Mr. Darwin's Shooter: A Novel

by Roger McDonald

From one of Australia’s most acclaimed authors, a dazzling and deeply imagined exploration of ambition, natural marvels, and scientific discovery, and one of history’s most significant crises of faith. As a boy of thirteen, Syms Covington leaves his home in Bedford and goes to sea, passing into manhood as he sails the world, surveying Patagonia, and losing his virginity in the Pampas.  Aboard the HMS Beagle, he enters the service of Charles Darwin as an energetic and precocious fifteen-year-old, and in the course of their voyages together he shoots and collects hundreds of specimens for his “gent,” specimens that become fundamental to the formulation of Darwin’s theory of evolution. Now a crusty, eccentric, near-deaf old man, Covington has settled in Australia and is awaiting the arrival of the first copy of On the Origin of Species. Beset by guilt over participating in a work that will shake the human worldview to its foundations, he nonetheless wonders what part of himself might be reflected in Darwin’s oeuvre. Mr. Darwin’s Shooter captures its time with rare and dazzling skill, evoking an unforgettable—but forgotten—man at a watershed moment in history.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Australia, Historical, Novels, Research, Religion

364 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘No, a man does not have to be just as he seems. He can be more, in the light of understanding.’

This novel has been crafted around the life of Syms Covington, who was servant and assistant to Charles Darwin on the second voyage of the Beagle (December 1831 to September 1936). Covington was 15 when this voyage set sail, Darwin was 23.

There are two time periods to this narrative: the first focuses on the early life of Syms Covington and his travels with Darwin; the second focuses on him as an aging man living in Australia and awaiting a copy of Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’. The young Covington is an eager participant in Darwin’s discoveries, the older Covington is concerned that Darwin’s conclusions will reveal his own role in what he sees be a crime against his religious faith.

This is a fascinating novel. The contrasts and conflicts in the novel between the old and the new are not confined to religion and theories of evolution. Consider the phases of Covington’s life: a narrow, circumscribed life in England; then his part in the voyages of discovery on the Beagle, followed by the wider possibilities afforded him by life in colonial Australia. There are many such as Syms Covington in history: often shadowy footnotes in the better known lives of men such as Charles Darwin and Robert FitzRoy. I have read quite a bit about Robert FitzRoy and Charles Darwin and the voyages of the Beagle. This novel adds a different perspective to these voyages and to those who were part of them.

The Journal of Syms Covington is available online:
http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparc...
for those interested in reading his own words.

‘It was a life ended, all its days stolen.’

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[trishtrash · Rating 4 out of 5]

An historical novel based on the seafaring life of Sym Covington, servant to Charles Darwin, on his remarkable Beagle journey.

Startlingly likely, Covington’s character is not merely well illustrated from McDonald’s research; he is compelling and as fine a companion on a reader’s journey as he was to Mr. Darwin... that is to say, irritatingly large in character, touching and alarming in faith, fine in his ambitions and thorough in his work.

A butcher’s boy turned clerk, turned deck-hand, turned servant, Covington burned to better himself during his younger years and, during his last, burned with smouldering consideration at the betrayal of his faith by his master, or of his faith itself, whichever he could bear to believe false for a moment. McDonald asks the reader to consider – what do you do with your faith when science asks you to put it away? Nor is this the only philosophical thread, for Covington is as unsettling in his thoughts as his manner.

Covington’s richness, however, lies in the constancy of adaptability; his search for greater fortune than begat him is but a foreshadowing for the truth he later seeks in the people and world around him.

Forthright and dirty, Sym Covington and the young, proper Charles Darwin make an odd coupling; rather than bring them together in harmony in the text, McDonald expounds on their differences and sources of complaint with one another, groaning and settling like a ship’s boards in a storm.

[James Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roger McDonald is a noted Australian novelist however this is the first of his books that I have had the pleasure of reading. Like The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami that I read earlier this year, this is a book based on the life of a real person. Syms Covington, the titular protagonist of this story was a person like most people who have lived and were forgotten. Now his life has been impressively reclaimed from history's notorious dustbin in this novel by Roger McDonald.

Syms Covington was 15 years old when he joined the crew of H.M. S. Beagle for a journey that would change forever both his own life and humanity's view of our place in the world. As collector and shooter and all-around assistant, young Covington accompanied Darwin throughout the five-year voyage and for two years of wrap-up work after the return to England. The Darwin biographer Janet Browne describes Covington as the unacknowledged shadow behind Darwin's every triumph. McDonald's fictionalized account of Covington's life is a well-researched book, rich in the complicated issues that surround Darwin and his work, especially its shock to Victorian religious sensibilities. But this novel is genuinely about Syms Covington, not about Darwin. It is about his adventurous life, which happens to accompany for a time that of a man destined to become the most influential scientist of his era.

McDonald imbues his story with the textures and assumptions of 19th-century life including religion, work, clothes, food, even shipboard floggings. The result is a well wrought tale of a man who embodies the milieu of his generation. It is the story of a daring, courageous, passionate man who is troubled by his own small role in the shocking changes going on about him. When we first meet Syms he is 12 years old, the religion-drenched son of a butcher. We accompany him as he and Charles Darwin and the natural sciences grow up. As readers we follow him into a contentious, disappointed middle age.

McDonald constantly surprises. His prose is ebullient, at times boisterous, holding the interest of the reader with language so vivid and original, alternately comic and tragic, that it reminded me of the novels of Dickens. McDonald makes his history come alive by refusing to stray from the sweaty, angry, sad, and sometimes violence of reality. This is one of the better historical novels I have read.

[Ian Pindar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is in my top ten, I recently wrote a review for Oscar and Lucinda, and for me this is much better. I concede that it could well be the fact I have studied Darwin in detail at university and school, and this included aspects and knowledge I did not know. I felt I was on the Beagle and looking at the voyage from a different POV. We are rarely given the POV of anyone except Darwin and Fitzroy (The Captain), but we see the world through Syms Covington's eyes, and what a view it is. If you want to know more about Darwin, evolution and the voyage of the Beagle, this is a must. I also found it quite uplifting, even though I often find reading about dead people tinged with a little sadness. Covington comes from poverty, and undergoes a spiritual and knowledge enlightenment, and it had a feel good factor as well. The fact that both him and Darwin remained friends and correspondents is just lovely. Love Dickens, you will love this.

[Deb Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still think of this book - I read it several years ago. The main character is a man - we follow him from young to old - who is on board with Darwin. This man has been brought up a christian - but he has moved from one faith to another and been influenced by different strands of christianity. Through Darwin and their shared journey he sees the evidence of evolution and grapples with his own faith. That is the deeper part of the book but its also a detailed and interesting tale of a 19th century life, of a time when the world held so much newness and sailing a boat into foreign shores presented them before you. The botanists and explorers of that time were like astronauts - travelling unimaginable distances to alien shores and bringing back talismans of that journey and thier strange detinations.

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating fictionalized exploration of the impact of Darwin's emerging theory on his real-life servant/assistant, Syms Covington. The book cleverly intertwines Covington's early life story - from child of a horse butcher to boy-sailor to the voyage of the Beagle - with the concerns of his later years as a successful immigrant in Australia: a family, a complex friendship and business partnership with the neighboring doctor who saved his life, and the tortuous whirlwind of emotions associated with his role in Darwin's discovery. As a person Darwin comes across as bland, all his energies focused within. Covington by contrast is a force of nature bursting with the love of life, and for the most part McDonald imparts that vividness to the book as a whole. Well worth a read.

[Max Coggan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The conflicting story of Syms Covington’s life had me wanting to reach the end. Who today would know the game of ‘knuckles or jacks’ when we have a world filled with mobile phones and computers or the life of singer Ray Charles feeling the window to hear what was outside. Beautifully written.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr Darwin's Shooter met with many favourable reviews at our Book Club meeting today. The most enthusiastic readers loved the depiction of life on the seas and the representation of the life experiences of young men eager for commitment and adventure away from the tedium of life in poor English towns and villages.

Most of the group wished that the novel had been 'easier' to read, its style being somewhat of an impediment to their enjoyment of the story. I had expected that the ideas of creationism and evolution would figure quite strongly in our discussion today but I was wrong!

[Mads · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, or thereabouts, rounded up. The story of Syms Covington, Darwin's right-hand man while travelling on the HMS Beagle and collecting the Australian and South American specimens that would, over time, provide his thinking for the Theory of Evolution.

Mr Darwin's Shooter had themes relevant to my interests - the Victorian age, naturalism, the challenge of Faith - however it wasn't an entirely enjoyable read for me. When I see that it took me ten days to read I'm surprised - it felt like much longer, and I had to break it up by reading other books at the same time.

I have to give it to McDonald, however, and remark how incredibly researched this was. Almost all of the conversations or remarks made by the real-life characters were taken from letters, diaries, and other primary sources. This occasionally meant a semi-broken or odd-sounding conversation, (the sort a historical fiction writer could have smoothed over with modern grammar and wit). It is worth noting that what was written was not necessarily how one spoke out loud - but for the most part this wasn't a major issue.

A little dull at times, but then with moments of great interest, Mr Darwin's Shooter was a story with a far better premise than anything else. Perhaps because of McDonald's interest to make his characters seem as real as possible, (primary resourced, diary-written real), he also managed to make them appear both stand-offish and unlikeable. Syms himself often acted foolish, unable to empathise far, boorish, and robotic. I doubt the real adventurer was so single-minded.
Then again, perhaps I've just grown used to the romance of characterisation in pure fiction. To be fair however, when I started his novel, that's exactly what I thought it was.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, I really did. The story of Darwin's assistant on his historic voyage aboard the Beagle, I was expecting that it would provide some insights into Darwin's adventures on that trip and how his observations would ultimately lead to his revolutionary hypothesis about the evolution of life. And while there is a little bit of that, the primary focus of this book is on the conflict these emerging ideas create for Darwin's assistant and his long held religious convictions. It is this story of how Mr. Covington, Darwin's shooter, struggles to reconcile his faith with the new ideas that he helped bring to light. In that sense, it reflects the ongoing conflict between certain conservative religious sects and science that continues to impact our social and political discourse even now.

So, I didn't hate this book, but I didn't really enjoy it as much as I'd hoped. The prose here is highly embellished, to the point of being somewhat baroque, which makes it a bit of a chore to read. There were any number of sentences and paragraphs that I had to re-read to make sense of them, and there may still be a few sentences that I never fully understood. Mix in a generous dosage of 19th century sailor's slang, and reading this book requires sufficient effort that it detracts from any enjoyment that might be obtained from the story itself. And the story itself is a chore. The text jumps around through time, and there isn't a clear plot line to follow through the segments. Ultimately, while the story was moderately interesting and at least compelling enough to draw me through the entire book, it will not be appearing on any list of my favorite books.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Darwin’s Shooter written by Roger McDonald told of the tales of Covington, Mr. Darwin’s assistant. The unique novel shows all the untold work of the forgotten assistant. The book does not focus on just the discoveries for Darwin’s research, but the knowledge learned and tested as these discoveries were made. As time goes on, Covington struggles with the true meaning of life and creation. The more science he discovers, the less religion becomes believable. Every voyage brings Covington closer to life’s true meaning. As Covington helps MacCracken turn into a better person, the story gets even more interesting. The intricate workings of Covington’s mind is revealed with each move he makes. The adventures of the book intrigued me, though some stories of Covington’s adventures seemed to have no relevance to the main idea of the book. The end seemed fitting in that Covington found a balance between his religious beliefs and the science he discovered. The beginning years of his life merging with his life’s work in science.

[Roger Brunyate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whither Creation?

Syms Covington, the protagonist of this magnificent novel, was a real person. A seaman on board the HMS Beagle, he became the personal servant to Charles Darwin, helping him gather specimens in South America, tending him in England, and maintaining a correspondence even after his emigration to Australia. He might have remained a mere footnote to history, mentioned in Darwin's letters but not acknowledged in either The Voyage of the Beagle or The Origin of Species, had Roger McDonald not given him an intensity of life that, in this book, quite eclipses the reticent Darwin.

One thread of the novel begins with Covington as a knacker's apprentice in Bedford, England, a latter-day follower of the Christianity of John Bunyan and his Pilgrim's Progress. Meeting a charismatic sailorman-preacher, he goes with him to sea, both ending on HMS Beagle, where Covington strives to get noticed by Darwin. Through strength, skill, and sheer persistence, he eventually succeeds, and embarks on a series of adventures, both scientific and amatory.

Alternating with these sections are others set thirty years later in Australia. Covington has become an eccentric half-deaf old man, his fortune made, but terrified that Darwin's conclusions in the forthcoming Origin of Species will reveal him as an accomplice in disproving the scriptural foundations of the faith on which he has based his life. The unequal relationship between the old hermit and the ambitious young doctor who at first tries to patronize him has an austere fascination as the facts gradually emerge, but I cannot say that it is realized with sufficient clarity to bring Covington's spiritual crisis truly into focus. By contrast, the youthful chapters leap off the page in an incandescence of language that is at once brilliant and strange.

Darwin's vessel called in at Australia on her return voyage; his servant Syms Covington emigrated there; and now an Australian author is writing about both characters. It seems appropriate; Australia, as McDonald's Covington observes, is a country where servants soon become masters. It is also, like the hinterland of South America and the wastes of the Galapagos, a land of strange wonders where even to inhabit it is to partake in a new act of creation. And to match it, McDonald virtually creates a new language out of old ingredients: one part deliberate archaism, one part the scriptural overtones of John Bunyan, one part vernacular slang, and one part sheer invention, the whole making a brilliant verbal coinage that feels new-minted. Take this description of Covington playing his fiddle outside the cabin where the four officers are carousing:

They saw it, the winking curves of walnut wood. And presto Covington was enjoined to render a tune, a merry jig played in the inn near the crowded kennel where Spit and Polish were fart-daniels in his Pa's litter. Pelting over the bridge Covington bowed, raising a fine dust of resin. Soon his four were fox-hunting, with all the tally-hos and tarantaras in their tiny State Room, their sweaty shirts and stitch-busting breeches jerking around in the close air, the smells of their guts thickening the tropic night. Mr Earle went leapfrogging over the back of the gent with neither room to bend nor turn, and Capt deep in his cups was obliged to render Covington invisible to his emotion.

Old beliefs and new discoveries, old language and new; McDonald juggles both brilliantly throughout. But he ends in the simplicity of reconciliation:

He saw Darwin on his knees, and there was no difference between prayer and pulling a worm from the grass. As for Mr Covington, he prayed in the old-fashioned way. It was the last of anything he knew.

[Gavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful and compelling story. While I struggled every now and then about "was this event true or did the author make it up", it makes for a great book. I particularly liked the development of Syms internal fight between God and nature. and the interchange between travels with Charles Darwin and his later time living in Sydney. Great writing.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

In order for Darwin to gather the specimens he needed to advance his theory of evolution, he needed help. This is the (fictionalized) story of the man who acted as his personal servant and assistant on the Beagle and for a few years after. Young Syms Covington goes to sea as a young boy, recruited by a Christian preacher and sailor who traveled around the English countryside teaching and recruiting young boys as Christian sailors. Covington sails on two voyages, then is hired on to serve as a sailor on The Beagle. He sees the opportunity to work for Darwin as a good thing and gets himself the job. The conflict of the book is established as the difference between what is real and what is desired. Covington wishes to be loved and appreciated by Darwin. As is typical of gentlemen of the day, Darwin sees Covington as a servant - there when needed and invisible when not needed.
As Darwin's theories mature, he begins to wonder if in proving that there is great variation within a species and within the animal kingdom, he might be proving that God does not exist. This is a cause of great concern to Covington. He has a deep and simple faith and fears he may have assisted in destroying faith in God. How Covington finds peace, coming to terms with his position in Darwin's eyes and his position in relation to God, is the genius of this story. In saying this, it is important to also say that this book is not a preachy book. It wasn't hard to develop affection for Covington. Rough and abrupt, but hard working and good hearted, he is the heart of this beautifully written story of the little known but invaluable worker without whom Darwin's work might never have been accomplished. Five stars.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

I can't say that I enjoyed reading this book, but it did keep my attention. It isn't one that I could read for long stretches probably because I found myself re-reading passages to figure out what the author was trying to say. Then, too, I initially stumbled over metaphors and similes that didn't add to the story.

p 3: At 12 years of age he was sturdy as a man and soon would become one, stretching in his bones until he reached a height of just six feet, and getting a strength across his shoulders and in his arms, like a house beam squared from timber.

"Stretching in his bones" was awkward enough, but then there's that comparison with a house beam that does little to enhance the description.

But my biggest issue with this book is with the inadequate Author's Note. McDonald writes,
Syms Covington's archive by comparison [with Darwin's] is tiny. It consists of a contested birth-date, a scrappy diary, a few watercolors, and scattered mentions in Darwin's letters and diaries. ... This is more my Covington than the diarist of somewhat undistinguished record he made himself in life.

So, what aspects of the story are true? Was Covington a reflective personality? Did he have a strong religious foundation? What did his 'scrappy' diary reveal?

And after filling in many details about SC's supposed life, a wife (and children) were introduced into his story, but there's no explanation of how this wife came to be. Perhaps she was a real part of SC's life and McDonald did not try to imagine a background for her???

I'd like to hear Covington's comments about this personality that McDonald created for him. At the very least, McDonald has given Covington more of a presence on the pages of history.

[Marshall Moyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Darwin's Shooter presents a unique perspective of the Scientific Revolution through the eyes of Syms Covington, the oft forgotten assistant of Charles Darwin. The book is a very interesting look into the changes and conflicts that theories such as evoltion were causing in society during the 19th century. This conflict is prominently evident in Covington, who struggles internally throughout the novel with balancing his reverent Christian faith with discoveries that he is helping Darwin make. The book presents his life as a youth travelling with Darwin, as well as his later years as a mysterious and guilt racked man unsure of whether to be proud of his and Darwin's work. The novel shows changes that Covington makes, and delves into his mentor-apprentice relationship with Darwin and John Phipps (the latter his religious teacher and the other his key to being a naturalist). This focus on one individual mentoring another is seen in a second story presented in the novel: that of Covington with an Austrialian physican, Dr. MacCraken. This second story conveys a lot about Covington as the man slowly reveals more of himself to the younger doctor.
I would recommend this book to anyone interesting in scientific innovations, natural history, developments in biology, or just historical fiction in general. The book was a bit slow in starting, but it gets more interesting and entertaining as it developes. Worthwhile read.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Darwin's Shooter is a creatively written novel about a man named Syms Covington who did not get the credit he deserved in history. The book follows the life of a young man seeking adventure who eventually ends up being Charles Darwin's sidekick so to speak in many of his discoveries. However, history doesn't seem to mention Covington that much when it comes to Darwin's discoveries and so this was an interesting novel to read because it really makes you think about all the other brilliant minds out there. Could they have got some help as well from guys who did not get any credit? But I digress. The novel jumps from time period to time period of Covingtons life that in my opinion works because it shows how ideas and stances change overtime. He starts off very Christian but, the more he discovers scientifically, the less religious he becomes. The novel also examines not only the discoveries but the hard work and dedication by the few put behind it. I personally found it hard to follow at some parts, but then again, I am not the strongest reader so I am sure most will get what I could not follow.

This book would definitely suit someone who loves reading about history and controversy. I also think this novel would be for anyone who would like to take a look back into the notion of the discovery of Evolution. This novel would be good for anyone who can relate to not getting the credit they deserved on something they worked really hard on as well.

[Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book by an Australian author is about Charles Darwin's assistant, about whom little is known, but around whom McDonald spins a fascinating tale. He portrays the assistant as an ambitious & capable young man who craves but receives little credit from Darwin for his efforts. He's also a devout Christian who slowly & reluctantly (perhaps like Darwin himself?) realizes how Darwin's findings will challenge the religious belief system of that time. McDonald was able, through the eyes of the assistant & his young protege late in life, to make me see as I hadn't before how this was a religious struggle of the highest magnitude. For Darwin, the story concludes, "there was no difference between prayer and pulling a worm from the grass." For the assistant, despite his utter devotion to his master & to similar tasks, prayer had to retain its old-fashioned moorings & his work was worldly & separate. This is a complex book, much of which I know went over my head, but whose artistry & storytelling I admired.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the most part, very readable and believable.
(Just the briefest, to me superfluous, touches of character's philosophising or soliloquising, would be my only complaint) **
This novel was an enjoyable portrayal of our, (white, British/Australian,) recent history. It brought to life a way of life, a time of set standards and beliefs in social strata and religion. A time of discovery which challenged those beliefs and opened men's minds and opportunities. (-Without which we would probably never have achieved the socially democratic world we are so lucky to have known).
** Read another edition the 2nd time. Could not remember reading it 5yrs ago. I skimmed a lot more of the author's inventive musings this time. found it rather tedious and have removed 1 star.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting viewpoint of history...this is the story of the English sailor who helped Darwin collect his specimens during his historic voyage on the Beagle... The writing is excellent, by Australian Roger McDonald ( a blurb states that "there is something of Conrad" in his prose and I agree). A big part of the story is about the aged sailor living in Australia years after his time with Darwin. I would have liked even more about the voyage....

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written book into which the author has poured himself, a vast wealth of historical research and every skeric of creativity one can imagine. The prose is marvelous. It richly deserves every one of the nominations it received and the awards it won. I really, really did not enjoy it; often I could barely read more than a page or two at a time, I was mystified and annoyed by the content and yet somehow I was compelled to keep reading way beyond every point at which I wanted to cease reading. Now I have finished it, I feel no sense of satisfaction at having done so, just annoyance at having poured so much time into it.

The reasons for these (apparently) contradictory sentiments occupied me as I was reading it quite a bit. First and foremost the problem for me was that having picked up a book titled Mr. Darwin's Shooter I did actually expect Mr Darwin and the voyage of the Beagle to feature heavily. It was well past page 200 out of 361 that Darwin came into it and even after he does - there is remarkably little of practical writing in the whole thing and anyone who, like myself, picks this up because they think it will give them more insight into Darwin's great voyage? To them I say KEEP WALKING, this book is NOT for you!

That said, because it self advertises as being about Mr Darwin's shooter - specifically Syms Covington - I can't really be too annoyed about that not being the focus. Given how much research went into it I don't feel cheated in any way either, but I did not enjoy he authors very fictionary depiction of Syms Covington. I didn't really enjoy any of it. The text alternated timelines (don't they all, these days?) between Covington as a boy, 1828, starting at twelve years old when he loses his apprenticeship as a scribe somewhere in England and takes up with a pied piper type character who collects young boys and takes them as ship boys onto Royal Navy survey ships. This was a very weird narrative, nothing like I had read before. I have read a bit about young boys being carried off to sea. Nothing like this it is all innocent and religous and.... I don't know, bizarrely mythical perhaps?

The other part of the narrative is in later years, 1860's Sydney, Australia where an arrogant young doctor called MacCraken operates on an old deaf man called Covington without knowing anything of his history. I actually enjoyed this part better, despite not likeing MacCraken and being constantly annoyed by random events: A boy drowns, so Covington goes up to MacCraken and breaks his jaw because? Why not? MacCraken has breakfast, then on the next page, apparently five minutes latter has breakfast again because... who the hell knows. The level of random, meaningless mindless narrative was painful but the real problem was that it was utterly beautiful narrative!

The experience was insane. Trying to make sense of events was hopeless, timelines seemed coincidental at best and actual events were shaky and random. But the prose was beautiful, elaborate and lush! If only this had not been about people and events I was actually interested in! Then I would have been able to let the marvelous descriptions of Australian ocean and forest roll over me. I could have reveled in the vivid, evocative descriptions of the South America which were fascinating. As is was my struggle was constant.

Also, here is a lot of religion, not my favourite thing to read about but at first I could excuse it because the times were religious and I found it easy to believe that Syms Covington, from a Congregations belief system (I don't know exactly what that is and the book in no way enlightened me) was very into his God stuff. I know that Darwin himself was deeply conflicted by his conclusions because of his religious beliefs, and yet was enough of a scientist to accept his findings despite his doubts (whether he would or not if he had not known that Wallace was about to publish, that is another story).

It is possible that in the later part of his life, as represented in this book, some of the more peculiar Covington parts were due to his being worried by the part he had played in Darwin's conclusions? Or possibly that Darwin never credited him? Or... who knows, something else?

The beautiful writing, the wholesale slaughter of animals upon which the author/Covington dwells at length, the complete lack of reliable narration and the scarcity of actual events. The perpetual feeling of unpleasantness about everything and everyone in it.

All in all this is a perfect example of a book I can see is a good book but is %100 not for me. I kind of forced myself to keep reading until we reached Darwin, then I regretted it, but thought I might still be able to get something good out of it. Then, I was so close to the end I felt I might as well finish it. It took ages. I wish I had never set eyes on it.

If you love beautiful, elaborate, lush literature and if you have not knowledge of or interest in Darwin so that you can just roll with the words, then this might be the book for you. I have a copy available, free pickup.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

If this book is any indication the lack of interesting events provided Darwin with plenty of time to think up a theory of evolution.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised I liked this one, because I don't know anything about science. The book was an interesting examination of the ways Darwinism affected people's beliefs. I liked the characters.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5. I was a wide-eyed young ecology student when I bought this book, and I honestly thought I'd read it then. I don't recall any of the story I just read- perhaps it didn't resonate with me as it does now.
The overall thesis of the book hits all the -isms...colonialism, classism, and racism; the Victorian ideals of class and societal structure, and the main character's need to better himself. McDonald explores the irony of Darwin's theory- that all living things are evolved (equitably) as a product of their environment (even humans) set within the harsh class racial and colonial structure of Victorian society.
(Yes, I know that's a simplistic description of Darwinian Theory---don't @ me!)
Almost 200 years later and society still wrestles with these issues.

[Wendy Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having just watched a movie called “Creation” about Charles Darwin (more about his personal life and family struggles - which are of course interwoven with his scientific research), I was curious to know if the man shown in the movie as his assistant (working tirelessly in the shed breeding and boiling up birds, mostly) was the same under-recognised man as Covington, portrayed in Darwin’s Shooter. Seemingly not. By the stage in the movie, before Darwin actually finished his famous book (which incidentally sold out the day after its publication) Covington would have been in Australia, not in Darwin’s shed with the birds.

[Fay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a hard read with its olden days prose. Based on a real life character, Syms Covington, who becomes Charles Darwin's shooter and collector of specimens. We start with Sym's childhood years and the circumstances of him becoming a sailor. His wit and making the most of opportunities brings him the opportunity to become a collector with Charles Darwin.
The parallel story is Sym's life in NSW as a moderately deaf and disillusioned colonial. His deep faith gives him grief and guilt as he ponders what part he played in assisting with the Darwin's theory of evolution which seems so contrary to his Christian faith.

[Kasey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected this to have a lot more of Covington's experiences with Darwin, but Darwin really wasn't introduced/relevant until maybe halfway through the book. There are some things that were inherent to the story that remained underexplained, and I felt that it focused too little on what could've made it far more interesting, such as Covington's personal shame at contributing to the theory of evolution. The writing was fine but inconsistently descriptive, and overall the book just felt like it lacked what was promised.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last few chapters lifted this from 2 to 3 with more details about Origin and the struggle of Covington with religion vs evolution. The book was hard to read, written in 19th century language with many vague, meaningless sentences. I was tempted at times to give up, but suppose I may have learned something about Darwin’s research.

[Jill Gross · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can not force myself to finish this book. There are too many out there to continue wasting my time

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great premise, unengagingly delivered.