Reviews

The Birdcatcher by Gayl Jones

leah_alexandra's review against another edition

challenging reflective fast-paced

3.5

An interesting and well-written bit of fiction about multiple complicated relationships. There’s a lot going on, but ultimately not much happens. 

thart3's review against another edition

1.0

Not a good read. Very confusing, no real meaning or message gained.

sam_bizar_wilcox's review against another edition

4.0

Gayl Jones' novel about black artist expats is a vision. Her book is at once a meditation on ambition and jealousy, as the novel spirals around the strange relationships of three artistic women: Amanda Wordlaw--writer, and one-time romance novelist; Catherine Shuger--sculptor, so in love and revolted by her husband that she frequently attempts to murder him; and Gilette--a white painter as dangerous as her razor-ous name suggests (or, is she?). The way these women talk to each other, and the men and children in their lives, uncover a restlessness with the status of the black woman artist. The Birdcatcher is Catherine's sculpture, something that she futilely works on as her husband encourages her to move on. Catherine becomes caught in a prison of her own making, both in her artistic pursuits and in a marriage she is unable to leave (despite numerous attempts to free herself from her husband...by murdering him). Amanda, on the other hand, is in constant flight; she's become a travel writer after ditching her husband, Lantis, and she no longer writes period romance novels but researched non-fiction that jets her off to Brazil, Ibiza, and Paris (or Cleveland?). She is free to narrate the relationship between Catherine and Ernest, and Catherine and herself, but what becomes clear quickly is how her voice becomes an imposition. She is not an objective narrator in her (so-called?) friend's life, but a woman with her own blindspots and obfuscating prose.

This is a dazzling book, written with insidious cruelty that (perhaps) hides a more sympathetic core.

amrituu's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

annexelizabeth's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

sometimes brilliant on the sentence level, but did not coalesce as a novel for me. the birdcatcher felt much more like a collection of intriguing but puzzling vignettes to me. there was some interesting thematic work here on the subjects of creativity, misogyny, and mental health, but overall this book confused me more than it made me think deeply or entertained me. the head-jumping and time-skipping in particular made for a perplexing time. however, i do think gayl jones is a strong writer and i'll probably pick up more of her work in the future despite not loving this one

misssharpe's review against another edition

2.0

I love the books I have read by Gayl Jones (Corregidora, Eva’s Man). The way she writes female pain and trauma is gut wrenchingly beautiful. But this book was not it

outtiegw's review

challenging slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

3.0

millssb's review

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

emjay2021's review against another edition

This experimental novel has a challenging structure, but the theme is actually quite clear, and the writing is absolutely gorgeous. I am not normally a fan of experimental writing, but I received this as a Christmas present, and I am quite glad I read it. Sometimes I feel like I don’t challenge myself enough, and I appreciated being challenged by Birdcatcher. (However, I am not going to give it a star rating, because I simply don’t know how to assign one to an experimental novel.) It helps, of course, that Gayl Jones can craft a beautiful sentence. I was often in awe at her light touch but devastating effect.

The book description makes it sound very plotty, but it really isn’t. The main kernel of the story is intriguing: Catherine, an artist, keeps trying to kill her husband, Ernest. Ernest keeps having her institutionalized and then getting her released. The two of them eventually fall into a friendship with Amanda, an author. When the novel begins, the three of them are living together on Ibiza, and Ernest and Amanda are trying to prevent Catherine from killing Ernest while sizing each other up to figure out their own relationship with each other.

That makes it sound like a mystery/thriller, but I cannot emphasize enough how much it really is NOT. Instead, it is an interesting exploration of women’s artistic creativity and how that is stifled by patriarchal structures. This is exemplified by the characters of Catherine and Amanda, but also by Catherine’s artist friend (?) Gillette, a disturbing and intriguing character.

This book was first published in Germany in 1986, and from what I gather, this is its debut publication in English. The racial and sexual politics of The Birdcatcher feel both of the period, and yet also in some ways quite fresh.

I would recommend this to anyone who is not turned off by experimental fiction, who enjoys beautiful prose and wants to experience more good writing by Black women.

“‘This is shit,’ he said, laying the pages on the coffee table.
‘It’s shit?’
I stood in the corner of the study, feeling as cornered as the furniture.
‘Yeah, you can’t publish this shit,’ he said.
I said nothing.
‘Is it that bad?’
‘I think so.’
I drooped like a wet rag. Then I took the proofs and put them in the desk drawer. I sat in the hard chair looking at the wall but not at him though I could tell his eyes were on me.
‘So what are you thinking?’ he asked.
I said nothing for a moment, then it came out like a dam had broken loose. ‘I’m thinking of the women writers I know who live with men who think their work is shit, or next to shit. I can list about five of them. But I can’t list any, not one, of the men writers I know who live with women who think theirs is less than fantastic.’
‘They’re better liars.’
‘That’s not true. That’s not true,’ I said. Then I said, ‘They wouldn’t put up with it. They wouldn’t. Why do you think we women put up with it?’”

(P. 148)

in_needofbooks's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0