The need to flee pulses in the Sturgeons heart
Amy E. Casey’s debut novel, The Sturgeon’s Heart, explores our human, or maybe not so strictly human need, to run. Whether it is running home or running away, mammals and beyond have instinctual impulses that keep us moving, returning, or breaking out in a necessary sprint. The same impulse, to keep moving forward, anticipating what is next, kept me from putting Casey’s novel down even for an instant.
The three main characters, Howard, Jo and Sarah, are all on the edge of this need for escape for various different reasons. Howard, a reclusive writer, finds himself turning into something else all together, something from a nightmare. Jo, after running from her hometown and her failed marriage, ends up in a new city with the same problems. Sarah battles her own demons while attempting to stay unknown for her own perceived safety. These very different characters are all very much the same. They hide themselves in isolation while secretly craving the company of others. They don’t trust easily, themselves or outsiders, and haven’t been able to accept a sense of tranquility while letting their roots dig into homebound soil.
Casey’s own interest in the natural world adds another character to this narrative. Landscape, Lake Superior, and the surrounding flora and fauna infuse her novel with a steady sureness amongst the main characters who are continuously grasping at reality. The sturgeon itself plays a minor role. In each section we are visited by the prehistoric fish on his way to spawn and back, mapping his route and timing all based on instinct.
Though touted as a contemporary monster story, The Sturgeon’s Heart is less of a surface level monster story and instead explores the inner monsters the characters battle daily, the depths of their being all hold something demon like. You won’t be encountering Frankenstein, you will have to face something more real, something more possible. Something that may be hiding in your very own backyard, deep in your familial secrets. Casey’s monster tale is more than shock and awe or gruesome gore, it’s intellectual and sinister in its mystery.
Until the third and final section of the book, Casey’s tale twists and turns as the sturgeon makes its way from the depths of Superior to a meandering river. But as we near the end, the magic of wondering whats around the next curve ends. The ending itself feels rushed and too tidy for these three messy characters and their messy lives. The writing lost the roots that held it tethered in the other two sections.
There are minor mentions of the many shipwrecks in Lake Superior and the lore they still hold today. Before the ending, it seemed more like an interesting side fact, just another layer to keep us intrigued in more than just the plot. But at the end there’s an encounter with a ghost from one of the ships. It felt forced instead of always on the horizon. Maybe if the sturgeon itself had encountered these specters while rising from the depths, or the mystery of what else is (not so) living in the landscape could have crept in here and there, sprinkled amongst each characters sections, then it wouldn’t have felt so jolting.
The same could be said from the one section where we hear from Howard’s mother. Throughout the novel, each chapter is dedicated to showing us more from each of our main three characters perspectives, a rhythm that works and adds depth to their personalities and interrelationships, increasing the urgency as we near their penultimate union. But at the end there is a single chapter dedicated to the inner workings of Howard’s mother, we get very important information, but the release of those tidbits could have built up more if his mother’s knowledge was intertwined throughout, even if still lesser than Howard, Jo, and Sarah’s perspectives. Especially since in the end, this very much feels like Howard’s story. Jo and Sarah are important and interesting but Howard is the key to all of it coming together and bursting apart.
Casey’s novel showcases the messiness of the natural world and those that live in it. The imperfections of the characters drive the plot forward, the reader deeper into the characters psyche, and the characters to each other. Without listening to their impulsive needs to flee, the three characters could have found refuge together, or not, as each one would eventually feel that pull to once again walk out on their own. I highly suggest listening to your own inner voice pulling you towards reading this book while sitting by the lake, curled in a cabin, or simply looking for a great escape without going anywhere at all.
