“However much Connie’s absence permeated my every though, I had never once said so out loud. Never recounted to anyone the lost, dark-edged hours, knowing that the words themselves, the weight of them in my mouth, would be like drowning, and all at once her disappearance would cease to be a series of frantic flashes, scattered in ungraspable ether. It would be linear. It would be a thing that another person told another person,” (Galway).
In 1955 New Orleans the Fayette sisters Fritzi, Constance, and Bonnie love, tease, and care for one another as only sisters can, relying on each other since their emotionally distant parents keep themselves at arms length. But when Constance disappears the youngest Bonnie seems to be the only Fayette worried about what has happened to her, everyone else assuming that Constance has simply run away. Bonnie is determined to discover what has happened to her sister and unravels the secrets of Constance’s life and goes on a journey that takes her through the swampland and meeting wealthy families to find the truth.
I found out about Bonavere Howl randomly through Instagram and I’m glad that I did. I’d never heard of Caitlin Galway but I’m always looking for new local Canadian writers and I’m glad that I’ve found her because she is brilliant. Bonavere Howl is a marvelously written book, well-researched and enchanting. Galway gets the setting down and the slow, sticky heat of New Orleans permeates the text. Bonnie was a fantastic voice to follow and I loved her insights into her world and her love for her sisters Fritzi and Constance as well as her determination to find Constance.
However, I’m surprised that this book isn’t marketed or listed as a mystery. I understand that Galway is trying to make this more of a literary book but the mystery of where Constance is and Bonnie’s own will to find her is too strong throughout the novel for the book to simply be literary, especially with some of the more high-stakes confrontation near the end. The ending also does come a little too quickly with much of the action happening all at once, and Saul’s character all but disappears halfway through, as well as Abelia who was odd but I really enjoyed meeting.
Still though, Bonavere Howl is a wonderful read that really shows off Galway’s talent as a writer. It’s clear that Galway dedicated a lot of time researching to getting the setting, time, and characters right and she succeeds in that. She’s a wonderful writer and I can’t wait to read more of her work. If you’re a fan of the first season of True Detective and the Amazon show Tell Me Your Secrets, you’ll love this!
Publication: May 1 2019
Publisher: Guernica Editions
Pages: 285 pages (eBook)
Source: Libby
Genre: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:
It is 1955, and the three Fayette sisters have lived their whole lives in the enchanting French Quarter of New Orleans. Though neglected by their parents, they share a close bond with one another–from afternoons in their small, shared bedroom, to trying to speak with ghosts beneath the sweeping trees in their garden. When the middle sister Constance disappears, the family believes she has run away, as she has done before; it is only the youngest–thirteen-year-old Bonavere (known as Bonnie)–who suspects there is more to it. Met only with grief from her family and resistance from the police, Bonnie embarks on a journey to bring her sister home, venturing through fabled Red Honey Swamp, and the city’s vibrant and brutal history. Unravelling the layers of her sister’s secret life, Bonnie discovers a pattern of girls found half-mad in the Louisiana swampland, and a connection to the wealthy, notorious Lasalle family. To rescue her sister, she must confront the realities of true violence, and the very nature of insanity.
Sarah O'Connor 