Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary
With magical strands that sing as melodically as the canaries that the Blanchard family of Mireville, France, expect to train, Stanfill’s debut novel unfolds the delights of French rural culture through a series of ambitious young men and their musical talents. Opening in 1718, the tale begins with a miracle—a baby who finally gets over his months of colic, and in his moment of healing, restores sunshine to a rural village.
Little George, adored by his neighbors, matures into a hard-working member of the family business, which is making “serinettes”—musical devices that can be used for training performing canaries. The tale follows the family’s generations through an apparent loss of the magical touch, as well as a loss of the village’s confidence, erupting at last in immigration (temporary or not) to America to meet the firm’s longest, most wealthy client.
Stanfill’s rambling gambol among mysteries of parenthood and love, set mainly in the 19th century, is spiced with French expressiveness. Those who delight in cross-language word play and who savor classic fairy-tale storytelling will find this novel of music boxes, treasured birds, and unexpected love well worth the long, slow telling, in a tender exploration across generations, affections, and the very human miraculous.
