A review by novabird
Headhunter by Timothy Findley

4.0

“Headhunter,” is placed somewhere in the near future. Too close for comfort, I would say as this social dystopian novel looks at two elements; 1. species extinction as hallmarks for environmental collapse almost as closely as it examines the background behind 2. child pornography. (It asks the questions we find hard to ask as a community – what is the difference between deliberate apathy and obedience by likening the turning of a blind eye towards the bird pandemic and when society ignored the first signposts of AIDS.) These two elements are the axis of ‘evils,’ that collude and conspire within this Torontonian futuristic setting. Kurtz and Marlowe are brought forward from the, ‘Heart of Darkness,' to play their roles of evil vs. good. Birds and children symbolize innocence and in a sense, Findley is commenting on the loss of innocence. Secondary characters reveal added dimensions to the overall plot by pushing at the boundaries of madness, which beg questions. When does madness become evil?

I am not a fan of early ‘reveal,’ of the nemesis or antagonist as it surely predicts the necessity of doing away with this character in some manner.

Still Findley’s writing is one that commands attention and places it within a 360 degree arena/stage, where detail is perfectly wrought and balanced with succinctness. Now that I have discovered what Findley’s elusive style of writing was, I can bump up my previous ratings of his works with greater confidence. What a perfect balanced writing style Findley had and what a loss to Canadian culture. I have finally encountered Timothy Findley’s writing and I am looking forward to reading more of his works. 4.5