The Nettle Spinner weaves the story of one woman’s fictional journey through the aftermath of sexual violence and an unwanted pregnancy. The title is taken from a fable of a young girl who seeks her revenge on the feudal lord who raped her. She spins a shroud made from nettles, the weaving of which causes the lord to fall gravely ill.

The heroine of the novel, Alma, is a vibrant young woman, a lost Gen-Xer in search of life’s meaning. Not coping well with modern urban life – or with a needy mother – she escapes to the woods of B.C. and Ontario, mainly to plant trees and save the planet, but also to make as much money as possible in the harsh and unforgiving natural world in which she thrives. After falling in love with a fellow tree planter who then leaves her, she is brutally raped by another member of their troupe of misfits. Running away further into the forest, and discovering she is pregnant, Alma seeks the shelter of a cabin inhabited by an elderly hermit, a supposed survivor of the doomed Titanic.

Filled with such fascinating characters and a constantly twisting plot, the narrative shuttles back and forth, interweaving Alma’s story with that of the young nettle spinner of fable. The language is poetic and dense, and the outcome of the story jarring and unsettling.

However, the novel ultimately remains strangely and somewhat surprisingly emotionally disconnected. The clever yet convoluted structuring of the story and the prevalent use of mythic language and symbolism, while beautiful and compelling at times, seem to take precedence over a description of the more human aspects of the story. Clearly the idea of revenge is ultimately the moral of the tale, yet the ending, because of the lack of emotional thrust, seems unsatisfying and rather bewildering.

Both stories within The Nettle Spinner are riveting, and penned from a clearly talented writer. Yet I hope that in the future, Kuitenbrower will provide a more varied emotional tapestry.