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Child of the Twilight
′It is strange and fascinating to me to think of people -- Avila in particular -- praying me into existence.′
Sydney Peony Kent is nineteen years old. She was a longed-for IVF baby, ′product of an unknown egg and unknown sperm′ implanted in her mother, Avila. Avila not only used the latest scientific techniques to conceive Sydney, but also prayed to the Bambinello, a small carved and jewelled statue of the infant Jesus housed in the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome and said to have miraculous properties.
Avila′s distant relative Father Roland Bruccoli was conceived in a more conventional manner, but his mother too prayed to the Bambinello before his birth -- and that of his twin sister Eleena. It is when the adult Roland is visiting the church of Santa Maria one evening that the Bambinello is stolen. Roland hopes that Father Cosimo, an archivist, poet and riddler said to speak in the ancient green language of the troubadours, can assist in discovering what has happened to the Bambinello. But when matters of belief are involved, nothing is straightforward, as Sydney discovers herself when she too becomes caught up in tracing the Bambinello′s fate.
Deftly weaving together religion, science, pregnancies wanted and unwanted, love, loss and belief, Carmel Bird has created a luminous novel that both questions and celebrates the miraculous.
Sydney Peony Kent is nineteen years old. She was a longed-for IVF baby, ′product of an unknown egg and unknown sperm′ implanted in her mother, Avila. Avila not only used the latest scientific techniques to conceive Sydney, but also prayed to the Bambinello, a small carved and jewelled statue of the infant Jesus housed in the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome and said to have miraculous properties.
Avila′s distant relative Father Roland Bruccoli was conceived in a more conventional manner, but his mother too prayed to the Bambinello before his birth -- and that of his twin sister Eleena. It is when the adult Roland is visiting the church of Santa Maria one evening that the Bambinello is stolen. Roland hopes that Father Cosimo, an archivist, poet and riddler said to speak in the ancient green language of the troubadours, can assist in discovering what has happened to the Bambinello. But when matters of belief are involved, nothing is straightforward, as Sydney discovers herself when she too becomes caught up in tracing the Bambinello′s fate.
Deftly weaving together religion, science, pregnancies wanted and unwanted, love, loss and belief, Carmel Bird has created a luminous novel that both questions and celebrates the miraculous.
- GenresAustralia
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 30, 2014
Hail Carmel Bird,
Full of wit,
The word is with thee.
Blessed are you among women writers
And blessed is the fruit of your pen, “Child of the Twilight”
Holy Carmel, mother of story,
Pray for us readers now
And at the hour of our page turning,
Amen.
“Child of the Twilight” is a story spun by nineteen year old Sydney, an IVF child in search of her place in the scheme of things; an identity within the “curious nature” of her origins. She tells us she “constantly peers into the lives of those to whom I would be related, if I were related to anybody at all”. And here she finds “Roland the Good, Cosimo the Archivist, Diana the Manipulator, Rosita the Spinster, Corazon the Fertile and Rufus the Virile.”
Touching all the lives is the miraculous statue of the Infant Jesus, The Bambinello, at the Franciscan church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome. The statue was prayed to by Sydney’s mother, Avila, and also by a distant relative, Callianthe, mother of Father Roland the Good, who visits the statue only to find it has been stolen. The mystery is deepened rather than solved by the involvement of the trickster priest, Father Cosimo, suggesting the statue may have chosen to leave. Back home in Australia, Father Roland is the priest at the school where Corazon (the Fertile) Mean, year 12 student, collapses from an ectopic pregnancy while in the art room, in front of her teacher Rosita the Spinster. Sydney then adds the “Mean” family to the mix as the story branches out to cover the past and present of the lives of the family of characters, while still riffing on the history of miraculous statues, the science of reproduction and the mysteries of faith.
The “free floating”, drifting nature of the narrator (or “Navigator” as she refers to herself) gives her a playful omnipotence, at once connected and disconnected from the tree of the characters, telling us important things brusquely and teasingly hinting at others as she leaps from branch to branch with the litheness of a woodland sprite.
The story twists and turns, folds and unfolds, eventually completely entwining with such deftness you hardly have time to catch your breath. I at once wanted more – more detail, more characters, more wonderful words – while still admiring the perfect restraint of it all.
The constellation of characters past and present, living and dead, dance in an intricate and whimsical tale of faith, magic, science, mystery, love and loss. The book delights at every turn. Read it. With Carmel Bird, you are in the hands of a masterful story teller.
Full of wit,
The word is with thee.
Blessed are you among women writers
And blessed is the fruit of your pen, “Child of the Twilight”
Holy Carmel, mother of story,
Pray for us readers now
And at the hour of our page turning,
Amen.
“Child of the Twilight” is a story spun by nineteen year old Sydney, an IVF child in search of her place in the scheme of things; an identity within the “curious nature” of her origins. She tells us she “constantly peers into the lives of those to whom I would be related, if I were related to anybody at all”. And here she finds “Roland the Good, Cosimo the Archivist, Diana the Manipulator, Rosita the Spinster, Corazon the Fertile and Rufus the Virile.”
Touching all the lives is the miraculous statue of the Infant Jesus, The Bambinello, at the Franciscan church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome. The statue was prayed to by Sydney’s mother, Avila, and also by a distant relative, Callianthe, mother of Father Roland the Good, who visits the statue only to find it has been stolen. The mystery is deepened rather than solved by the involvement of the trickster priest, Father Cosimo, suggesting the statue may have chosen to leave. Back home in Australia, Father Roland is the priest at the school where Corazon (the Fertile) Mean, year 12 student, collapses from an ectopic pregnancy while in the art room, in front of her teacher Rosita the Spinster. Sydney then adds the “Mean” family to the mix as the story branches out to cover the past and present of the lives of the family of characters, while still riffing on the history of miraculous statues, the science of reproduction and the mysteries of faith.
The “free floating”, drifting nature of the narrator (or “Navigator” as she refers to herself) gives her a playful omnipotence, at once connected and disconnected from the tree of the characters, telling us important things brusquely and teasingly hinting at others as she leaps from branch to branch with the litheness of a woodland sprite.
The story twists and turns, folds and unfolds, eventually completely entwining with such deftness you hardly have time to catch your breath. I at once wanted more – more detail, more characters, more wonderful words – while still admiring the perfect restraint of it all.
The constellation of characters past and present, living and dead, dance in an intricate and whimsical tale of faith, magic, science, mystery, love and loss. The book delights at every turn. Read it. With Carmel Bird, you are in the hands of a masterful story teller.
November 9, 2024
In looking at the reviews this is a really polarising book. People either loved it or hated it.
This for me was a hard slog. It is only a small book but it took me ages to read. I can understand why some people like it but it was not for me.
This for me was a hard slog. It is only a small book but it took me ages to read. I can understand why some people like it but it was not for me.
February 15, 2025
Interesting to read about the religious artifacts and symbolism which is fascinating. I found the narrative voice at times confusing to follow but then I do tend to zone out at times
December 13, 2015
Carmel Bird is a prolific Australian author of novels, short stories, essays and books about the craft of writing. I have previously read her 1998 novel Red Shoes and a collection of short stories called Automatic Teller (1996). Child of the Twilight (2010) is her ninth and most recent novel.
It’s a delightful book. Very playful, and subversively witty. A companionable narrator with a confiding tone whisks the story along, charming the reader with the tale of its eccentric cast of characters, almost all of whom have suffered a loss that clouds their days but not their faith. (Faith in God, faith in miracles, faith in people, faith in the future). Only the narrator claims not to believe in the spiritual, being herself a child conceived through a medical miracle, not a religious one.
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2015/12/14/ch...
It’s a delightful book. Very playful, and subversively witty. A companionable narrator with a confiding tone whisks the story along, charming the reader with the tale of its eccentric cast of characters, almost all of whom have suffered a loss that clouds their days but not their faith. (Faith in God, faith in miracles, faith in people, faith in the future). Only the narrator claims not to believe in the spiritual, being herself a child conceived through a medical miracle, not a religious one.
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2015/12/14/ch...
March 16, 2021
I'm a fan of Carmel Bird's writing and although there were sections of this novel I absolutely loved overall it was a bit hit and miss.
My favourite parts of the book involved the character Father Cosimo, a somewhat eccentric priest with a love of language and speaking in riddles. I can imagine Bird had great fun writing the dialogue for Father Cosimo, and I loved the word play. She has a fantastic ability to create sentences with a fresh perspective and combines words and images with a simultaneously playful and serious touch.
However about three quarters of the way through this book Bird seemed to run out of steam, and the ending was rushed and unsatisfying. An enjoyable read but not her best work
My favourite parts of the book involved the character Father Cosimo, a somewhat eccentric priest with a love of language and speaking in riddles. I can imagine Bird had great fun writing the dialogue for Father Cosimo, and I loved the word play. She has a fantastic ability to create sentences with a fresh perspective and combines words and images with a simultaneously playful and serious touch.
However about three quarters of the way through this book Bird seemed to run out of steam, and the ending was rushed and unsatisfying. An enjoyable read but not her best work
October 26, 2011
This is honestly the worst book I have ever read. And if you're interested because of the discussion of IVF, really just stay away. It's offensive, badly written and poorly researched (if at all). Even if you could ignore the bad writing I can't imagine how anyone could enjoy this book. It's just terrible.
August 9, 2010
I just cannot get into this one.
February 4, 2020
I found the meanderings of the author disruptive and the story itself is long and includes all sorts of people that have effect on the outcome. Blah.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews