05/15/2017
Writer Alex Smyth, the narrator of this satisfying novel from Irish author Cunningham (Capital Sins), grew up in Ireland but has settled in rural Bayport, Ontario. One day he receives a letter postmarked in Toronto containing only a fishing lure, which stirs up unsettling childhood memories, some of which involve another boy, Terence Deasy. Alex thinks he “murdered someone” when he was seven, but he can’t remember. As he tells his wife, Kay, “It’s like there are big holes in my brain.” He also feels uncomfortable that his first novel falsely eulogizes his elderly and estranged father, Dr. Patrick Smyth. Leaving Kay at home in Bayport, Alex returns to Ireland to seek answers from his father and to track down the key players from his childhood, including Terence. Cunningham artfully spins several stories at once: Kay, alone in Bayport with her doubts about their marriage and fears of a stalker; Alex seeing people and events from both a child’s and an adult’s perspective. Brief, cogent paragraphs about trout provide a connecting thread in this thoughtful, exquisitely told tale. (July)
[A] superbly crafted psychological thriller . . . Mesmerizing.”—Dermot Bolger
“A poet walks through these pages weaving time past and time present into sadness and grace.”—Paul Lynch, author of Red Sky in the Morning and Black Snow
“Cunningham's engaging novel challenges us to create our own metaphors so we may, like the trout, raise our head above the surface towards truth.”—Sunday Times (London)
“Hooking the reader with immediately accessible characters, The Trout is a ‘read at one or two sittings’ story. The gentle familiarity of the characters deceives while several layers of tension are introduced.”—Bord Gáis Energy Book Club, Book of the Month
“The strong characters, the excellent pacing, the sense of mystery, the undercurrent of menace and the beauty of the writing all come together to suck you in—in what is essentially a perfect storm of a novel.”—Irish Daily Mail
“A well-crafted crisply written, gripping story.”—Irish Times
“With its woven motifs, its tragic memories and its reflection on the quest for beginnings, The Trout subtly explores an existence forever marked by a childhood trauma. The precise and masterful use of suspense makes this a thrilling and emotional novel.”—Le Monde
“The reader is never less than fascinated.”—Irish Independent
“A perfect storm of a novel . . . The Trout is a film in waiting.”—Irish Daily Mail
