Fiction Pick of the Week: The Flying Troutmans

The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews 2008

In this wonderfully evocative Canadian novel, Miriam Toews brings us along for the ride as we travel with a family in search of itself.

Days after being dumped by her boyfriend Marc in Paris – "he was heading off to an ashram and said we could communicate telepathically" – Hattie gets a phonecall from her niece, telling her that her sister Min has been checked into a psychiatric hospital. Hattie finds herself flying back to Winnipeg to take care of Thebes and Logan, her niece and nephew. Hattie convinces them to help load the van and hit the road in search of their father. Neither asks "Are we there yet?" because the journey itself is the joy.

On their wayward journey south from Winnipeg in search of the elusive Cherkis, the Troutmans stay at scary motels, meet helpful hippies, and try to ignore the threatening noises coming from under the hood of their van. This accidental family comes to accept, understand or at least find their way through overwhelming times. From interwoven memories and scenes from the past, we learn much more about them: how Min got so sick, why Cherkis left home, why Hattie went to Paris, and what made Thebes and Logan who they are today.

In this captivating tale, Miriam Toews has created some of the most engaging characters in current Canadian literature: Hattie, Logan and Thebes are bewildered, hopeful, angry, and most of all, absolutely alive. Full of skewed, sometimes achingly funny detail, The Flying Troutmans is a truly affecting novel.