Chin Ah Kin, a Chinese man laboring in a railway workers' camp in the Washington territory of 1873, leaves his work to accompany Sarah Canary, a mysterious young woman, back to her home. Reprint. NYT.
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From Publishers Weekly
Why does homesick Chinese railway worker Chin Ah Kin risk his life countless times in fevered pursuit of "the ugliest woman he could imagine?" Is Sarah Canary, the mute, misshapen object of Chin's confused affections, a vampire, an apparition, a shape-shifter, a feral child, a murderess? These are just a few of the intriguing questions that will keep readers turning the pages of this buoyant first novel set in and around the Washington territories in 1873. When Sarah Canary wanders into Chin's railway camp, his uncle orders him to escort her away. Far away. In the first of many such instances, the well-intentioned Chin misplaces her. When both resurface some days later at an insane asylum, Chin has run afoul of the law and Sarah has been committed for observation. Their escape from the asylum in the company of another inmate--BJ, a wonderfully drawn "sane" madman--sets into motion a series of adventures and misadventures at turns hilarious, deeply moving and downright terrifying. A picaresque romp that takes a good, long look into the human heart, this is a stunning debut. 35,000 first printing; $35,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Chin Ah Kin is the reluctant hero of this search across Washington Territory for Sarah Canary. The year is 1873, one that holds promise for the emancipation of women, yet things couldn't be worse for Sarah. Chin first encounters her when she suddenly appears on the periphery of his camp. Because Sarah only speaks nonsense, Chin decides she is crazy and sets off with her to an asylum in Stellacoom. But because of her inability to communicate, Sarah soon becomes separated from Chin. Without her to justify his presence in the wilderness, Chin becomes the scapegoat for all the evil deeds around him. Fowler skillfully arranges characters and plot against a backdrop of American history, which becomes inspiration for her satiric wit. Although her unsentimental view is refreshing, Fowler overstates her case in the final chapter, for the reader already sees the unflattering reflection of racism and sexism in contemporary America. Recommended.
- Janet W. Reit, Univ. of Vermont Lib., Burlington
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Janet W. Reit, Univ. of Vermont Lib., Burlington
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
-- and I may like it the best. Karen Joy Fowler is, by far and away, My Favorite Stylist. It's that demure sense of humor that gets under my skin like a fine-edged scalpel. It's that ability to assemble seemingly random tidbits to form a thematic whole (fans of _Wisconsin Death Trip_ will understand the pleasure in this. Fowler does it best, I think, in her short story, "The Elizabeth Complex"). None of her characters are saints, none villains, but they are all human, all the time, and Fowler portrays them with honesty, empathy, and above all, humor.
(On a purely personal note, I'm a native of Washington state, and I found it great fun running into all the familiar place-names, especially Squak, my hometown -- known, these days, as Issaquah.)
Format:Paperback
Sarah Canary gave me a great sense of the personal emancipation offered by changes in culture and thought in 1873, an interesting time to live, to mangle an ancient Chinese curse. It's a great philosopher-as-hero story, too. Dealt with prejudice but without being preachy. I liked how the realism descended gracvefully into surrealism with B.J.'s separation from the asylum. To me, the asylum represented the pros and cons of conventional 1873 society.
I thought Sarah was a red herring of a character, and hoped for a declaration of the who what where why and how of her existence. I feel that this declaration would have made for a braver work. I get that she's a metaphor, more of a question than a statement, the question "What is a woman?" embodied as a character. I get that if you wanna show how different people view the same thing, the thing needs to remain the same, so Sarah has to remain more abject than subject.
Otherwise, very imaginative and intimate, philosophical in a recreational way. I liked how it entertains the reader by showing the characters' explorations of the meaning and reliability of what they experience and think.
The little news breaks between the chapters asserted that 1873 was one of those times when everything is or seems as surreal as the fiction contained in the chapters. Makes the surreality easier to swallow. Nice device. Easily abused. Fowler didn't.
This is one of those great novels that took me to a new, entertaining and enriching place because it's a real category-killer. Fantasy? historical fiction, magic reality, retro 19th century Wild West novella parody, it's all, some and none of these. I love telling people to read a book that I have difficulty describing. Sarah Canary is definitely one of those.
By A. Wolverton
Format:Paperback
Out of nowhere, a white woman wanders into a Chinese railway workers' camp. The time is Winter, 1873. The place is the Washington Territory. The woman says nothing. (Nothing discernable, anyway.) No one can explain who the woman is, where she is from, or how she got there. This is the situation Karen Joy Fowler presents to the reader in this astounding, wonderful book.
'Sarah Canary' meets many different people on her strange journey and she affects the lives of everyone she meets. Four people in particular fall under her strange spell: Chin - a Chinese railway worker who seeks to take her back where she belongs; B.J. - an escaped mental patient; Harold - a huckster who wants to put Sarah in his traveling freak show; and Adelaide Dixon, a woman suffragist.
'Sarah Canary' is all about perceptions. Each of these four characters see Sarah as something slightly different. Their perceptions also cause their lives to each change in different and fascinating ways.
When I finished 'Sarah Canary,' I realized that Fowler had taught me a lot about the times I live in now. Perceptions are the focus of the book, but Fowler also touches on the cultural differences of different types of people, prejudices, superstitions, and much more. After reading the book, I realized that I had come away with a better (but maybe not a more positive) picture of human nature.
From what I know about the history of the book, Fowler had a difficult time finding a publisher, not due to the book's quality, but rather the book's genre. It has none. It has been labeled historical fiction, Western, science fiction, comedy, mystery. It is all of these and none of these. 'Sarah Canary' is impossible to pigeonhole. Maybe that's why I lot of people I talk to haven't read it. They're missing a gold mine. I hope you don't miss out. Read it and see why Fowler is one of the most gifted talents writing today.
381 pages
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3.6 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Sarah Canary Disappoints
I was, unfortunately, a victim of the hype this novel has generated and went out of my way to obtain a copy. Read more
Published on Oct 6 2002 by Jack M. Walter
1.0 out of 5 stars
Potboiler Disguised as Literature
Don't be seduced by the plot synopsis. This book is boring, the prose is generic. Each chapter begins with irrelevant historical facts. Read more
Published on Oct 3 2001 by Sai Li
4.0 out of 5 stars
Madcap spin - it's different
Sarah Canary.
Is a difficult book to categorize.
After all, it's all over the place, reminds me of the film "Dead Man" by Jarmusch, a long metaphysical walk through the... Read more
Published on Oct 12 2000 by Jay Stevens
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marvelous, original, great first novel
Karen Joy Fowler's first novel, Sarah Canary, is a marvel, an amazing, original novel about aliens, of all sorts, in the 1870's American West. Read more
Published on Aug 25 2000 by Richard R. Horton
1.0 out of 5 stars
Dreary
I may be in the minority, but I found this book dreary, never-ending, and never going anywhere. Interesting period, but a waste of time. Read more
Published on July 24 1999
3.0 out of 5 stars
Odd, but enjoyable.
Sarah Canary was a love/hate reading experience for me. I hated the endless journey of the story, but was inexplicably drawn to Sarah quite like one of the outlandish characters... Read more
Published on Oct 1 1998
4.0 out of 5 stars
Smart, Unclassifiable Ride
Reading this book was an odd experience. The historical setting was convincing, the characters strange and alive, the commentary disturbing. Read more
Published on Sep 11 1998 by Derek Austin Johnson
2.0 out of 5 stars
A quirky, unclassifiable book, but not my bag.
I would recommend this book to literary types, anyone who like the movie "The Piano", & maybe even Northern Exposure fans. Read more
Published on Aug 29 1998
5.0 out of 5 stars
Work of genius!
Sarah Canary is the most dazzling first contact book I have ever read (and one of the few science fiction books that the non-sf readers I've given it to have not only read but... Read more
Published on Aug 23 1998
4.0 out of 5 stars
eerie and haunting, unique and unforgettable
_Sarah Canary_ is the tale of a mysterious woman found in the Pacific Northwest in the days of the American frontier. Read more
Published on Aug 23 1998
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