Book Review: Annabel by Kathleen Winter

 

Annabel            

Author:  Kathleen Winter

Publisher: Black Cat Press

American release date:  January 4, 2011

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Coming of Age Fiction/480 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

 

In March of 1968, Treadway and Jacinta Blake welcome a child to their home in rural Labrador. But this child is different from other children, having been born with both male and female genitals. Jacinta’s friend Thomasina warns her to watch out for what her husband might do with the child. She was right to worry. Having seen what there is to see, while Jacinta puzzles out what do to, Treadway decides  for them. He names the child Wayne, and he has doctors sew up the female part of him, although he never forgets it is there.

Treadway is a trapper, and he spends a great deal of the year out in the wilderness. Nonetheless, he is a good husband and father, better than a number of the other men where they live. Even so, he refuses to deal with the truth about Wayne, so Wayne grows up unaware of his dual nature, and life goes on. Thomasina watches over Wayne carefully, and she is the one to recognize that something is wrong when Wayne reaches puberty, and a certain part of his body reacts the way girls’ bodies have reacted from time immemorial. She does what she knows needs to be done, acting in his best interest as his teacher. Nonetheless she has broken the rules and must pay the price.

Wayne doesn’t truly know what the many pills he has to take are for, or how much they cost his parents. He doesn’t have any friends to speak of until he meets Wally Michelin, and they become fast friends. Wally’s real name is Wallis, named for the woman for whom a king abdicated his throne. They spend a lot of time together, Treadway’s chagrin,  and one day Wayne asks his dad about building a bridge. Treadway is enthusiastic, having done so as a boy, but he and Wayne have different ideas of what a bridge should be. Wally has dreams too, of singing and music, and a particular vocal piece by Faure. But not all dreams work out.

Annabel is an amazing debut novel from Kathleen Winter, about a child born intersex (what was once called hermaphrodite, said to be inspired by the story of Hermaphroditus, the child of Hermes and Aphrodite). It is beautifully written and engaging, as we fellow the life of Wayne Blake, wondering if he will ever discover his true nature and what he will make of it. The characters are beautifully written and engaging, while the prose is simply beautiful. There is a great depth to the story, as Wayne navigates a world in which he is different from the people that he sees, but he does the best he can. One can’t even fault his father, knowing he means well. There are definitely some heart-breaking moments here. I think what everyone should take away from this book is that people are people, and not to be defined by their body parts. A wonderful read, can’t say enough good things about it. I highly recommend this book.