The Angel's Jig - Softcover

Daniel Poliquin; Wayne Grady

Softcover

ISBN 10: 086492867X ISBN 13: 9780864928672

Publisher: Goose Lane Editions, 2016

Synopsis

Long-shortlisted, 2017 ReLit AwardsFacing the dwindling years of his life, an old man waits for his turn on the auction block, hoping to be sold to a family as decent as the one he is leaving. It is not the first time he has been here, and it may not be the last. Mute in life but loquacious on the page, the old man tells the colourful story of his rootless life. Abandoned by his family and first auctioned off at the age of seven -- "Ladies and gentlemen, this boy may not be a rare gem, but he is certainly worth a look" -- he moves from one farm to another, taking comfort from the people around him. Daniel Poliquin's picaresque novel revisits an all-but-forgotten era, when orphaned children and the elderly poor were auctioned into a form of indentured servitude. Narrated through the eyes and ears of an unforgettable protagonist, The Angel's Jig is a joyous meditation on identity and the unpredictable voyage of existence. A French language finalist for the 2015 Trillium Book Award, Le Vol de l'ange now appears in this lyrical translation by award-winning translator Wayne Grady.

About this title

Review

"A warm and whimsical meditation on one man's life and the web that connects him, even isolated by his self-imposed silence, to the lives of those around him." - Publishers Weekly - 20160602

"Poliquin delivers a thoroughly enjoyable odyssey about a memorable, yet perplexing character and a shocking custom that has all but disappeared from our collective memory." - Paul Gessell - Quill & Quire - 20160602

"A joy to read." - Atlantic Books Today - 20161115

From the Back Cover

Facing the dwindling years of his life, the old man waits for his turn on the auction block, hoping to be sold to a family as decent as the one he is leaving. It is not the first time he has been here, and it may not be the last.

Mute in life but loquacious on the page, he tells the colourful story of his rootless past. Abandoned by his family and first auctioned off at the age of seven -- "Ladies and gentlemen, this boy may not be a rare gem, but he is certainly worth a look" -- he moves from oen farm to another, taking comfort from the people around him.

Daniel Poliquin's work of piercing wit and insight revisits an all-but-forgotten era, when orphaned children and the elderly poor were auctioned into a form of indentured servitude. Narrated through the eyes and ears of an unforgettable protagonist, The Angel's Jig -- a finalist for the Trillium Award in its original French edition -- is a joyous meditation on identity and the unpredictable voyage of existence.

About this edition

• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 086492867X
• ISBN 13: 9780864928672
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 286