Canadian Book Challenge: Annabel

This is the third book I am reporting on for the Canadian book Challenge.
You can link to others in the challenge here:



The book I read is Annabel by Kathleen Winter.




In 1968, into the devastating, spare atmosphere of the remote coastal town of Labrador, Canada, a child is born: a baby who appears to be neither fully boy nor fully girl, but both at once. Only three people are privy to the secret: the baby’s parents, Jacinta and Treadway, and a trusted neighbor and midwife, Thomasina. Though Treadway makes the difficult decision to raise the child as a boy named Wayne, the women continue to quietly nurture the boy’s female side. And as Wayne grows into adulthood within the hyper-masculine hunting society of his father, his shadow-self, a girl he thinks of as "Annabel," is never entirely extinguished.

From page one of this book to the very last I absolutely loved every single word. The book is set in Labrador. Wayne's father Treadway is a trapper who spends months each year away from his family.
I tried to come up with an excerpt from the book that I could share to illustrate how powerful the writing is but it is impossible to chose just one. The entire book is like a poem. It is so vivid and beautiful it was a pleasure to read and be carried away by the author. It is the best book I have read all year. I absolutely LOVE it.