Extinctions

Wilson’s American debut artfully portrays the nuances of death and extinction through its characters’ reluctant self-examinations. Sixty-nine-year-old Frederick Lothian resents living in a retirement village near Melbourne, but his wife has died, and although his daughter, Caroline, lives nearby, she often travels to gather material for an exhibit of extinct animals. Frederick and Caroline are both submerged in regrets about their family’s disconnections: Frederick ruing his past preoccupation with work; Caroline wondering about how she came to be adopted and the other family she has out there. Caroline is on a quest to shed light on the atrocities of human destruction on the animal kingdom (such as the American bison), while Frederick’s own history as an engineer, professor, husband, and father provides grist for a disturbing journey of self-reflection, even as he tries to resist: “Why was he digging up what was done when he’d just have to go bury it again?” Frederick’s introspection is shaken by Jan, another resident of St. Sylvan Village, who is as challenging as she is helpful. Unearthing the human need to feel connection to others, this contemplative novel skillfully delves into Frederick and Caroline’s psyches, resulting in a potent depiction of loneliness and contact. Agent: Catherine Drayton, InkWell Management. (Nov.)