Nikolski

This is a story of three characters--Noah, Joyce, and the anonymous narrator--as each leave their far-flung birthplaces to follow their own personal songs of migration. All three end up in Montreal, each on his or her voyage of selfdiscovery, each compelled to deal with the mishaps of heartbreak and the twisted branches of their shared family tree. Filled with humor, charm, and marvelous storytelling, this novel links cartography, garbage-obsessed archeologists, pirates past and present, a mysterious book with no cover, and a broken compass whose needle obstinately points to the Aleutian village of Nikolski (a minuscule village inhabited by thirty-six people, five thousand sheep, and an indeterminate number of dogs). This is a sweet, well-told story about three characters who break free from their families in order to live authentically.