The Conjurer's Bird

This, the last book of 2008, was hastily snatched out of a friend's bookshelf when I realised I had nothing to read on a six hour train journey on Monday. What a good thing it was, too. I'd never heard of this novel though it was published in 2006 and was a Richard and Judy choice. Whoever chooses on behalf of R&J makes some pretty good choices, I think. This one certainly kept me happily absorbed. Described in an Observer review as 'An enjoyable tale of love, loss and taxidermy', it's one of those books -- of which there seem to be a great number these days -- with a parallel plot. In the present is Fitz, a university lecturer and part-time taxidermist, whose enthusiastically-begun work on extinct birds now lies in boxes under his bed gathering dust. His life is dull and there is a great sadness in his past, the nature of which he does not reveal to the reader. As the novel begins, Fitz is contacted by someone from his past, the beautiful Gabbie, who, together with a distinguished Norwegian naturalist, is seeking a mysterious lost bird, last seen in the late 18th-century. The parallel plot is connected to the present by the famous 18th-century naturalist Joseph Banks, in whose possession the bird was known to have been. As Fitz, aided by his attractive young Swedish housemate Katya, begins to uncover clues which take them both racing around England following various trails, some hot some cold, so the reader learns more and more about Banks and his mysterious and talented young mistress. This is all done with great ingenuity, and the twists and turns of the plot are often breathtaking. As for the twist at the end, I certainly didn't see it coming. A very good read and highly recommended.