The Trial of Katterfelto
By Michael Redhill
Knopf Canada
At the tail end of the 18th century, a scrawny young man turned out by his family is somehow picked up and embraced by a traveling magician and snake oil salesman. The two travel the countryside, doing what they can to stay alive, when they find a strange metallic object in a streambed. That’s when things start to get interesting. This object, when held the right way, contains a voice. As readers, we know that this voice comes from a time not so far from our own. But the audiences that come from miles around believe that it’s a prophecy that only the magician, Dr. Katterfelto, can summon. The book is slow to start, but once we get into it things start moving. And fast. Perhaps not a top book for me, but worth the read.