Review: The Back
of the Turtle
Written By:
Thomas King
Reviewed By:
Christine Smith (McFarlane)
The Back of the
Turtle is Thomas King’s first novel in 15 years and as usual he does not
disappoint. He draws upon Native and Christian mythology in his book and his
play of words is interesting and intriguing.
The plot of
King’s novel moves back and forth in time, and is told through five points of
view, and though sometimes it can be a bit difficult to follow, overall the
story is an interesting one- one that draws upon not so much about creation but
about betrayal, disaster, salvation and the resilience of life.
Gabriel Quinn is
a scientist who works for a company called Domidion-a company that deals with
various environmental developments and disasters. Just think of Monsanto or
Exxon. Quinn feeling tortured by what the company does abandons his laboratory
to return to Smoke River Reserve, where his mother and sister lived. He finds upon
his return that almost everyone in the community has disappeared. They and the
natural wildlife surrounding the reserve have been poisoned by an environmental
disaster known as the Ruin.
Quinn is a
tortured soul and wants to commit suicide. We learn the reason why he wants to
end his life and it’s because he is responsible for the environmental disaster
that hit his reserve, and he is there to witness the destruction he created and
walk into the sea and die.
Upon his arrival
at Samaritan Bay (the beach and waters where he attempts to take his life),
Quinn finds the only signs of life are a stray dog named Soldier, an Indigenous
artist Mara, a kid named Sonny who runs a dilapidated motel with an absentee
father and an old man named Nicholas Crisp.
Quinn strikes up
an unlikely relationship with Soldier and Mara and you learn to favor Quinn and
Mara more than you would Dorian Asher, the CEO of Domidion, who is the villain
in The Back of the Turtle. Asher is the type of person who becomes wealthy
presiding over Domidion, the Ruin and other disasters, and he treats everything
personal and corporate like they are deals with certain levels of priority to
them. Oil spills, no big deal, tar sands disasters, who cares etc.
Mara and Gabriel
are the characters I learned to like because they are more human and feel
things on a deeper level than Dorian Asher. When you witness the interplay
between Mara and Gabriel, you find yourself caught up in wondering where their
relationship is going to go and what’s going to happen to them, especially when
Gabriel has his off and on again wish to die.
King tells the story in The Back of the Turtle in his usual
witty and mischievous way, just like in his books The Truth About Stories, A
Short History of Indians in Canada and other works. King is one of those
authors you want to read no matter what.
The Back of the Turtle is the winner of the 2014 Governor
General’s Award and is published by Harper Collins Publishers Ltd. It is 518
pages.
ISBN: 978-1-44343-162-0
