The View From a Kite

Maureen Hull's The View From a Kite was shortlisted for the Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction. (Congratulations Maureen!) I picked the book up yesterday and couldn't put it down.

The story begins with the brilliant line: "I am a Dangerous Woman in a Dangerous Dress."

Isn't that wonderful?

The novel takes place in Nova Scotia in the 1970s and is written by Gwen, a teenage tubercular patient, who is dealing with a most extraordinary tragedy.

Here's an excerpt.

"I must admit that when I first started losing weight I was pleased. I dropped from a pudgy hundred and twenty-five down to one-eighteen in a month, and kept on going. One hundred and five, and my breasts disappeared. By the time they hauled me off to the Sanatorium, a feverish, weepy, ninety-pound weakling, I was out of love with elegant bones and scared that I was coming out through my skin."

You can get a copy directly from the publisher here.

I hope you enjoy Gwen's voice as much as I did.

Colleen