Reviews

All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld

runslikesnail's review against another edition

4.0

What? What just happened?

Dark, compelling, sometimes horrific. This is a beautifully written page-turner of a read.

babestuff's review against another edition

5.0

Will keep you on the edge of your seat--kept the light on all night to finish it!

fcwilcox96's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

amandajped's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.5

armorcats's review against another edition

4.0

Really complex, ambitious novel. I wanted to like it even more than I did. Time will tell if I bump up the rating. I made the mistake of reading this short book over a week with breaks in between. I kept forgetting what had happened when I started reading again. There were 4 or 5 different time periods that we switch between whenever a new chapter starts. When I got near the end when we go way back in Jake’s life, I was like “wait, what?” I flipped back through the book twice thinking I had forgotten something, but no, this was new. I also had little sense of place in this book. It never felt to me like the current times pieces were in the UK and not Australia, but that’s a small quibble. I admire this book tremendously. I think this book leads into her newest novel, The Bass Rock, beautifully in terms of structure. The Bass Rock is miraculous. All The Birds, Singing is very close.

sunshine_mel's review against another edition

4.0

Fascinating to watch the full history of a person revealed through snippets of their story

andy_larter's review against another edition

3.0

I didn't think the resolution of the novel was satisfying. It's complex and I had to work hard to follow the story. I think I can understand why Evie Wyld wrote it like this but I wasn't thrilled by the way the novel ended.

patricia_baker's review against another edition

4.0

Really, really good. I had to tear myself away a couple of times, but the end disappointed. Still entirely worth it.

magpietortoise's review against another edition

4.0

I loved this book. The push and pull of the narrative, one story moving forward and the other regressing backwards, captured the paradox of human experience. The story was told with patience. Gently offering the reading pieces to the jigsaw of what actually happened to Jake's back. She is a loner living on a sheep farm in the middle of nowhere. Her story is a sad one, but our narrator is strong. She carries us through with wit and vulnerability. All the characters we meet along the way are shown to the reader with such vividness and you feel the heat as your reading.

A hot book, for anyone who likes to root for underdog.

charmerrill's review against another edition

5.0

There were certain things about this book that, in any other book, may have made me dislike it... But the narrative was SO strong, I couldn't help but give in & love it.