The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow: A Novel
Leganski explores the flip side of silence in this deceptively quiet first novel. Born in the aftermath of a searing family tragedy, Bonaventure Arrow “didn’t make a peep when he was born.”  Never speaking a word, his silence enables him to listen to what no one else can hear. He is not only hyper-aware of the sounds of the natural world, but he is also in tune with the clamorous echoes of  personal heartbreak and despair. Joining forces with Creole servant Trinidad Prefontaine, young Bonaventure undertakes a quest to unlock a series of family secrets to liberate himself, his dead father, and his inconsolable mother from the emotionally and spiritually paralyzing bonds of the past. This mystical fairy tail set in a 1950s-era Louisiana rife with religion, superstition, and tradition draws you in from the wondrous first page. Silence has never been so boundlessly eloquent. --Margaret Flanagan