So we had to read this book for Anthropology last semester called A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews, and besides its depressive-ness, it was a really good book. So I was excited when I saw that she had a new book out called The Flying Troutmans.
I was even more excited when my sister got the book for christmas! So while taking a break from reading Candide I snuck into my sister room and borrowed it.


So the really cliche summary is that its about a family and how they cope with there struggles and heartbreaks. Hattie's sister is having another mental breakdown, and so Hattie takes her neice, a hyper-active, arts and crafts doing, purpled haired 11 year old named Thebes, and Logan, her trouble-making angsty, basketball playing, sweety-at-heart nephew on a road trip to find their father. It deals with some tough stuff but does it in such a light hearted tone, it makes the book hard to put down. I found it really easy to get into, and the characters were really fun to get to know.
I also readlly like the cover. The colour scheme and general design matches with that of A Complicated Kindness. And looking at the cover now, I get why there is a bird eating a fish on the cover and having read the story its full of symbolism and stuff. Its like the bird symbolises how life seems to be "eating up" the Troutmans (thats the family...and the bird in my symbolism:P) but ALSO once you read the book you see that the seagull could also represnt Min (the sister with the breakdown) because in one point of the book the reader is told a story about how Min pretends to be a seagull in order to befriend one, and she gets Hattie to pretend to be a dead fish in order to aid her impersonation. And what with Min's constant breakdown's and odd behaviour she could be the seagull that is eating up her families life.
Hmmm.
Deep.