This will be one of my favourite books this year. The sequel to The Rebel Angels, it could be a standalone novel, as rather than following the same cast, it goes back in time and tells the story of Francis Cornish, whose extensive and eccentric collection which is being dealt with in the first book. True to the title, we don’t start with the birth of Francis, but rather the upbringing of his parents, and the circumstances that lead to his birth, so we can really discern what made Francis the man he ended up becoming.

Telling this whole tale, and interjecting occasionally with their thoughts, is the Lesser Zadkiel, the angel of biography, and Francis’s personal daimon Maimas, who influenced the course of his life from before birth. This whole book is a masterpiece. Zadkiel and Maimas are trying to tease apart what’s ‘bred in the bone’-- what is nature versus nurture, and every event and every character is written with such deliberation that, like a puzzle, it seems like each page adds to the character of Francis. 

That’s to be expected from Davies, however. What I loved about this book wasn’t the wit and cleverness (as with Rebel Angels) but how entertaining it was, from start to finish. The 16 hours is full of art history, spies, politics, wars, intrigue, and a diverse and entertaining cast of characters, and I never found myself waiting for the next good part, or wanting to skip ahead. I held on to every. single. word.  And found myself regretting the end, as I wasn’t ready to be done yet. 

I’m very excited to read the last of the Cornish Trilogy “The Lyre of Orpheus”, which returns to Spook and the characters established in The Rebel Angels. I wouldn’t hesitate to consider this book essential reading if you love Canadian fiction!