Friday, October 17, 2008

THE FLYING TROUTMANS by MIriam Toews (2008)

Hattie Troutman gets called back from hanging out with her boyfriend in Paris to run interference for her mentally ill sister Min. Min's kids Logan and Thebes have ministered to her invalid needs, but she refuses to get out of bed and face the world and her responsibility as a parent. Hattie and Logan manage to get Min to hospital where her needs will be assessed.

Min beckons Hattie to her beside and asks her to help her die. Hattie refuses. It is obviously a decision she's had to make before. Hattie takes Logan and Thebes on a roadtrip to the midwest to try to find their father who Min kicked out of the house when the children (now 15 and 11) were small.

Nobody writes about teenaged angst more convincingly or sympathetically than Miriam Toews. This novel will claw its way to the top of bestseller lists.

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