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Product Description
Quill & Quire
Jessica Grant’s debut novel is one of those rare books that manage to entwine humour – in this case, even outright silliness – with poignant insight and a captivating plot. Lost soul Audrey Flowers is living in Portland, Oregon, abandoned by her boyfriend and caring for her pet tortoise, Winnifred, when she learns that her father has been in an accident. She leaves Winnifred in the incapable hands of friends, swallows her fear of flying, and dutifully heads home to St. John’s, Newfoundland. The endearingly innocent Audrey – dubbed Oddly by her family – returns to the city of her childhood and to the peculiar cast of people who populate her early memories. But she soon learns that these halcyon memories are not necessarily true to life and that the people closest to her are also the people she least understands. What follows is a glorious misadventure of self-discovery, made all the more interesting by the book’s narration, which is shared between Audrey and her wise and occasionally self-important tortoise. Throughout, Grant’s writing has a staccato cadence; thoughts, sentences, and chapters are short, sharp, and come at a dizzying pace. But rather than being overwhelming, this style whisks the reader along through marvellous turns of phrase and wacky narrative leaps. Grant has a gift for capturing entire characters or situations in clever snippets. Take plane travel: “I have understood that planes are magic and one thing that keeps them afloat is belief in the magic and another is the web of goodwill among passengers.” Or a St. John’s cabbie: “Clint has a superabundance of vehicular prowess.” The book’s principal shortfall is that sometimes Grant’s wordplay gets in its own way. For instance, Audrey’s frequent misspellings and far-fetched word choices come across as gimmicky rather than reinforcing her childlike character. But this is hardly a damning fault. Come, Thou Tortoise is many things: a story about finding belonging, a paean to the importance of family, a commentary on relationships, and a kindhearted critique of modern life.
Review
"Jessica Grant’s Come, Thou Tortoise should be issued with a health warning: you will split your sides laughing, your eyes will leak, your heart rate will accelerate, and the abundance of wit will rewire the synapses in your brain. This book is astoundingly unique. A novel about fathers and daughters, love and loss, the wisdom that accumulates over the ages, and that ancient instinct to come home. Joyful. A tortoise de force."
—Lisa Moore, author of Alligator
"In Come, Thou Tortoise, everything on the top shelf is now in the bottom drawer, and all the things you left in your backyard happen to be under your pillow. Mysteriously, this difference is all the encouragement you need to evict nonchalance from your heart. Please — I beg you dear reader — read Jessica Grant."
—Michael Winter, author of The Architects Are Here
"Jessica Grant’s debut novel is one of those rare books that manage to entwine humour – in this case, even outright silliness – with poignant insight and a captivating plot. . . . Come, Thou Tortoise is many things: a story about finding belonging, a paean to the importance of family, a commentary on relationships, and a kindhearted critique of modern life."
—Quill & Quire
“Simple poetry filled with warm absurdities, all delivered in Canadian deadpan. . . . This low-key story works because Grant avoids yanking on heartstrings. . . . The real success here is not the reptilian point-of-view or playfulness with language, but that Come, Thou Tortoise manages to be touching without excess sediment. Sorry, sentiment.”
— Toronto Star
“It’s extraordinary, original and simultaneously both deep and lightheartedly charming. . . . Jessica Grant has an engaging, wry and forthright style which echoes Miriam Toews, Don DeLillo, Lewis Carroll and Kurt Vonnegut Jr…. It’s a delight. Pick it up, and prepare to see everything from Methusalan mice to palm trees in England. Pack a lunch. You may end up reading all day.”
— The Globe and Mail
“This is a novel that has the power to jab you in the vitals. . . . A funny and sad and splendid first novel.”
— Winnipeg Free Press
“Grant is exuberant and gutsy, putting to use a sharp eye for the tragic comedy of family life, love, and that perilous place we call home. . . . A writer whose work twinkles with wordplay.”
— North Shore News (North Vancouver)
—Lisa Moore, author of Alligator
"In Come, Thou Tortoise, everything on the top shelf is now in the bottom drawer, and all the things you left in your backyard happen to be under your pillow. Mysteriously, this difference is all the encouragement you need to evict nonchalance from your heart. Please — I beg you dear reader — read Jessica Grant."
—Michael Winter, author of The Architects Are Here
"Jessica Grant’s debut novel is one of those rare books that manage to entwine humour – in this case, even outright silliness – with poignant insight and a captivating plot. . . . Come, Thou Tortoise is many things: a story about finding belonging, a paean to the importance of family, a commentary on relationships, and a kindhearted critique of modern life."
—Quill & Quire
“Simple poetry filled with warm absurdities, all delivered in Canadian deadpan. . . . This low-key story works because Grant avoids yanking on heartstrings. . . . The real success here is not the reptilian point-of-view or playfulness with language, but that Come, Thou Tortoise manages to be touching without excess sediment. Sorry, sentiment.”
— Toronto Star
“It’s extraordinary, original and simultaneously both deep and lightheartedly charming. . . . Jessica Grant has an engaging, wry and forthright style which echoes Miriam Toews, Don DeLillo, Lewis Carroll and Kurt Vonnegut Jr…. It’s a delight. Pick it up, and prepare to see everything from Methusalan mice to palm trees in England. Pack a lunch. You may end up reading all day.”
— The Globe and Mail
“This is a novel that has the power to jab you in the vitals. . . . A funny and sad and splendid first novel.”
— Winnipeg Free Press
“Grant is exuberant and gutsy, putting to use a sharp eye for the tragic comedy of family life, love, and that perilous place we call home. . . . A writer whose work twinkles with wordplay.”
— North Shore News (North Vancouver)
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