Scan barcode
marysia9's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
golivia's review
3.0
3.75. Probably going to be the oddest read of this year, I'm calling it. Couldn't explain this one even if I tried. Despite of that, the experience was enjoyable.
misho's review
3.0
As a teenager I read and reread this book for Birdy's introspective inner life, and Al felt like a little more than a macho clown. Now that I revisited the book as an adult, I found a lot in Al to think about, while Birdy dropped to the background. There was also a lot more about friendship than I remember. I wouldn't say it will remain as one of my favorites, but it was a formative one in my youth, and I'm glad I revisited it.
angelayoung's review
4.0
Told by two narrators who were childhood friends, Al and Birdy, this is a strange and poetic story about a man who always wanted to be a bird. The only thing is that Birdy's words are in his head, not spoken aloud (unsurprisingly for a bird). Al's words are spoken to Birdy who is in a secure cell in a mental hospital. Al has been persuaded by Birdy's psychiatrist to come and talk to his childhood friend, to try to get through to him, to try to persuade him out of his catatonic state. The book is also about the horrors of war (Al has recently returned from a war) ... and ultimately about what it is to be a human being in a world that can frighten you into the very inside of yourself. It is a thoughtful beautiful novel.
More...