The Flying Troutmans

It sounds like a book that ought to be about characters in a circus instead it's about a road trip from Canada to America in search of the father of two children. Hattie returns to Canada from Paris at the request of her sister Min who is suffering from unspecified mental problems. Hattie shoulders the burden of 15 year old Logan and 11 year old Thebes and on a whim, because she thinks Min is dying, decides to go in search of the children's father.

I found it very annoying that there are no speech marks in the book which means you almost have to read it 'aloud' in order to understand who is talking and to whom. Why do authors do this? I'm sure if they listened to their readers' they wouldn't do it. Apart from that I found the book good in a weird way. The author has caught the banter between family members and her portrayal of the distinctly weird Thebes is excellent.

There was a tension underlying the story about whether Min was going to be all right in the end. This was emphasised by the regular flashbacks to Hattie's and Min's childhood. I found the book definitely grew on me - The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews.