FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.
THE BOY ON THE BACK OF THE TURTLE
by Paul Quarrington
Greystone Books, 242 pp.Subtitled "Seeking God, Quince Marmalade and the Fabled Albatross on Darwin's Islands," Paul Quarrington's latest is heavy on the former and light on the latter.
A mid-life memoir arises out of this travelogue describing the journey of Quarrington, his father and his daughter as they journey to the Galapagos Islands. Various upsets do little to diminish what is a good trip. Unfortunately, good trips never make very exciting reading since good usually means uneventful. Luckily things are buoyed by Paul's inner journey.
Visiting the islands where Charles Darwin conceived his theory of evolution puts Quarrington in the mind to question his casual theism. There follows an entertaining summation of the theological section of Philosophy 201 as the various volleys of the tennis game that is the question "Is there a god?" are described. This book doesn't come any closer to answering that question than anyone else has (the book has two possible endings). but has fun doing it and doesn't take itself terribly seriously in the process. Quarrington does an amazing job of researching his topics (the text is followed by a five page bibliography in microfont) and presenting them in a highly conversational manner.
The biggest journey in the book is historical. Throughout their history the Galapagos have been home to more than just an amazingly diverse flora and fauna. Those seeking the ultimate in escape have also flown there. Pirates, explorers, the rich and the bizarre have all called these islands home at one time or another and their stories find a retelling here.
Quarrington also dazzles with his vocabulary and herein lies one of the book's most telling moments. He makes mention of the word "febrifugal," which he tells us means "...not likely to cause a fever of excitement." Though this book has its moments, its finest for me is the point at which that word is written and does my job for me.
Richard Jagodzinski
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