Sarah Canary by Karen Fowler

This book is set in Washington in the late 1800s near Steilacoom. It is the story of a monster like woman who escapes from a traveling show named Sarah Canary. She can sing but not speak. A Chinese man named Chin who works in the logging camps and railroads, tries to help her. Along the way they end up picking up a rag tag band of followers- a man named B.J. from the insane asylum, a women's rights speaker named Adelaide. Small poems from Emily Dickinson start each chapter. This book did a nice job describing the setting of the NW in that era. I was interested to learn about the Indian canoes that were made for the dead and put in the trees. Sarah Canary played an interesting foil for all those who tried to keep up with as she continue to slip away from their guidance.