That Just Happened!

Ricci, Nino.  The Origin of the Species. (2008).

Set in Montreal in the 1980s, The Origin of the Species tells the story of thirty-something Alex Fratarcangeli (“I can’t even pronounce it myself,” he admits to an acquaintance), plagued by a gnawing sense of being a fraud in all aspects of his life, from his professional ambitions to his search for love.  Underlying his malaise is a haunting experience in the Galapagos Islands whose after-effects threaten to undo him.  Then fate casts Esther in his path, a disarmingly vibrant and wilful young woman who may, however, be dying before his eyes.

- Hardcover Jacket Excerpt

This novel seems to touch on many different themes.  The political climate of Canada is contrasted against the countries of the immigrants Alex comes to know.  The  father-son bond is examined as Alex labours under the knowledge he has a son in Sweden.  There exists sexual tension between Alex and the women he encounters (some very briefly) as he looks to fill an emptiness.

I found this book to be a bit confusing as the time line seems to jump a bit, or perhaps the time line did not jump, but the story abruptly cuts off and jumps to a new one.  Although the novel only covers a time span of just over one year in Alex’s life, it seems as though a lot happens in that time and it is difficult to place the events in order.  This is especially true when Alex is at his therapist’s and seems to go off on tangents in his mind that add to this uncertainty.

There also seemed to be some parts of Alex’s life that are not discussed throughout the book, but show up at the end.  His relationship with his family is one example.  It almost seemed that in order for the Reader to understand the character there were just a few things we needed to know and, oh yeah, here they are, I forgot to mention them before. 

It took a while for me to really get into the book and there continued to be parts I struggled through.  The main character seemed a bit stagnant and failed to develop much over the course of the book.  I suppose that is more true-to-life, but I enjoy novels more when I can follow the character on a journey.  Alex remained weak-willed and depressed almost the entire book.

I liked the references to Canadian locales and ideologies, but overall I found the book to be just ‘okay’. 3 Canadian “eh’s” out of 5.