Missing The Ark

by Catherine Kidd

Missing the Ark is the highly anticipated first novel from acclaimed spoken word artist Catherine Kidd. It is the story of Agnes Underhill and her attempt to keep possession of her newborn daughter amid the demons of her past. Growing up in East Van in the 80s, her active but troubled imagination makes it difficult to live with her dysfunctional her Scottish father speaks in tongues and lives in a locked basement room until he disappears, while her dental hygienist mother criticizes her parenting and juggles a number of lovers. The novel follows Agnes’ relationship with Buffalo man, a divorced taxidermist whom she follows home from the Stanley Park Zoo, and the jealous chimpanzee who lives with him. Much of the story takes place in the colourful world of Agnes’ memory, where her obsession with biology compels her to seek deeper meaning beneath the surface of things. This is a novel about memory and perception, exploring the thin line between what is inside and what is out, what is seen and what cannot be known. Kidd’s language is precise and powerful. This is a rich, complex, intelligent first novel by a very talented writer.

Genres: Fiction

372 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Homepage: www.catkidd.com
Audio: myspace.com/catherinekidd
Video: youtube.com/catkidddotcom
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Catherine-Kidd

“Clearly one of Canada’s most talented wordsmiths... we may rightly hope that there will be more novels to come.” [BrokenPencil]

“Kidd’s ability to stretch words, to impregnate them with new meanings makes her prose sparkle.” [Gloss]

Catherine's much-anticipated debut novel 'Missing the Ark' hit shelves in Spring 2006.
As with her acclaimed performance poetry, the storyline of Missing the Ark turns on a helix of layered imagery which deepens with each revelation: “The book unfolds in three chronological threads which repeatedly twist together and separate again.”[Montreal Review of Books]. Yet the numerous strands of the novel are deftly gathered together by its conclusion, a stirring tour-de-force “so vividly evoked that I found myself phoning my parents repeatedly while reading the final chapters.”[Globe & Mail ].

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Catherine Kidd is our city's newest superstar...her routine, synchronized with a 'total theatre' hurricane of multi-media, is a knockout. Her kinetic presence puts on the coolest show in town...this Kidd is pure gold." [Montréal Gazette]

Catherine is one of Canada's premiere spoken word artists. Her performance work has toured to Singapore, South Africa, Germany, Norway, UK, US, and throughout Canada from Montreal to Vancouver, from Whitehorse to Toronto.

Reviews

[Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a conventional novel, in that it spends much time chewing over its thoughts, and invites the reader into a similarly meditative space. Beautifully written as always.

[Laura Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can read my review of this book on my website, Black Heart Magazine, here: http://blackheartmagazine.com/2007/07...

(Full disclosure: I am friends with this author, and have included this book on my "writer friends" shelf.)