Sarah Canary

This novel concerns a group of characters who come together more by circumstance than design. There is a Chinese worker, Chin, an escapee from an asylum, B.J., a catatonic lady, Sarah Canary, and a spritely woman named Miss Dixon. My greatest difficulty is in describing exactly what sort of novel this is. Even going so far as to say it's an alternate history is difficult, because I can't honestly say I know enough about the Wild West to say that anything in this novel is categorically fantasy or outside the bounds of history.

The novel started out well, and my attention was hooked through the first 30 pages or so. After that, though, I began to wonder where the story was going. For me, it seemed that the novel began to lose its way. I'm somewhat biased -- or seem to be -- in favour of novels with a strong narrative drive, so I can't level this as a blanket criticism against Sarah Canary, but it was an issue I had with the novel. The novel certainly had something to say about racism, sexism, and topical issues, but as a novel I felt I never really engaged with the characters and their journey.

Where the novel was excellent was in the use of dramatic irony. The narrative cleverly has third person POV characters thinking ridiculous and outdated thoughts about science and social norms. Where this is particualrly powerful is in making the reader think about how certain societal norms are so easily taken for granted by those embedded in the midst of such a society. It's a time honoured way for speculative fiction to make a reader question their own society and their preconceived notions of normality. Dr. Carr, for example, prescribes the piano and melodeon in the female wards of the insane asylum, and the violin for the men. The most incapicitated are only asked to play the triangle or sticks.

In short, Sarah Canary has much to say about racism and sexism, and on a scene by scene basis I don't think anyone can question that the writing is of a high quality. But the narrative simply didn't drag me into the story, and there were times when I wasn't sure what the story was meant to be.