The Boy on the Back of the Turtle: Seeking God, Quince Marmalade, and the Fabled Albatross on Darwin's Islands

In The Boy on the Back of the Turtle, Quarrington attempts to discover his own little niche in the cosmos. Cruising the volcanic Galapagos Islands on a 90-foot liner called the Corinthian in the company of his daughter, age 7, and his father, age 73, he tries to find his place as a Son, as a Father, as a Mortal frolicking beneath the heavens.
One of the funniest and most talented writers on the planet, Quarrington employs his trademark combination of wry wit and poignant observation as he takes readers on a wide-ranging investigation of everything from blue-footed boobies, careerism, taxonomy and the nature of creation to pirates, frigate birds, Herman Melville and the precarious ecology of the islands and the planet. And as the Corinthian travels in the belly of night from one island to another, Quarrington wrestles with questions great and small. Given that the Galapagos is the historic site of God’s greatest setback, he points out, it is a fitting place to play out the battle within himself. A more engaging--and entertaining--battle has seldom been waged.

Paul Quarrington is the author of seven novels, and is also an accomplished screenwriter. He won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour for his 1987 novel "King Leary," and his Governor General’s Award-winning novel "Whale Music" was made into a critically acclaimed feature film. (The Governor General Award is Canada’s most esteemed literary prize: other winners include Carol Shields and Michael Ondaatje and Margaret Atwood.) His most recent novel is the "Spirit Cabinet", published in the US by Grove press in 2001.