This is a slow burn atmospheric read that evokes the fear, terror, ghosts and powerlessness that beset a small community with holiday homes in Boundary or Bondree, a heavily wooded area on the edges of Maine and Quebec. There are a mix of French and English speakers, it is 1967, Zaza and Sissy sing Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, confident and assured in their burgeoning sexuality, dressing provocatively, knowing they have the eyes of the men and boys on them. They are adolescent girls who are so close as to be almost twins, who are caught in bear traps and die. Whilst Zaza's death could have been an accident, Sissy's certainly could not. What we have is murder and the novel focuses on the depth of the repercussions on the small community, individual characters and the cops who investigate. Everyone and everything is set to change forever. 12 year old Andree Duchamp idolised the girls, she watches and observes the people and the police investigation, and before the summer ends she is marked for life and never to return to Boundary.
Boundary's history is intimately connected with Peter Landry who escaped to the area to avoid war, and lived through trapping and hunting with only one friend, Little Hawk. Peter becomes completely isolated when Little Hawk goes to war. Little Hawk returns a deeply traumatised man who discovers Peter has hanged himself in his hut, thanks to the unrequited love of Maggie Harrison, the tanager. Since then the woods are felt to be haunted, cursed and the subject of folklore and rumour. The community reaction to the loss of the girls is varied and variable. There are whispers and gossip, these are girls that tease and provoke, Lolitas, girls who were asking for it. There is remorse, nightmares and guilt, particularly when people see how it affects the girls families, the depth of grief, despair and disintegration. The bear traps, a remnant of Landry's curse, and what they represent, generate fear in all. The woods and lake, once seen as a dream paradise becomes tinged with melancholia, madness and malevolence. The community perceive the macabre spectre of Landy as bent on destruction and indeed it is set to be a ghost town as people leave, unable to live with the ghosts and their memories of what happened. The cops are destined to never forget the girls as their souls shift to accommodate the horrors they bear witness to.
The language is vivid, descriptive and expressive in capturing Boundary, caught in the cusp of Maine and Quebec, and in the cusp of the time before the murder of the girls and what happens after. A time of sunshine and possibility until death and destruction descend. Every individual is affected and the author does a tremendous job of conveying this in indepth details along with their feelings of powerlessness. Through the 12 year old Andree's eyes, we see events and people as she sees them. The characters are finely drawn and authentic, in this, Michaud is remarkably talented. Attitudes of that historical time period are reflected in the small community. An absolutely wonderful read. Thanks to Oldcastle Books for an ARC.
