1980's Montreal. 30-something grad student Alex Fratarcangeli leads a life devoid of healthy relationships, scarred by a distant father and a dangerous ex-wife. A convergence of brave souls, including his neighbour Esther, who has MS, and Mara, returning to fight for human rights in her native El Salvador, force him to recognize the possibility of meaningful connections. Suddenly learning that he has a five-year-old son, Alex begins to see a glimmer of hope by remembering and finally comprehending the life lessons he learned years before in the Galapagos Islands with Desmond, a dubious British professor. Explicit strong language, some descriptions of sex and some descriptions of violence. Winner of the 2008 Governor General's Award for Fiction. c2008.
From the community