cover image Cages

Cages

Sylvia Torti. Schaffner (IPG, dist.), $16.95 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-1-943156-18-4

In this quietly moving second novel, Torti (The Scorpion’s Tale) brings together three unmoored characters seeking meaning through science. David, an emotionally reserved tenured neurology professor, has become fixated on determining how much singing costs birds in terms of energy and risk. His work has provided some solace for him since his estranged wife set off seeking her own emotional solutions in South America. Anton, a homesick Italian postdoc, has come to America in hopes of using birds to prove that memory has a visible physical structure. Rebecca, a bright young woman posing as a student, lands a job in Anton and David’s lab caring for the various birds. As Anton and Rebecca embark on a furtive romance, the trio spar over the ethics of animal experimentation. Torti’s biological training allows for clear explanations and provocative yet sound parallels between bird and human behaviors. Appropriately for a meditation on memory, the minorly tragic pasts of these characters disorientingly intrude unannounced. Torti unfortunately fails to follow through on Rebecca and Anton’s formative experiences the way she does with David’s, making for slightly lopsided characters. Nevertheless, the migration of these characters toward resolution will reward readers willing to be swept along. (May)