Sigrid Nunez
Generally novels are made to tell a story; all of the pages are usually meant to construct a particular theme or meaning. However, the first novel by Sigrid Nunez seems to find itself exempt from this.
In A Feather on the Breath of God, Nunez certainly does tell a story but it is a story that is loose in its construction and gives the impression of being lackadaisical and perplexing. The story is full of unrelated anecdotes and the only techniques that Nunez seems to employ are simplicity and digression. The story is about the life of the father and mother she knew, her short term as a ballerina, her mentally unorthodox boyfriend, and her exposure to drugs. These stories are certainly all “entertaining” but they do not seem to fulfill an overarching theme.
The title in fact doesn’t even seem to give the impression that it is talking about any of these. The title comes from a single unrelated quote by Hildegard of Bingen. It was a quote that could be pertinent to her life as a ballerina; it’s a stretch, but that remains to be only a fourth of the book. The religious addition of the word God doesn’t even seem to be relevant to the story. Throughout the story, there isn’t one moment where Nunez or her parents gave the impression of practicing any type of religion. Yet, the title of the book is A Feather on the Breath of God.
In a recent meeting with Sigrid Nunez, the question was asked regarding the meaning of the title and its religious implications. Ms. Nunez replied with a reference to the quote but she didn’t delve into her purpose of naming the book. She then proceeded to answer another question.
Many questions were asked during the brief interview, but not enough answers were provided. One key question was asked about where the line of factual and false information lay in the book. The answers of Sigrid Nunez are like the writing in her book: somewhat evasive. Ironically, though her language is very simple, Ms. Nunez makes her work and even her answers esoteric.