Staff Pick – Fauna by Alissa York

One Book Nova Scotia, our province wide reading project, chose Fauna (M) by Alissa York as the “one book” for 2013.  This is a wonderful, thought provoking novel.

It is filled with great storylines, intriguing characters, and a fantastic setting.

Although I am a primarily character driven reader, I was surprised at how much I was drawn to the setting, which is mostly in the Don Valley of Toronto. I really want to see this urban wilderness landscape. I recall that while reading the novel, I kept asking various friends if they have ever been to the Don Valley. What is it really like? What did you do there? .…

But this book is about far more than the intriguing Don Valley.  It is about relationships. It is about damaged and dysfunctional lives. It is about building trust between friends and family, between strangers, and between species. And it is about being true to yourself. While it is a somewhat complicated story in terms of all these relationships, each relationship has a vital twist to add to the narrative. It the type of story where you don’t forget about the characters after you finished reading.

If you are drawn to well crafted stories with a steady rising level of tension. A story with compelling, sympathetic characters, including non-humans. A novel with a great setting. You will probably enjoy Fauna as much as I did, which is a lot!

Please note that Alissa York will be reading from Fauna at the Spring Garden Road Library on Sunday, October 6th, at 2:30 p.m.  All are welcome.