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A literary gem, Winter's luminous debut novel is a deeply affecting portrait of life in an enchanting seaside town and the trials of growing up unique in a restrictive environment.
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Summaries
Add a SummaryWinter's first novel tells the story of an intersex child born in the late 1960s in a small, rural town in Canada and raised as a boy. His parents try to protect Wayne from harm, each in his or her own way; his father tries to interest him in the wilderness skills that men in their community use to make a living, but his mother refuses to discourage his interest in more feminine pursuits. Wayne doesn't learn of his intersexuality until a medical emergency reveals his condition to him. Though he tries to be a boy to fit in, he is preoccupied by the girl that he knows lives within him; he has to leave home and quit his hormone therapy to allow his body to be as ambiguous as he feels inside. Winter's lyrical language contrasts with the characters' discomfort about Wayne's secret. VERDICT Readers interested in literary explorations of gender, such as Jeffrey Eugenides's Middlesex, will appreciate this novel as well. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/10.]-Amy Ford, St. Mary's Cty. Lib., Lexington Park, MD (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals
The author has done the character development so well that the reader can see various points of view. Very much enjoyed her style of prose. Touching without melodrama.
Hermaphrodite child born to a couple in Labrador, birth to adult. Good
Here is a summary from Chapters web site. In 1968, into the beautiful, spare environment of remote coastal Labrador, a mysterious child is born: a baby who appears to be neither fully boy nor girl, but both at once. Only three people are privy to the secret - the baby's parents, Jacinta and Treadway, and a trusted neighbour, Thomasina. Together the adults make a difficult decision: to raise the child as a boy named Wayne. But as Wayne grows to adulthood within the hyper-masculine hunting culture of his father, his shadow-self - a girl he thinks of as "Annabel"- is never entirely extinguished, and indeed is secretly nurtured by the women in his life. Haunting and sweeping in scope, Annabel is a compelling tale about one person's struggle to discover the truth in a culture that shuns contradiction.
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Add a QuoteYou can't be synchronized if you're by yourself. Imagine synchronizing your watch to the right time if it is the only watch in the world.
The child knew that a grim, matter-of-fact attitude was required of him by his father, and he learned how to exhibit such an attitude, and he did not mind it because it was the way things were, but it was not his authentic self.
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Annabel
Interview with the Author
Annabel reading
Kathleen Winter reading a passage from the book
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Add a CommentI really enjoyed listening to this book in the CD version. One of the best books about someone born intersexed. Very complex and intringuing story about a kid named Wayne/Annabel and their relationship with a world of people that sees gender as binary and does not understand that gender is a spectrum.
Lyrical prose evoking thought provoking external and internal landscapes and a challenging topic but in the end, haunting and somehow unsatisfying. Could this possibly be somewhat autobiographical?
<i>Annabel</i> was, for me, a hay wagon ride on a very bumpy road. It was an awkward lecture by author Kathleen Winter on discrimination and fear and male chauvinism and the damage caused by lying and provincialism all told by unlikeable characters in a landscape the author seems to think is bleak and barren. So why was I surprised to find a hero with more woodcraft than a James Fennimore Cooper Indian, a miraculous cure for severed vocal chords, and pot of gold at the end of the ride. Expecting <i>Middlesex</i>? Well, maybe <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> played off-key.
I spit my tea when I read Ms Winter saying that spring breakup in Labrador starts in early March...erm, I grew up in Edmonton and spring breakup never started til mebbe late April. (I checked this on the net to confirm.) And if I was in the last crushingly painful throes of giving birth, I doubt I would be pouring "scalding coffee" and chatting about the wonderful life without the menfolk. I did not read past the first chapter. Waste of my time and waste of money for a Canada grant for this drivel.
billy elliot + bridge to terabitha = a story of development and discovery, not only of the central character, but of the lives around him. maritime flavour - newfoundland at its wild and rawest.
I can probably count on both hands the number of books that have affected me as emotionally as this book did. A great book leaves you with a sense of wonder and a knowledge that you have experienced something precious and rare. This is one of those books. The story flowed so well that I didn't feel like I was reading, it was more like listening to a story. The characterization is phenominal--Wayne/Annabel is so riveting. The supporting characters are every bit as strong and meaningful to the story. So good it brought tears to my eyes.
This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read.
Set in Labrador in 1968, this book tells the story of a child growing up. Only three people (parents and one friend) knowing that the child is a hermaphrodite. The child is raised as a boy in the masculine hunting culture of Labrador but the feminine side is not extinguished. Somehow, this unusual story is interesting and very well written.
I would read Winter again for her lovely style, but I did find the plot drag part way through.
Great book! The main character is very likeable, and the author has a way of inspiring a great deal of empathy in the reader for this poor boy's life. Very readable and entertaining. Highly recommended.