Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This award-winning debut is not the only Canadian novel to feature gay and trans characters, but it is the first to make two young women and their various relationships and identities its focus. It also speaks to something most Canadians will know something about, since it is so historically ingrained: the cultural differences between French and English Canada.

The two women are Montreal-born and educated Rebekah Kromer, when anti-German xenophobia sends her German physician-father seeking sanctuary for his francophone wife and child in Ontario, and Kathleen/Kit McNair, born of a struggling farm family in a fictional rural village. The doctor’s early welcome is short-lived. Anti-German feeling mounts among the locals as war appears imminent in the summer of 1939. Within a few months of the family’s attempted resettlement in the manor house they were given to entice them to the doctor-less town, a band of drunken youth attack them as they leave the Labour Day dance where Rebekah danced happily with Kit’s brother Landon and sneaked away to make love with Kit in a storeroom. The next morning, Rebekah and her high-strung and self-absorbed mother are on the dawn train back to Montreal, with Dr Kromer close behind.

It should be said here that Rebekah, with her parents’ encouragement, had formed close bonds with the McNairs, including the youngest boy, Jep, in the few months of her rural stay. She was attracted to the “boyish” Kit, who fell for her immediately, but also to the aggressively manly Landon, who pursues her from the start as well. She loves Kit, however, and a misunderstanding caused by her sudden departure ruins the promise she and Kit had made to run away together. Landon signs up with the Royal Navy; Kit, in male attire and with shorn hair, manages to enlist with the RAF and join Bomber Command; Rebekah, now Becca Beauxdoin (her French family name), eventually joins the WRENS for a code-breaking job in Halifax.

Underneath all this is the Celtic legend about the selkies, the part seal-part female water spirits who tie together the destinies of Kit and Becca and effectively provide “the cure for drowning.”

This is a beautifully written tale that weaves legend and history, magic and reality, the clash between social expectation and the need to live as your true self. If there’s one thing could have been shortened, it would be the details about Becca’s intelligence work and Kit’s RAF missions. So many Second World War novels have all the women joining the WRENs and doing secret code-breaking, and all men in the RAF bombing Germany. At least in this case the RAF has, unbeknownst to them, a trans person flying deadly missions.

Or maybe I’ve just read too many Second World War novels. This one does stand out in so many ways, however, that it was nonetheless an excellent read.

Five stars. The only thing I am disappointed about is that this is the author's first novel. I want more!

The McNairs are an Irish immigrant family who have settled on a farm in Southern Ontario. While still very young, Kit falls through the ice while exploring the woods with her two brothers. She drowns but is nursed back to health by her mother.

After the accident, Kit bristles against the expectations of her as a farm girl. She often steals her brother's clothes to wear while doing boy's chores -- and then the cooking and cleaning when her mother makes her.

In 1939, Rebekah Kromer moves to town with her parents from Quebec. Her father is facing increasing difficulty finding work as a German immigrant in the lead up to World War II.

Soon both Kit and her brother Landon are jostling for Rebekah's attention and affection. This love triangle rips their families apart and sends them all on their own paths to war.

While using borrowed identification papers, Kit joins the Air Force as a young man. Landon joins the Navy. Rebekah joins naval intelligence efforts at home in Canada.

Kit goes by different names/pronouns throughout the book, but I will use the name Kit and they/them pronouns for the rest of the review.

Trans magic

One could argue that all the events in this story could happen in real life, but there is a hint of magic to many of the scenes involving Kit. It starts with their drowning and unlikely recovery as a young child. This motif returns several times throughout the novel. There is also frequent repetition of a story for children about selkies, or Ireland's version of mermaids.

It is implied that Kit's gender non-conforming and rebellious nature is due to them being a magical creature, perhaps a selkie or changeling. In Irish folklore, changelings are faeries who are left in the place of stolen human children.

Of course we modern readers know that trans and non-binary genders naturally exists from birth, as do queer people. When queer and trans people are forced into straight and cisgender roles against our nature, it can make us rebel as we suffer under the weight of these expectations.

I love that this book allows us to imagine Kit as something supernatural, rather than defective or deviant. By extension, it allows us queer and trans readers to imagine ourselves in this way. It is difficult for a magic creature to live among us mere mortals!

Dealing with difference

This books portrays homophobia, anti-German discrimination and sexism in a way that is likely true to its time. Rebekah being a queer, German woman faces some of the worst of it. Kit living as a man for a large part of the book gets off a bit easier in some but not all ways.

As I write in my Queer Joy Test for Fiction, I find this realistic portrayal of homophobia and transphobia acceptable when our main characters find love and safety to balance it out. I want to feel uplifted when I put down a book with queer characters, not depressed scared. I found this book very satisfying in this regard.

One thing I particularly appreciated was how the story of Kit's time in the Air Force was told. They have joined using borrowed papers and name, and everyone considers them to be a cis man. The story unfolds about their time as a soldier, not their body. I appreciate not giving into that voyeurism around trans bodies that some cis people crave. People assigned female at birth have been fighting as men in wars for as long as we have recorded history. This is just accepted as fact and we move on.

Recommendation

This is not a book I would have usually picked up, but I am so glad I did. I loved the mix of family drama and action scenes from World War II. I love how the queer and trans characters are portrayed in the novel, and feel comforted by the lives they make for themselves despite hardship. These characters and story will stick with me for a long time.

This book was such a delight. It was part historical fiction with a touch of magical realism and a beautifully written queer love story at it's core. Both of the character POV's felt distinct and I found myself rooting for and thinking about these characters even when I wasn't reading. The way Paylor wrote about Kit as a non-binary character was very touching and the subtle change to they/them pronouns was a seamless way to indicate that Kit was finally able to live as their true self. I have read many historical fiction novels set in WWII and I found it refreshing to read one centered on Canada and our contribution to the war effort.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for access to this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I need to start by saying this book wasn't my usual genre of preference. I am an avid psych thriller reader, but I was looking for a change of pace. I got what I came for in the besy way.

I loved the characters in this book and how they developed throughout the storyline. I thought I had an idea of where things were headed, when in fact, I didn't have a clue.

I did find the story dragging in parts, especially through Part 1, but it did pick up as the story unfolded in Part 2 and 3.

I couldn't have asked for a better ending. A lovely story and much appreciated break from my usual.

The characters are well written with painterly descriptions of the landscapes and lush, vivid imagery throughout the book. Will read again.

The Cure for Drowning is historical fiction with a touch of magic realism, set in southern Ontario in the 1930s.

Quick synopsis: At 10 years old, then Kathleen falls through the ice near their home in southern Ontario, drowns and is brought back to life by their mother's Celtic magic. Once nursed back to health, Kit, as they are now known, is never quite the same -- rambunctious, gender-bending and boundary-pushing. Flash forward several years and propelled by anti-German sentiment in their hometown of Montreal in 1939, Rebekah and her family move to the town where she befriends Kit and their older brother Landon. Brought together, the three soon find themselves ripped apart by both their complicated relationships and WWII. Kit joins the Royal Air Force where they are known as Christopher while Landon joins the Navy and Rebekah moves to Halifax. When their lives are drawn together once again after the war, their past relationships must be reconciled before they can move forward.

I adored this book, from page one to the end. This is an unapologetically queer story and the reading world needs more of these stories. I especially liked that it was a historical novel. Rather than giving the sense that non-binary issues are a contemporary phenomena, setting it in the past rightfully tells us that non-binary and queer people have always existed and their stories deserve to be told.

The book alternates between the POVs of Kit and Rebekah. At one point, their POVs collide explosively and Paylor's writing brilliantly mirrors what is happening in the narrative.

The touch of magic realism does not seem at all out of place in this otherwise historically placed novel. Paylor uses it judiciously and i did not question its appearance.

Beautifully written with well developed characters.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Cure for Drowning releases January 30, 2024

A solid 3.5

Paylor’s debut is part family saga, part WWII historical fiction, and part mythological tale about selkies.

The intentionally slow nature and it being a character driven story drew me in, and I was loving everything in part 1, from the Canadian setting to the complex family dynamics and taut love triangle (hello, that kissing in the rain scene!!!).
There was a lot of intrigue set up with the introduction of a drowning, near death experience, and the possibility of integrating changelings or being brought back by magic, but I felt that this aspect of the story never went anywhere. Sure, there was a lot of straddling the line with hinting at mythological creatures, gut feelings, and their family bloodline, but Paylor never fully took the big leap I was hoping to find.

When we get to part 2 of the story, I lost a bit of interest, not because the quality of writing wasn’t good, but because the stark transition of genres from a lit fic family saga to WWII was jarring, and felt like two separate novels featuring the same set of characters.
Similarly, at one point, the writing was very confusing and chaotic because two pov’s/plotlines were alternating every paragraph without indication, and I think they were even blended together at some points which was an interesting choice to say the least.
On one hand, we had someone in active labour, while juxtaposed with an active flight mission.
Being a more critical reader, I could see the likeness between the two in the moment and what the author was probably trying to achieve, but from an execution standpoint, it was messy.

One of our main characters is queer and non-binary, which I loved especially given the late 1930’s/early 1940’s time period, but at the same time, I felt like their identity was too vague.
There was a clear change in the character after their near death experience, but it’s never really explained in depth from their perspective. Then you have them taking on the identity of another boy in order to gain a position in the Air Force, and the reader is just supposed to assume that there’s no issues blending into an all male team? It’s shown that they are intimate with another team member, but are we to assume that it’s only a one way exchange and that’s how “Christopher” isn’t outed? Did Kit never get periods? There’s so much that just <I>was</I>, and I wish there had been more of an open discussion, not that the reader is owed this clarity, but more so for the sake of giving Kit a voice and to hear more of their inner thoughts and turmoil to better understand them.

Critiques aside, this was a strong debut and I look forward to reading more of this author’s work in the future.
With some tightening up in the structure and deeper exploration of core themes, this has the potential to be a 4 star or higher read.

cw: animal death, homophobia, f-slur, discrimination

When I read the synopsis I thought it sounded wonderful, and was excited to read the Netgalley arc! Sadly, it wasn't as enjoyable as I'd hoped. Although it did have promise at the beginning, it's implied that maybe Kit could be a changeling or perhaps magic brought them back from death.. except the magic had no real information. It had no explanation or how the mother knew any, because after Kit is back their family does nothing ever again magical. But now Kit is labled as "different" and "hard to manage", since the character is trans it comes off badly like they've been made into this from the magic.
The magic is only really mentioned randomly a couple of times, again without any real details. Same as when characters would speak French, words or sentences were tossed in with not enough around them to explain what is being said. I don't speak French and eventually gave up even reading those parts since half the time I didn't know what was said exactly.
The first half of the book kept me going wanting to see how these characters and their entwined relationships were going to grow but it fell flat. I do think the author should keep writing because I feel there is great potential for future books. Sadly this one just wasn't it for me.

I loved the characters in this book especially, I thought they were well developed and interesting, if not always relatable. Amazing non-binary protagonist who felt real and relatable (although I wished their identity didn't feel like it came from the supernatural source). The language was beautiful and I really enjoyed reading a character focused family epic with just a little bit of supernatural. I will say I felt the pacing flagged towards the end of the book and that some of the more unlikeable characters lost some nuance, but I really loved the experience of reading it and am looking forward to whatever this author puts out next.

This Canadian historical, magical book written about the struggles of new Canadians. The magical realism pulls in the reader and entices them to learn more about the McNair family.

A Cure for Drowning follows Kit and Rebekah. They meet in small town Ontario when Rebekah's family moves there from Montreal, trying to avoid rising tensions due to her father being German. The story is told from the perspective of both Kit and Rebekah, which kept the story flowing. I enjoyed both narrators. It felt like a unique take on a WWII story, but focuses more on Rebekah and Kit and their relationships with each other and their families.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable book that drew me right in and held my imagination until the last page. A fan of Canadian historical fiction, I've never read anything quite like it. I love the window it provides into the life of a non-binary person in the 1930s-1950s, including their complicated love story with a girl who also has connections to their brother.

I'll be recommending this beautiful and profoundly satisfying story widely, and I hope it will receive the attention it deserves.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the digital ARC in advance of publication in exchange for an honest review.

An event occurs in Kit's childhood that leads their family to believe them a changeling and thus differentiates Kit from the rest of the McNairs; Rebekah leaves her childhood in Montreal for the rural landscape of Harrichford. With the story told in two distinct perspectives, and then a third, A Cure for Drowning tells a story of truth, one that hinges on possibility.

The span of time in which the story takes place, from 1931 to 1953, stretches the march of narration. It does not necessarily slow it down; the expansion recreates historical Canada in which the characters move. Even as the shadow of the second world war looming in the forefront of the narrative, the tension resides in the love triangle between Landon, Kit, and Rebekah. Masterfully done, with tasteful contrast between how the two McNairs approach their courtship with Rebekah.

The characters are so well written—Rebekah's socialite persona, Kit's vigour, and Landon's cocky, self-assured manner—that the conflict feels real. There is no issue of attachment because of this.

While the expansive descriptions of the rural landscape at first impresses and offers comfort and the ability to view the town of Harrichford in the way Kit sees it in all its lushness, it becomes repetitive after a certain point.

In all, it's part Whiskey When We're Dry but with the emotional resolution that one craves, and part Backwards to Oregon for the gender-based turnabouts that never fail to excite me.

The writing as vivid and the characters jump off the page at you.

The journeys they take and the paths life leads them on are well written and impossible to stop reading.

The story went in directions I wasn’t expecting but it was still so well paced that it was hard to stop reading and at the end I wanted more.

I received an eARC from the publisher and NetGallery but the opinion is my own.