The Back of the Turtle

King, whose non-fiction book The Inconvenient Indian won both the RBC Taylor Prize and the B.C. National Award this year, returns to literary fiction with this timely and thought-provoking novel. In the small town of Samaritan Bay, scientist Gabriel Quinn is preparing to kill himself after committing an unthinkable crime. He encounters the few remaining residents of this veritable ghost town, mysterious and unsettling characters who seem to occupy a space between reality and fantasy. Far away, amongst the towers of Toronto's Bay Street, CEO Dorian Asher scrambles to preserve his company's image in the face of several environmental disasters. King deftly juxtaposes the varieties of Canadian experience, contrasting the shining city with diminishing coastal town, the lives of the uber-wealthy with those of aboriginal Canadians, whose lives seem to count for very little when there is a profit to be made. King uses his trademark blending of traditional aboriginal beliefs and stories with the Western literary canon to create a haunting narrative of life, death and the destruction of nature. Allusions abound, incorporated into the story with King's often absurdist wit, walking a fine line between humor and heartbreak. The result is both an intimate story of grief in the face of loved ones lost and a searing criticism of current apathy toward looming environmental disasters. Agent: Jackie Kaiser, Westwood Creative Artists. (Sept.)%E2%80%A9