Book Around the Corner

The Sheep Queen by Thomas Savage (1977) French title: La Reine de l’Idaho. Translated by Pierre Furlan.

I believed I lived in Maine because Maine is about as far as I could get from the ranch in Montana where I grew up, and where my mother was unhappy, my beautiful, angel mother.

The Sheep Queen by Thomas Savage was originally published under the title I Heard My Sister Speak My Name. The change was made in 2001 with the author’s approval.

When the book opens, Thomas Burton, a novelist who lives in Maine, receives a letter from Amy Nofzinger who claims to be his sister. She was born before him and was abandoned by their parents. From then on, Thomas tries to unearth the truth in order to know if her claim is founded. We’re in the 1970s, there are no DNA tests.

When and why would his mother have abandoned a child? How could he reconcile this fact with the mother he knew and loved? She’s dead, he can’t confront her. That leaves him with digging into his memories and writing to his aunts who still live in the west, even after the ranch was sold. The whole novel relates his quest.

Thomas was born in 1912 and came from Idaho royalty. His mother’s family ran a vast and rich sheep ranch and his grandparents were a powerful couple, unusual in their respective roles. His grandmother Emma wore the pants and had married someone who happily let her manage and develop their ranch. Grandpa Thomas was more interested in nature, in bonding with people and especially children. They were lucky to complement each other and back in the 19^th, Emma was happy to find a man who let her develop her talents.

Emma was a force of nature and ran the show with an iron fist. She died at 88, which means she had influence over her children during most of their lives. His aunts still think of what their mother would say about their actions. Emma’s power hasn’t gone.

Thomas’s mother, Elizabeth, was obedient and closer to her father. She was supposed to marry a hotshot heir from the East coast when she fell for the charming Thomas Burton, married him, and left Idaho. She divorced him when Thomas was two and her mother married her to a rancher in Montana. Her life didn’t turn out so well.

In The Sheep Queen, Thomas Savage explores various themes around identity.

Amy and Thomas were both adopted, Amy by the parents who raised her and Thomas by his stepfather. As soon as she knew she was adopted, Amy wanted to know who her birth parents were. She loved her adoptive parents; they were lovely but she always felt that she was a second choice replacement as they adopted her because their son had died.

Thomas never felt at ease with his stepfather’s surname. He never felt he belonged to the ranch in Montana where he grew up after his mother remarried. He kept in touch with his father who wasn’t a reliable man. He had his mother, though.

Amy and Thomas lacked the unconditional love that children deserve to grow with deep and strong roots. Their foundations weren’t a given, they had to work for their steadiness. Thomas always feels a bit out-of-touch with the people around him.

Elizabeth is the product of her time. She had to obey her parents, what she truly wanted had no real value. Emma had a clan-based conception of the family. She expected loyalty and compliance to their status in Idaho. She was formidable and Elizabeth could not stand up to her.

The Sheep Queen is autobiographical. According to Thomas Savage’s bio on Wikipedia, a lot of details about Thomas Burton’s life are the same as his. He didn’t even change the first names.

I thought that the construction of the novel was a bit clumsy at times. We hear a lot about Amy at the beginning and then no more, except as a reference to the letters she exchanges with Thomas. The ending which discloses important information about Elizabeth has details already mentioned in The Power of the Dog, which means that they are based on true facts. I thought they were brilliant when I was reading a novel, but I found them appalling as being real events from Savage’s past.

A fascinating novel.