Reviews

The Good Lord Bird by James McBride

giraffespotter's review

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adventurous hopeful inspiring slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed reading *The Good Lord Bird* by James McBride. The perspective being from a black boy following John Brown's hair brained antics was entertaining. 

There was symbology in how religious John Brown the Old Man was, the titular good Lord bird, and General Tubman's scarf. 

I am confused about it a few historical points. For one, what I don't know if it was made up in the beginning that there was a person in this church who wrote the old story and who seemed like he was either a man or a woman. I think it was just a plot device. I also want to check to see if Frederick Douglas was a hypocrite who only spoke out about slavery and didn't take action. 

My favorite part was that John Brown's rated on Harpers ferry that helped spark the civil war is geographically close to where I grew up, so after Kansas and Connecticut and other travels, Onion, the narrator, described places that I am familiar with. The saddest part in the book was when young Frederick (not Frederick Douglass), one of the Old Man's sons accidentally shot a Good Lord bird. Frederick reminded me of the simple character in *Of Mice and Men*.

Another quirk in the storytelling was that Onion would finish talking about one character, and then spoil things by saying things like "that was the last I ever seen of him"

The major theme was being true to oneself even during slave time and being a courageous man rather than hiding out as a woman like Onion did. 

John Brown was described to be a God-like character, he had a white beard, was old, and would pray to his men for hours on end. The old man would also preach with a lot of emotion. At the end, when he was to be hung for the raid on Harpers ferry, Onion described his first true smile as being like the face of God. It's a funny image to think of John Brown waving a Bible at Stonewall Jackson and Robert e Lee at the gates of heaven.
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theodoregraham's review

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medium-paced

3.0

aut's review

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adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

jennmb's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

booka84's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

mitcheljhunter's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

tylerdad's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This novel is very much a piece of historical fiction about John Brown. In that way, although the narrators are completely opposite, it owes a significant debt to Flashman and the Circle of Light.  In both cases, it’s a pretend memoir of a fish-out-of-water, in-disguise individual accidentally trapped with John Brown as a device for humor and a means for creating a portrait of Brown. 

McBride’s portrait is a sympathetic one.  As in his novels that followed, McBride sees the humanity in all of his characters, real or fictional, and gives them grace.  Recommended for anyone interested in historical fiction about the 19th century United States.

rwlongino's review

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funny hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

maggiegwen26's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

the_villager's review

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adventurous hopeful informative reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0