means. The writing is, at times, glorious. But what it describes is either (a) too exploitative or unconvincing (Oskar's sister dies in a railway accident; Eva's parents die in a plane crash; Zachary's mother kills herself; His father's parents die in a boating accident) or (b) a strong setting for an array of thin and not-sufficiently-explored characters who are simply too obvious or conventional to populate this setting in a credible, powerful way.
Or both.
You can't have too much of a good thing or too much of a bad thing, and I think Hughes's novel was not well-balanced to be able to hold water. Without any contrast or natural flow to the narrative, Hummingbird unfortunately falls flat.
August 27, 2017
Didn't hate it. Didn't love it. The descriptive scenes of the lake environment were beautiful but the characters were relatively thin. Not spare - thin. You don't quite care for them as much as you are supposed to or even need to in order to become absorbed in it all. It's almost there, but not quite.
July 17, 2023
This was suggested to me as a read with a strong sense of place, and this is highly accurate. The prose is transportive, rich in all the senses and vivid without being overbearing. Hughes negates the risk of it being too descriptive at the expense of the plot with assurance and expertise.
The plot is simple yet beautifully told, the small cast of characters each well-defined in their own right. As a result of its graceful simplicity, the themes of grief and loneliness are clearly and tenderly explored. My only wish is that we could have see the characters grow more.
The plot is simple yet beautifully told, the small cast of characters each well-defined in their own right. As a result of its graceful simplicity, the themes of grief and loneliness are clearly and tenderly explored. My only wish is that we could have see the characters grow more.
December 17, 2017
In places, there is some beautiful writing in this book - mostly when describing the land. But whilst I quite enjoyed the writing in places, overall he has a cold, dispassionate style which is hard to fully engage with and which gives for unfinished characters that are hard to engage with.
And it’s an odd story, told without any warmth or sparkle.
Not one to read again.
And it’s an odd story, told without any warmth or sparkle.
Not one to read again.
June 4, 2018
Read my full review on the Ottawa Review of Books. https://www.ottawareviewofbooks.com/s...
May 1, 2019
I feel like the blurb of this book was a little misleading. While not what I was expecting, this was a rather good book. Hughes has a wonderful way of introducing nature into his writing in a palpable way.
Perhaps I’ll have a try of this again in a few years and have a different view of it.
Perhaps I’ll have a try of this again in a few years and have a different view of it.
May 31, 2019
A boy and a girl in the Canadian wilderness. And as plots go, there you have it! There may be some descriptive landscape writing in places but I just couldn't get into it. I needed some plot to get me into it...
April 15, 2024
I firstly want to apologise as I see more positive ratings and reviews on this book than not, and quite frankly aside from the fact the book is based in Canada, the name and gorgeous cover, were the reason why I picked it up in the first place. Ergo, it is quite curious as to why it bored me so much.
I think, though I may be wrong—the memory escapes me as always—I borrowed this book on Libby prior to one of my moving days back or first move to Canada, It seemed fitting of course, though I would be in the West Coast instead amidst the Canadain Rockies there (boy, do I miss it). There was a promise of wilderness between the breadth of these pages nevertheless. As I was so busy I don't think I could go further than the first page or so before I had to return it, a few years later I gave it a second shot, though I wish I hadn't.
Sure, other reviewers are right about the glorious description entangling our minds with vivid imagery even if said imagery seems to be a sparse wasteland than the rush of juniper and the heavy lids of tree's canopy. Still, Tristan Hughes has certainly got a way of translating the meagre substance of words into beautiful worlds. But that's just it, the story itself was dire, dribbling and meagre, there was certainly no point A to B but a meandering into the woods and getting lost, losing whatever plot there may have been.
This story is about a boy and a girl and their mutual journey in dealing with their separate circumstances of grief. It seems to me, they don't grow to so much to learn to deal with it, at the end it seems like they simply just give in. It's quite soul-crushing really.
That aside, there were glimpses of a good story, segments I wanted to claw my nails into the dirt and yank it out into the open, let it breathe, let it yodel its story! Instead, Hughes brushes off the dirt so we simply see a glimpse of the gold before making a small meek remark and burying it again.
Let me hear more of the story of the sex workers, of Miss Nude Saskatoon, of the PoW that ran away, tell me more of their camp and how they suffered or enjoyed their time despite the dread!
Here is what I learnt, when I have, by happenstance, stumbled across what seems to be, to me, an interesting contemporary novel. They are possible, they exist but I have only found one that has succeeded and lived up to the premise they have promised me. If you know me, or most certainly if you don't I don't usually pick out contemporary pieces as they are so mundane, they tell no story beyond what I see in my own life, and if we share the same traumas they do not feed me with knowledge, help or understanding but rather we are in a toxic, trauma dumped relationship together, hand in reluctant hand.
There are a lot of high-rated, famous contemporary books, that are lacklustre to me for this reason, but there is amusing paths they could wander down but refuse to. Something that All My Mothers is exceptionally good at, is how they present us such amusing but frightful storylines, and trauma that people go through and actually travel through those stories. No wonder it is one of the few I enjoyed!
Stories can be real, can be every day and still be exciting but no, Hummingbird is no exception, though it could have been.
What most contemporary novels are, are simply mundane, they hardly tell a story but rather an observation of the 'everyman'.
I digress, that is a tangent I could spiel all day on, I thank Sally Rooney for my becoming to the insufferable nuisance against contemporary novels that I am today.
Anyways, that all aside, Eva's character was cliche, she was that of every main girl character in every coming-of-age movie. Insufferable. An adolescent girl that has main character syndrome and a ratty obnoxious attitude. Simply: She was annoying as hell and insufferable making it hard to read sections she was part of. Not to mention how she was borderline emotionally abusive to Zachary Tayler. But no, let's write that off to the fact that she's traumatised, and has a lot of reasons to go to therapy for, let's just call her the cool girl.
This review didn't need to be this long and complain this much, I apologise. I will leave you with these parting words, a TLDR if you will: I believe if you're interested in vivid and beautiful descriptions alone and a lover of the contemporary genre I certainly think you'd enjoy this but if you want some storytelling-based story, this isn't for you.
I think, though I may be wrong—the memory escapes me as always—I borrowed this book on Libby prior to one of my moving days back or first move to Canada, It seemed fitting of course, though I would be in the West Coast instead amidst the Canadain Rockies there (boy, do I miss it). There was a promise of wilderness between the breadth of these pages nevertheless. As I was so busy I don't think I could go further than the first page or so before I had to return it, a few years later I gave it a second shot, though I wish I hadn't.
Sure, other reviewers are right about the glorious description entangling our minds with vivid imagery even if said imagery seems to be a sparse wasteland than the rush of juniper and the heavy lids of tree's canopy. Still, Tristan Hughes has certainly got a way of translating the meagre substance of words into beautiful worlds. But that's just it, the story itself was dire, dribbling and meagre, there was certainly no point A to B but a meandering into the woods and getting lost, losing whatever plot there may have been.
This story is about a boy and a girl and their mutual journey in dealing with their separate circumstances of grief. It seems to me, they don't grow to so much to learn to deal with it, at the end it seems like they simply just give in. It's quite soul-crushing really.
That aside, there were glimpses of a good story, segments I wanted to claw my nails into the dirt and yank it out into the open, let it breathe, let it yodel its story! Instead, Hughes brushes off the dirt so we simply see a glimpse of the gold before making a small meek remark and burying it again.
Let me hear more of the story of the sex workers, of Miss Nude Saskatoon, of the PoW that ran away, tell me more of their camp and how they suffered or enjoyed their time despite the dread!
Here is what I learnt, when I have, by happenstance, stumbled across what seems to be, to me, an interesting contemporary novel. They are possible, they exist but I have only found one that has succeeded and lived up to the premise they have promised me. If you know me, or most certainly if you don't I don't usually pick out contemporary pieces as they are so mundane, they tell no story beyond what I see in my own life, and if we share the same traumas they do not feed me with knowledge, help or understanding but rather we are in a toxic, trauma dumped relationship together, hand in reluctant hand.
There are a lot of high-rated, famous contemporary books, that are lacklustre to me for this reason, but there is amusing paths they could wander down but refuse to. Something that All My Mothers is exceptionally good at, is how they present us such amusing but frightful storylines, and trauma that people go through and actually travel through those stories. No wonder it is one of the few I enjoyed!
Stories can be real, can be every day and still be exciting but no, Hummingbird is no exception, though it could have been.
What most contemporary novels are, are simply mundane, they hardly tell a story but rather an observation of the 'everyman'.
I digress, that is a tangent I could spiel all day on, I thank Sally Rooney for my becoming to the insufferable nuisance against contemporary novels that I am today.
Anyways, that all aside, Eva's character was cliche, she was that of every main girl character in every coming-of-age movie. Insufferable. An adolescent girl that has main character syndrome and a ratty obnoxious attitude. Simply: She was annoying as hell and insufferable making it hard to read sections she was part of. Not to mention how she was borderline emotionally abusive to Zachary Tayler. But no, let's write that off to the fact that she's traumatised, and has a lot of reasons to go to therapy for, let's just call her the cool girl.
This review didn't need to be this long and complain this much, I apologise. I will leave you with these parting words, a TLDR if you will: I believe if you're interested in vivid and beautiful descriptions alone and a lover of the contemporary genre I certainly think you'd enjoy this but if you want some storytelling-based story, this isn't for you.
September 16, 2018
Fifteen-year-old Zachary Taylor’s mother committed suicide when he was nine; shortly afterwards he and his father moved to live in a cabin on the shore of Sitting Down Lake, in the wilderness of Northern Ontario. With their only neighbours a leech trapper, an eccentric millionaire and an expert on snow, it is a lonely and isolated life until the arrival of the somewhat eccentric and enigmatic Eve Spiller, the millionaire’s teenage niece. Some years earlier her parents had been killed in a plane crash over one of three lakes to the north but, as their bodies were never found, she is now in search of their remains. Together these two adolescents embark on a strange and disconcerting journey of discovery, attempting to make sense of their past experiences, to find ways to accept the things which cannot be changed, and for which they are not responsible, and to move forward into adulthood.
This coming of age story captures the struggles faced by Zachary and Eve, whose developing friendship is based on their shared experiences of death, with its aftermath of grief, anger and confusion. Their interactions are convincingly and beautifully described, and I soon felt drawn into their individual journeys of discovery. The author captures the pain of their grief, as well as their struggles to attempt to make sense of their often confused and ambivalent feelings. He equally convincingly evokes the absolute certainties of adolescence! However, it is not only the central characters who are so well-drawn, each of the eccentric neighbours is brought vividly to life, with each having a significant part to play in the developing story. The descriptions of Zachary’s quiet, reserved father were at times so poignantly moving that they often brought tears to my eyes.
The descriptions of the Northern Ontario wilderness (an area I know well) are so wonderfully evocative that, with memories of many camping trips, not only could I visualise the atmospheric beauty of the lakes and the woods, but I was also vividly reminded of the misery caused by swarms of biting black fly and mosquitoes – and of being unable to escape them! Alongside the beauty, he also captured the sense of mystery, wildness and hidden darkness in such a remote area where, at times, it is all too easy to become lost and to feel disorientated. To add an extra depth to my enjoyment of the book, his descriptions of Peggy’s Cove, in Nova Scotia evoked happy memories of many visits to the dramatic coastline of that province.
At just over a hundred and eighty pages this is a relatively short novel, but the author’s restrained, lyrical prose means that not one word feels wasted. Its themes of loss, guilt, regret, friendship and, ultimately, optimism, are explored with great insight and compassion. There were moments when it felt excruciatingly tense and painful to read, to the extent that I almost had to remind myself to breathe. However, it was the author’s skill at evoking such a depth of emotion which enabled me to feel so engaged with each of the characters. The intensity of the story was leavened by some gentle humour, executed with a light touch but adding a convincing depth to the characters.
This is a haunting, beautifully written story, one which will remain in my memory for a long time and which I’m sure I’ll re-read to capture again the feeling I had when I finished it – that I had just enjoyed that rare experience of reading a perfectly formed story.
This coming of age story captures the struggles faced by Zachary and Eve, whose developing friendship is based on their shared experiences of death, with its aftermath of grief, anger and confusion. Their interactions are convincingly and beautifully described, and I soon felt drawn into their individual journeys of discovery. The author captures the pain of their grief, as well as their struggles to attempt to make sense of their often confused and ambivalent feelings. He equally convincingly evokes the absolute certainties of adolescence! However, it is not only the central characters who are so well-drawn, each of the eccentric neighbours is brought vividly to life, with each having a significant part to play in the developing story. The descriptions of Zachary’s quiet, reserved father were at times so poignantly moving that they often brought tears to my eyes.
The descriptions of the Northern Ontario wilderness (an area I know well) are so wonderfully evocative that, with memories of many camping trips, not only could I visualise the atmospheric beauty of the lakes and the woods, but I was also vividly reminded of the misery caused by swarms of biting black fly and mosquitoes – and of being unable to escape them! Alongside the beauty, he also captured the sense of mystery, wildness and hidden darkness in such a remote area where, at times, it is all too easy to become lost and to feel disorientated. To add an extra depth to my enjoyment of the book, his descriptions of Peggy’s Cove, in Nova Scotia evoked happy memories of many visits to the dramatic coastline of that province.
At just over a hundred and eighty pages this is a relatively short novel, but the author’s restrained, lyrical prose means that not one word feels wasted. Its themes of loss, guilt, regret, friendship and, ultimately, optimism, are explored with great insight and compassion. There were moments when it felt excruciatingly tense and painful to read, to the extent that I almost had to remind myself to breathe. However, it was the author’s skill at evoking such a depth of emotion which enabled me to feel so engaged with each of the characters. The intensity of the story was leavened by some gentle humour, executed with a light touch but adding a convincing depth to the characters.
This is a haunting, beautifully written story, one which will remain in my memory for a long time and which I’m sure I’ll re-read to capture again the feeling I had when I finished it – that I had just enjoyed that rare experience of reading a perfectly formed story.
March 24, 2021
"Sometimes the best thing you can do when you're lost is stay still." (p. 178)
Never judge a book by its cover! When a Manitoba poet first urged me to purchase "Hummingbird", a novel by Tristan Hughes, I hesitated. Perhaps it was the beady-black eye of the larger than life hummingbird on the cover that unsettled me but the poet gave the book such a rave review that I weakened and forked out my money for it. What caught my attention at the time was that this new-to-me author was born in Atikokan and his story was set in this small northern Ontario community I had visited a few times. If anything, the book would be a trip down memory lane.
Now it is my turn to shine the light not only on this amazing literary and poetic novel but to this award-winning author who I discovered is a "senior lecturer and an HRC Fellow in Creative Writing at Cardiff University." (Inside back cover)
Hughes's writing has a beautiful and quiet stillness that slowly reveals a first-person point of view with the swish and brush of a hummingbird feather. I loved the way the bird motif flits in and out of the story.
Meet the main character Zachary Taylor, a 15-year old boy who lives in isolation with his grieving father. Along comes the eccentric Eva Spiller who moves nearby into her uncle's cabin with the hopes of locating the bones of her parents who were killed in a float plane crash nearby.
What unfolds is a portrait and narrative of a rugged and rural place that many urbanites could never imagine; a place of solitude filled with the wonders and dangers of nature plus the unique and rare individuals who inhabit it.
A story filled with laughter, raw emotions, and poetic phrases.
As Zack states in the chapter Night Swimming, "It's more like the dark water when I think about it, it's like I'm standing on the edge of somewhere high. And I'm about to fall. And it's like there'll be no bottom and I'll end up like an astronaut adrift out in space." (p. 42)
And in the chapter Wannigan Bay, Eva describes her Export A cigarette addiction as "green death". "It'd be like a piece of broccoli killing you. Or being run over by a can of spinach. Or murdered by the Jolly Green Giant." (p. 17)
This is Hughes's fifth novel. I will definitely check out his other work. An author for everyone's must read list.
Never judge a book by its cover! When a Manitoba poet first urged me to purchase "Hummingbird", a novel by Tristan Hughes, I hesitated. Perhaps it was the beady-black eye of the larger than life hummingbird on the cover that unsettled me but the poet gave the book such a rave review that I weakened and forked out my money for it. What caught my attention at the time was that this new-to-me author was born in Atikokan and his story was set in this small northern Ontario community I had visited a few times. If anything, the book would be a trip down memory lane.
Now it is my turn to shine the light not only on this amazing literary and poetic novel but to this award-winning author who I discovered is a "senior lecturer and an HRC Fellow in Creative Writing at Cardiff University." (Inside back cover)
Hughes's writing has a beautiful and quiet stillness that slowly reveals a first-person point of view with the swish and brush of a hummingbird feather. I loved the way the bird motif flits in and out of the story.
Meet the main character Zachary Taylor, a 15-year old boy who lives in isolation with his grieving father. Along comes the eccentric Eva Spiller who moves nearby into her uncle's cabin with the hopes of locating the bones of her parents who were killed in a float plane crash nearby.
What unfolds is a portrait and narrative of a rugged and rural place that many urbanites could never imagine; a place of solitude filled with the wonders and dangers of nature plus the unique and rare individuals who inhabit it.
A story filled with laughter, raw emotions, and poetic phrases.
As Zack states in the chapter Night Swimming, "It's more like the dark water when I think about it, it's like I'm standing on the edge of somewhere high. And I'm about to fall. And it's like there'll be no bottom and I'll end up like an astronaut adrift out in space." (p. 42)
And in the chapter Wannigan Bay, Eva describes her Export A cigarette addiction as "green death". "It'd be like a piece of broccoli killing you. Or being run over by a can of spinach. Or murdered by the Jolly Green Giant." (p. 17)
This is Hughes's fifth novel. I will definitely check out his other work. An author for everyone's must read list.
July 2, 2020
This is a melancholy novel, narrated with quietude by fifteen year old, Zachary Taylor. Sitting Down Lake is a very isolated place, with a total population of seven; not an ideal place to be for a teenager, especially one so young who has lived through the inexplicable and unexpected suicide of his mother. The characters are a little vague, disconcerting, mysterious - ghosts within a beautiful but metaphorically barren landscape. This is Hughes's deft and sophisticated skill - to create a stunning sense of place. Throughout 'Hummingbird' you can smell the chippings, hear the water lapping, feel the eyes from within the woods staring you down.
The themes are endless, though Hughes is chiefly concerned with the idea of loss, and the often futile quest to try and regain what we once had. Eva, the other teenager in Sitting Down Lake, is a somewhat unpredictable soul desperate for answers and closure. The death of her parents in this vast wilderness has left her profoundly empty, angry, obsessed. Oskar, the sleepwalker, has his own demons (a dead sister) to avenge. The realisation that Eva goes diving for bones is very troubling indeed, and therefore a stark tension pervades the otherwise subtle and luminous narrative. It develops into a rather riveting but unsettling read...I was hoping that a sasquatch may appear at some point...that's how edgy it becomes.
It's a great idea for a novel - very original and atmospheric, and full of intrigue. Tristan Hughes is a very slick and insightful writer. If you are looking for an evocative novel full of mystery and poignant reflection, this is well worth a read.
The themes are endless, though Hughes is chiefly concerned with the idea of loss, and the often futile quest to try and regain what we once had. Eva, the other teenager in Sitting Down Lake, is a somewhat unpredictable soul desperate for answers and closure. The death of her parents in this vast wilderness has left her profoundly empty, angry, obsessed. Oskar, the sleepwalker, has his own demons (a dead sister) to avenge. The realisation that Eva goes diving for bones is very troubling indeed, and therefore a stark tension pervades the otherwise subtle and luminous narrative. It develops into a rather riveting but unsettling read...I was hoping that a sasquatch may appear at some point...that's how edgy it becomes.
It's a great idea for a novel - very original and atmospheric, and full of intrigue. Tristan Hughes is a very slick and insightful writer. If you are looking for an evocative novel full of mystery and poignant reflection, this is well worth a read.
June 29, 2018
Once again i am indebted to Nudge Readers for providing me with this book, to read and honestly review. In this case i am especially grateful because this book is written by a completely new author to me at any rate, and a book in all probability i would never have chosen and taken down from the shelf, and therefore i would have missed out on a very entertaining enjoyable and quirky little read.
Set in the wilds of Ontario Northern Canada, this is an achingly beautiful almost unbelievably descriptive story, the sights and the sounds, so real you feel as though you can actually reach out and touch the wonders of nature so expertly described.
The story revolves around fifteen year old Zach Taylor a dependable somewhat ordinary dependable lad, living a quiet lonely isolated life with his father in these seemingly idyllic surroundings. Their few aged neighbours could easily qualify for parts in "Twin Peaks" weird does not do justice to describe them. That is until the arrival of the enigmatic and somewhat strange Eva Spiller who promptly proceeds to stir up proceedings, both our main characters have known tragedy in their short lives, and together they embark on a voyage of discovery. Nothing in Sitting Down Lake is quite what it seems, the surrounding forest hides ruins surprises and is full of mystery.
I previously mentioned this is a short book of 180 pages, but there is no filler just a simple engaging story, a haunting tale of loss and regret, but also of friendship and hope, and i personally very much recommend it.
Set in the wilds of Ontario Northern Canada, this is an achingly beautiful almost unbelievably descriptive story, the sights and the sounds, so real you feel as though you can actually reach out and touch the wonders of nature so expertly described.
The story revolves around fifteen year old Zach Taylor a dependable somewhat ordinary dependable lad, living a quiet lonely isolated life with his father in these seemingly idyllic surroundings. Their few aged neighbours could easily qualify for parts in "Twin Peaks" weird does not do justice to describe them. That is until the arrival of the enigmatic and somewhat strange Eva Spiller who promptly proceeds to stir up proceedings, both our main characters have known tragedy in their short lives, and together they embark on a voyage of discovery. Nothing in Sitting Down Lake is quite what it seems, the surrounding forest hides ruins surprises and is full of mystery.
I previously mentioned this is a short book of 180 pages, but there is no filler just a simple engaging story, a haunting tale of loss and regret, but also of friendship and hope, and i personally very much recommend it.
May 23, 2023
Fifteen year old Zachary lives a lonely and isolated life with his father beside a lake in the northern Canadian wilderness. One evening shape shifting Eva Spiller arrives in search of her parents remains. Eva and Zachary set out on a journey of discovery.
This is a stunning novel by Tristan Hughes.
Raw emotion set against the rugged landscape of the north - the lakes, trees, rocks, insects with fantastically descriptive writing provoking feelings of both danger and beauty.
Two of my favourite phrases from the book...'The swarm of deerflies orbiting madly around his head like a solar system whose physics had gone kaput' and 'He was wearing a green bug hat, his face half hidden by the mesh, as he reached up he looked like a huge stick insect standing on its back legs'.
A superb read.
September 15, 2018
I loved this book. It is set in an isolated part of Ontario, Canada, and centres on Zachary whose mother committed suicide, and Eva, whose parents died in a plane crash. It is beautifully written and very evocative of place. By the end Zachary and Eva have accepted that they are not going to find an answer to the ‘Why’ of their tragedies. The plot lines come together to make a believable conclusion, but there are no easy answers.
June 10, 2021
This is very quick to read and (although not actually that short) in some ways felt like a long short story. The highlight is the beautiful writing about the Canadian lakes and the isolated souls living there and it sometimes felt as if I was looking at a series of photographs (how can the author make leech collecting feel like a romantic endeavour?). The story itself is fairly understated but fits with the languidness of the nature writing and setting. Another lovely reading interlude.
September 15, 2024
It felt undercooked, but it was trying to be something bigger than it was.
For a story about loss and grief, there were some pockets of potential that were, unfortunately, left untapped.
I just didn't really care for much of it at all and found the main character to be too passive and quite flat: the other characters were much more interesting, but still weren't overly memorable.
The setting was lovely and rich, and it was clear that great care had been taken in its crafting.
For a story about loss and grief, there were some pockets of potential that were, unfortunately, left untapped.
I just didn't really care for much of it at all and found the main character to be too passive and quite flat: the other characters were much more interesting, but still weren't overly memorable.
The setting was lovely and rich, and it was clear that great care had been taken in its crafting.
October 19, 2020
Four stars are deserved for the beautiful prose and description-- very evocative of Northern Ontario. The novel's plot was a bit meh: parts were interesting, others not. I was pleased to discover this Canadian/Welsh author who I had not heard of before this. I will be on the look-out for his other books.
March 20, 2021
Filled with beautiful, poignant writing, Hummingbird collapses however under its own evocative weight. This should have been a short story or a novella, there simply wasn't enough material to sustain a 180-page novel. The persistent reminiscent tone soon becomes taxing and redundant. A pity, since Hughes is a powerful writer and this could have been a memorable tale.
August 27, 2025
The writing is truly superb. The evocation of the setting is atmospheric and I could feel myself there. However, it felt as though the setting was the main character - maybe it is? I found it difficult to understand, let alone empathise with the characters. At times I was not quite sure what was happening. I was killed by the language but the plot was confusing
July 16, 2017
I just finished Hummingbird. I know when I read a great book when time passes quickly and I am taken away to another land and it touches my heart. Hummingbird took me to a place I hope I can return to in another book and find these same characters waiting there.
August 12, 2018
I wouldn't decscribe this book as 'fast paced,' but it is gripping. Hughes draws you in to Zachary and Eva's world and you can't help but care what happens to them. As I read this book I was put in mind of Harper Lee which is a style that I would love to achieve. Loved it.
July 5, 2023
A delightful story about two young people living in a remote part of Canada who have both lost parents. The descriptions of the area are beautiful. The handful of people living in the area are all eccentric but are sympathetically drawn.
Altogether an excellent book.
Altogether an excellent book.
February 12, 2018
Excellent, Winner Edward Sanford 2018 Travel Writing Award for Hayes & Jarvis Fiction with a sense of place
November 29, 2018
Read this back in March and it has really stayed with me. Wonderfully atmospheric, great sense of place. Remembering the leech trapper makes me shiver now!
February 1, 2019
15 year old Zach's summer changes when the niece of a resident of the lake comes to live there. This was sweet and interesting and written in a rather lovely way.
July 24, 2019
Beautifully written prose. Another superb work in which the landscape is a character. The conclusion is quiet and moving. I definitely recommend this small but perfectly formed novel.
October 23, 2019
Poetically written and steeped in melancholy, this is a beautiful book.
February 29, 2020
A slow burning book with a strong sense of place. Short but powerful. Looking forward to reading more of his work.
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