Trickster and the Fainting Birds

With spare grace and lively wit, acclaimed author Howard Norman chronicles the hilarious antics of a provocative troublemaker. Whether cheating in a sleepwalking contest, teaching the shut-eye dance to ducks, or halting a wedding by transforming the groom into a kingfisher, Trickster sets the world askew. Like trickster figures the world round, this Algonquian mischief-maker prods our imagination and makes us laugh deep in our hearts. In forty-two luminescent, richly detailed paintings, Tom Pohrt follows Trickster’s trail—across frozen lakes and thawing marshes—on a journey that carries us from trouble, to laughter, and, finally, to wisdom.

Two of Howard Norman ’s novels, The Northern Lights (1987) and The Bird Artist (1994), were nominated for the National Book Award. His other novels include The Museum Guard, The Haunting of L, Devotion, and What is Left the Daughter. His books have been translated into twelve languages. Norman is the recipient of a Lannan Award in fiction, and he teaches at the University of Maryland.