Eels

Eels are - or at least were - a feature of the fens and the broads and all the watery places in East Anglia. Occasionally, in pubs, you can find basketwork grigs and photos of eel-catchers, and in Ely Museum there's a display and a film about how eels were caught.



But I've only just come across The Patron Saint of Eels by Gregory Day. It's a strange story. The narrator (and author) is an Australian, and the book starts with him lying in bed and hearing "the strangest slushy sound, a sound I'd never heard before". He discovers that thousands of eels have been displaced by floods and the local ditches are teeming with writhing, wriggling, glistening bodies which cannot free themselves. The reader is introduced to Nanette, a long-time friend of Noel the narrator, and then Fra Ionio appears. A mysterious 18th century yet contemporary monk, Fra Ionio cares for eels, and he soothes them by speaking to them and striking a small bell. As the story unravels it becomes clear that it is not only the eels who need help. Both Noel and Nanette have unresolved areas of their lives, and Fra Ionio helps them to value their environment and become more spititually aware.

The Patron Saint of Eels is a slim volume, published by Picador in in Australia. ISBN 0 330 42158 1. It won Gregory Day the Australian Literature Society's Gold Medal in 2006.