Last Hummingbird West of Chile

by Nicholas Ruddock

***IPPY LITERARY FICTION – BRONZE***
An audacious tale of murder, privilege, and servitude - of both humans and nature.
A stunning work of imaginative fiction, Last Hummingbird West of Chile spins a tale of adventure that is in turn comedic, violent, poignant and thoughtful. Through the exploits of a young sailor born in questionable circumstance and a pair of murderous servants, as well as an assortment of other 19th century regulars, the vital subjects of today—race, religion, sexuality, environment—are framed in history and human culture.

Through narration by human protagonists, a tree, a hummingbird, various beasts, and the landscape itself, Ruddock tells a story of colonialism and environment, brutality and privilege, and the best and worst of human nature.

312 pages, Paperback

Published June 15, 2021

Reviews

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

A small pleasure, some might think, to stand upon a horse’s head. To those doubters I would say, “Imagine yourself to be the last hummingbird west of Chile, caged and uncaged at the whim of others, powerless, blown about like a feather, and then tell me what is a small pleasure and what is not.”

A friend said, breathlessly, that I had to read Last Hummingbird West of Chile, and when I saw that its author, Nicholas Ruddock, lives in the next city along the highway from us, I was even more intrigued. And I certainly thought that it began with a bang: set in an English manor house in 1832, there’s an initiating frenzy of births and deaths and schemes and secrets. When the timeline then skips ahead nineteen years and a young man renounces his vast inheritance, vowing to make his living upon the open waves as an ordinary seaman, Ruddock adds in colour and danger — shipwreck, slavers, tigers, and assassins! — from around the world (mostly to the good), but he also adds in constant commentary on the evils of colonialism, capitalism, racism, and the patriarchy (fine observations, but made without subtlety or nuance; told, with only glimpses of show). Still: a totally readable historical adventure story, and while it does have some interesting flourishes, I’m looking forward to learning what my friend thought I’d get from this.

So what, I thought. (We) had nothing to fear. Unless we broke rank and confessed, he would never know. He would never know unless walls and floors and the night itself could talk, and only my grandfather believed that possible. “I have heard the trees whispering to each other a thousand times,” he said, “and never do they sound the same.”

After dangling the laughable possibility of the walls and floors identifying a pair of murderers, the narrative goes on to give voice to a wide range of narrators, human and otherwise (we hear from a coral reef, a feral pig, a giant white oak transformed into the stern of a frigate; despite the many POVs, the plot revolves around Andrew — the young aristocrat who went to sea). The storyline is completely linear — with each narrator taking up the story where the last left off — and throughout it all is Zephyrax: a three-year-old ruby-throated hummingbird, separated from his flock due to errors in avian leadership, who meets and then accompanies Andrew on his travels around the globe. And while I appreciate that the hummingbird serves as a sort of objective observer of human activity, I couldn’t quite buy into these observations, or the voice, as his own:

• Fly on, Zephyrax, zoom at speed. I dropped to one hundred feet and entered what appeared to be the poorest quarter. A few citizens were leaning over the seawall, pouring fecal matter from wooden slop-buckets into the harbour. Babies cried, women cried, men cried or shouted. Enough, Zephyrax. I returned to the wider avenues. There, at intervals, box-like carriages on horizontal poles were being carried at a trot by quartets of dark-skinned men. White hands tap-tapped from curtained openings. We were in Asia, I understood, but racial privilege seemed unaltered, identical to that of Brazil or the Carolinas.

• I pondered the coincidence that there were “Indians” in North America and “Indians” in India, yet they were culturally and linguistically worlds apart. Someone must have made a mistake, historically, to give them the same name. Or, alternatively — more likely — white people made up the name for the North Americans. Looking at darker skin, they saw nothing worth differentiating. “Let’s call them all Indians, whoever they are,” they said, and so it came to pass.

• He was too hurried, thoughtless at the speed of his movements. If women were anything like female hummingbirds, I thought, then go slower, Andrew, go slower, bury your head in her neck, and whisper, whisper to her.

With the narrator changing so frequently (passages range from a paragraph to a few pages), and with assassins, perverts, and ne'er-do-wells threatening at every port-of-call and outpost, the storytelling was quick and compelling: even if I didn’t completely surrender myself to the conceit, I did want to know how everything would end. And: it does end.

If I could complain about the formatting: the following (a little spoilery) is copied as found, with the dialogue and narration all jumbled together —

”Well,” I said, “I asked for this, and now I know what my husband truly is.” I reached for a teaspoon without shaking. “Nothing will be easy now. By marriage I have passed all of my possessions into his hands. He could throw me under his carriage, run me over with impunity.” “I doubt he would go to such extremes,” replied Emerson.” “Your wife and Miss Albertson,” I said, “have already concluded that he has tried to kill my father and brother. Why should he stop at them?” My footman did not bat an eye. He advised me to visit my London solicitor, to ascertain my rights. I had already thought of that of course, and I would do so. “We’re not leaving London, Emerson,” I said, “you never know, we might even run into Andrew on the street. It happens in novels, it might happen to us.”

(Am I the only one who cringes at “It happens in novels, it might happen to us”?) Anyway: there was much to like in the historical colour and globe-trotting adventure, something a bit ham-fisted about the social commentary (I agree with Ruddock’s observations, but found little artistry in their presentation), and as my friend was a bit breathless about Hummingbird (and I see it is well-rated), I can only encourage others to make up their own minds about it.

[Deb Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliant read!!! If you are going to add any book to your reading list, please add this one! I was hooked from the start as the story is witty, imaginative and extremely cleverly written. Set in the 19th century, we follow the adventures of a young man with a good heart who defies his privileged upbringing. The obstacles he meets, the people he befriends and the experiences that challenge him are all part of the intrigue that captivates us. I was totally invested in the characters and read like mad to see how everything would turn out for them. And speaking of the characters, there is the most unbelievable but perfectly captured cast of them, who all come to life in flawless detail. I have total admiration for the author's love of language which shone from every page.
What a winner! It deserves heaps of attention and loads of praise!

[John Jantunen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A genuinely enthralling novel which is at once a riveting adventure and a chillingly poignant morality tale about the impossibility of escaping from one's self. While the novel takes place in the 1850s, this is not your average piece of historical fiction and as I read deeper into it I couldn't help but think that author Nicholas Ruddock set the book in a distant past solely so that he might create a perch from which to view afresh the subtle machinations at play within contemporary society. Its story of a young aristocrat fleeing the violence required to sustain his family's affluence in search of a less oppressive path is recounted in the first person by a wildly diverse collection of characters, both human and animal (and at one point even a white oak tree fashioned into a ship), and to Ruddock's credit his supple prose seamlessly integrates these perspectives into such a vast panorama that at times it came to feel like the very world itself was bursting to tell the tale of these interminably beguiling, and oftentimes irredeemably brutal, yet endlessly captivating, interlopers we call human beings. A truly stunning feat of the imagination.

[Ramona Jennex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning! Absolutely stunning! I was captivated by the story and the story telling. To say it is beautifully written is an understatement! This is an award winning book and it will be interesting to see if a Canadian author can be noticed without all the marketing and promotion inherent in the US system. I happened upon this book because I read a review in a Canadian literary magazine. The reviewer stated that it was one of the best books she had read this year.....well....that piqued my interest so I ordered the book. And I totally agree.
This is one of the best books I have read this year!!

[Jackie Nemni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, very original and captivating. The idea of making all the elements in the surroundings sentient added a level of connection which was clever. Despite the multiple narrators, the characters were fully developed and multifaceted.
I would definitely recommend it!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book with such a wonderful structure, filled with a lightness and beautiful prose. The story follows a pair of twins, one of whom is moved to throw off the shackles of power, money and class, the other who marries the wrong man after a lifetime of coldness from their father. Along the way, their story is helped in its narration by a hummingbird, an old oak tree, an assassin for hire (several, actually) and sundry sweet and caring house staff.

The book is immersive, the language plush. And the message, here and there, has to do with power, circumstance, colonialism.

The male half of the twin set has a charmed life - despite throwing off the comfort and ease of money and power, he manages to evade death a half-dozen of times, mostly through mistaken identity.

I wish I could say more about this, because it was a beautiful read. But like so many great reads, what's to be gained by taking it apart, except to say that this was a masterful 'show don't tell' experience, the narration held up by those who could give their own view on proceedings, and that was also great for moving the story along, keeping the pace going.

[Enid Wray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a sucker for a good swashbuckling story. I started out absolutely loving this title, but by about ⅔ of the way through I was finding myself working harder to keep reading. The concept is intriguing (the ‘unusuaI’ cast of narrators/perspectives particularly so)... and I finished it... but mostly because I wanted to see how the author wrote his way out of things.

Yes, it is a scathing critique of so many of our social-political-economic woes, and I am sympathetic to the situations and actions of some of the characters… but in the end the structure of the novel keeps it ‘remote’ - the way too many different ‘narrators’ never really allowing for me to get completely invested in any of the myriad cast of characters (some of whom only ever appear once, solely for the purposes of moving the action forward). And, ultimately, while it is a fairly epic adventure tale, it is also little more than a fairly predictable farce.

All in all, an enjoyable enough distraction from everyday life.

[Digitally Lit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claire M,-
This book was one that I was very intrigued by from the very start. It takes a bit of a contemporary approach to storytelling with the use of multiple perspectives; some that continue throughout the entirety of the book, and some that are only used once. I initially had a hard time following all the different perspectives, but once I got into the book, it became second nature to understand.

I enjoyed the plot of the book as well, it was very interesting and there was something new to learn in every chapter. The author uses very descriptive language, which was something that I found could sometimes impede the storyline. The book was set in the mid 1800’s, and so the language and phrasing used throughout the book was period appropriate which I appreciated. I was grateful for the vivid descriptions when it was able to enhance the plot, but this was mainly when the characters were speaking either to or about each other.

Overall, I really liked this book. It was an easy read while travelling, and a fun plot to watch unfurl. There are a few adult scenes throughout the book, and because of that I would recommend this book to slightly older audiences.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderful. I can’t say enough about this inventive round the work’s adventure. And all the characters from humans to animals to trees and landforms are fun. Our Hummingbird, Zephorax, for example, was utterly adorable with his courage and inflated sense of self. Through these various characters and incidents, Rudock offers social commentary on themes such as privilege, race, environmentalism, the arrogance and selfishness of humanity.

[Mary H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another stunning and original book by Nicholas Ruddock, one of my favourite Canadian authors. Loved this story - it did become a bit of a yarn by the second half, but I was already hooked. Never have I read a book with so many inanimate objects (and geographic features) as narrators - or ARE they inanimate after all?

[Miz]

They're all over; Razak, want to get a rujak?

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good storyline but the constant changing of narrators was annoying and unnecessary

[Harold Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oceans of fun. Part Tristram Shandy. Part Gulliver's Travels. Even part Tom Robbins. But one hundred per cent Nicholas Ruddock.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. The strength of the “little” one who chooses to be ones friend is eye opening.

[Cecily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5