ANN LINGARD skilfully weaves a handful of lives together into a story that shows how people grow to become much more than the sum of their biological parts. Lisa the mathematician spends her life helping others deal with her achondroplasia. Madeleine, a sheep farmer, is coping with a facial disfigurement. Ruth has given up nursing after being turned on to taxidermy by a mischievous elderly neighbour who has secretly captured and stuffed all the local cats.
This engrossing and unusual tale is a scientific window on the soul. We are nothing more than anatomy, but somehow living our life transcends the bounds of this biology. Occasionally, though, life鈥檚 tragedies expose our flaws and limitations, and force us to think about what it means to pass them on to the next generation. This novel highlights something no embalmer can preserve: what it means to be an ordinary human being.
Indepenpress