Watermark Books and Cafe

"Wingshooters" by Nina Revoyr (Akashic, ISBN 9781936070718, $15.95) 

Nina Revoyr’s new novel, “Wingshooters” is set in Dearborn, Michigan during the 1970’s. Wingshooters are recreational hunters who shoot birds in flight and are as loyal to each other as their dogs are to them. Chief among them is Charlie LeBeau whose granddaughter, Michelle, a bi-racial nine-year-old, has been left in his care by his ne’er-do-well son. Soon the Garretts arrive. She is a doctor at the new Clinic and he is a school teacher who has just taken a long term substitute job. This young and worldly couple from Chicago should be a respectable addition to the community but they are anathema to the wingshooters; they are black.    

Michelle keeps to herself to avoid harassment from other children because of her differences and spends her time mostly with Charlie. It is only at a ballgame or fishing or out with the hunting dog, in the open space outside town, that Michelle is truly the center of his world. In town, she is on the periphery. As are the Garretts—the clinic is in the county and most children have been kept home from the new teacher’s class.   

Does bigotry supersede familial love? How strong are the bonds of friendship in the face of violence? What emotional turmoil will one endure to preserve loyalty and honor? After asking these tough questions, Nina Revoyr releases us to the healing power of a natural landscape and open spaces. In the tradition of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Wingshooters” is a welcome addition to the canon of Midwest novels.   

Review by Sarah Bagby