What I like about this Canadian author’s writing is how poetic and insightful it is, without being overly fussy or descriptive. Helen Humphreys combines a deceptively simple writing style with depth. This is an engaging short novel, but there’s plenty to think about. Rabbit Foot Bill is based on a true story in Saskatchewan in the 1940s.
A young boy befriends a recluse living rough on the edge of town. Bill doesn’t talk much, but he allows Leonard to accompany him as he sets rabbit snares and offers him a quiet kindness. Being with Bill is everything to young Leonard who has serious problems at home and at school. So it is a shock when Bill commits a sudden violent act and goes to prison, leaving Leonard truly alone. Fifteen years later Leonard, now a physician with a new job in a mental hospital, is reunited with Bill and becomes obsessed with discovering what happened that fateful day.
Humphreys’ fictional account differs from the real life ending because she wanted to find some kind of reason for what happened and the reality of the true story didn’t provide that. This is not only a page-turner but explores the hauntings of history and the frailty and resilience of the human mind.
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