Come, Thou Tortoise

By Jessica Grant

A delightfully offbeat story that features an opinionated tortoise and her owner who find themselves in the middle of a life-changing mystery.

Audrey (a.k.a. Oddly) Flowers is living quietly in Oregon with Winnifred, her tortoise, when she finds out her dear father has been knocked into a coma back in Newfoundland. Despite her fear of flying, she goes to him, but not before she reluctantly dumps Winnifred with her unreliable friends. Poor Winnifred.

When Audrey disarms an Air Marshal en route to St. John’s we begin to realize there’s something, well, odd about her. And we soon know that Audrey’s quest to discover who her father really was – and reunite with Winnifred – will be an adventure like no other.

Excerpt:
Winnifred is old. She might be three hundred. She came with the apartment. The previous tenant, a rock climber named Cliff, was embarking on a rock-climbing adventure that would not have been much fun for Winnifred. Back then her name was Iris. Cliff had inherited Iris from the previous tenant. Nobody knew how old Iris was or where she had come from originally. Now Cliff was moving out. He said, Would you like a tortoise.

I would not say no to a tortoise, I said.

I was alone in Portland and the trees were giant. I picked her up and she blinked at me with her upside-down eyelids. I felt instantly calm. Her eyes were soft brown. Her skin felt like an old elbow. I will build you a castle, I whispered. With a pool. And I was true to my word.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Mar 9, 2010
• ISBN: 9780307373922

Jessica Grant

Jessica Grant is een Canadese schrijfster. Ze heeft voor haar korte verhalen onder andere de Western Magazine Award for Fiction en de Journey Prize gewonnen. Jessica's debuutroman Waar zij gij, schildpad? verscheen in 2009.

Reviews for Come, Thou Tortoise

[carlathelibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is narrated by Audrey (Oddly, Audray) and the tortoise Winnifred. Audrey has many fears (fear of flying is a big one) and is so frank and honest in this book it is funny. Her tortoise Winnifred has been left behind in Oregon while she flies home to Newfoundland for her father's funeral. He was killed by being hit in the head by the trunk of a Christmas tree tied to the roof of a vehicle. That tells you a little about what this book will be like. I read this book as part of the CBC reads bookclub, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

[rdra1962 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a funny, very clever, heart warming novel. I find it hard to describe without giving away plot spoilers or making it sound ridiculous. There are chapters narrated by a tortoise! And they are fabulous! This is not a heavy read, but the reader should pay attention as the book is full of puns and word play that enhance the story. This is a book with many fully drawn characters you will fall in love with, wish you had met, and some you think you already may have met!

Take your time and enjoy the wonderful writing!

[wassilissa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Zunächst musste ich mich wirklich aufraffen das Buch zu lesen. Doch so naiv und einfach der Stil des Buches ist, die Geschichte ist gar nicht so einfach, sondern eigentlich recht traurig, Dass Audrey eine etwas andere kognitive Wahrnehmung besitzt, macht das Nachvollziehen ihrer Gedanken ungewöhnlich. Mir hat das Buch nach meiner anfänglichen Abneigung eigentlich mehr und mehr gefallen. Nur mit der Schildkröte konnte ich leider nicht so viel anfangen.

[jaelquinn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

very engaging, lots of word play. Completely enjoyable. Didn't want to put it down.

[librarycin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Audrey is from St. John's, Nfld, but living in Oregon with her tortoise, Winnifred. When her father ends up in a coma, she must rush home and she leaves Winnifred with friends while she's away.Audrey is a little odd (she is also nicknamed "Oddly"), maybe quirky is a good word. At first, I found her humourous, but at other times, just odd. I did enjoy the story, it was cute, but the parts I loved were the few chapters told from Winnifred's point of view! I would have loved for more of the book to have been Winnifred's. But, the majority if the book was Audrey back home reminiscing about her father, which was still good and fun, but not great. As a whole, the I liked the book.

[ldvoorberg · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hooked by the first 8 pages! And loved it the whole way through.

Audrey, the narrator, knows her IQ is lower, but that doesn't stop her. It makes her quirky and lovable. She keeps a pet tortoise, who interjects her own narrative every so often. Their style is short staccato sentences, sans quotation marks, but it's not too difficult to pick up the dialogue once you figure out how it works. In fact, it's this direct style that contributes to the book.

If you like [b:Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime], you'll probably love this book too.

I love the word play, the directness, the honesty of the characters. I love the Shakespeare references and the way Audrey (and the tortoise) fill in the past with their recollections. What was unclear becomes clear through these regressions. I do wish the book had maybe one more chapter, because there wasn't quite enough information to fully colour in the conclusion; I have to hope that the way I connected the dots is indeed what was intended.

This could be a new favourite book.

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

How to describe this book? It's charming, thought-provoking, heart-warming and utterly delightful.Audrey Flowers is living in Portland Oregon with her tortoise, Winifred, waiting for her lover, Cliff, to return. Then she gets a call that her father has been in an accident in St. John's Newfoundland and is in what Audrey calls 'a comma'. So she leaves Winifred with friends and flies home to St. John's. You just know it's going to be a fun read when she disarms the air marshall in the airplane because she thinks he is a terrorist.When Audrey (or Oddly as her uncle Thorby calls her) finally arrives home she is met by her uncle who tells her that her father did not make it. So is it maybe not going to be such a fun read after all?Audrey is different. Her IQ is low but she is not stupid. Maybe she just doesn't give the answers to IQ questions that the people who made up the test expected. Her father and her uncle Thorby raised her and neither of them thought she was stupid.With her father dead Audrey's world is about to change dramatically. I read this book with my heart in my throat at times because I really, really wanted Audrey to have someone or at least something to love and for a while it looked like everyone was leaving her. I don't think it is a spoiler if I say it all works out in the end.

[ninetythree_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Unique, refreshing, silly, and sweet. I am a Christian and hated some of the crude references to Jesus, but those aside, the book had a message and humour that made me laugh out loud!!!

[urszulaj_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

At first I thought the word play and tortoise-perspective within the novel would come off trite and annoying. Instead it was a whimsical gift from the author, who tells a story of loss, familial love and self-realization with grace and compassion. Beautiful and satisfying.

[jtho_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of my top 10 books of all time. I absolutely loved it.Audrey (Oddly) flies home after her father's death, leaving her pet tortoise (not a turtle) behind with friends. At home, she's greeted by Uncle Tobey, who's lived her and her father ever since Audrey was a child. Her father's estate needs to be settled by overseas family friend, Toff (who Audrey hates), and the local Christmas-light salesman keeps stopping by because her father purchased lights that have since been recalled. The language in this book is incredibly clever. The idiolect of Audrey's family is hilarious, and the stories of where their unique words come from are almost always heart-warming, and really showcase the family's connections with each other. If you aren't laughing out loud, you might be holding back tears, amazed by the sweetness and love in this family.Audrey is so naive, yet so clever, and I found myself rooting for her, and being amazed by her funny thought-processes. Everything is so logical, but in such a nonsensical fashion. When you read the book, you'll understand what I mean.Come, Thou Tortoise is about love, and family, and the relationships we create, but it isn't mushy or romantic - it is fun, bright, and heartwarming. Read it now!

[lynnb_64 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it!Audrey Flowers grew up in Newfoundland with her father and her Uncle Thoby. After living for a while in the U.S., and acquiring a pet tortoise named Winnifred, she returns to St. John's for her father's funeral. Here, we come to know Audrey, as she comes to know some long concealed family secrets.Audrey is an amazing character. She has a low IQ, but a generous heart and is brave enough to be curious -- or curious enough to be brave -- and this makes her a compelling narrator. As is Winnifred, who narrates a few chapters of her own. Very well written with smart use of wordplay -- a good story.

[dusktreader · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of those rare books that I clicked with instantly. The narration is compelling, clever, and touching. I love the secret language Audrey (Oddly) and her family speak, and the way Jessica Grant weaves it into the narrative to make it seem perfectly natural. For a story about death and grieving, it made me smile and laugh far more than it made me sad. I want to read it again and again.

[scrat_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jessica Grant's narrator touches both our funny bone and our heart from her opening words. She reminds us unequivocally and daringly of our collective niave credulity in the "adults" who guided us through childhood. Grant's audacious transparency and honesty challenges us to acknowledge a kindred ingenuousness that we would, for the most part, prefer to deny even to ourselves. This is a delightfully uncomfortable read which draws us laughingly out of our smug protective adult shell.

[sushidog · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A quirky, beautiful novel, with the added bonus that about every 4th chapter or so is from the POV of the wry, wise tortoise. I'll admit that I wasn't exactly clear on what the real family tree looked like at the end, but still recommended. Audrey is a unique creation.