Reviews

The Bird Artist by Howard Norman

goflya61's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.75

thesaltybrunette's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

this_little_bookshelf's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

This was definitely a slower pace than I tend to like. It started so well with finding out in the first paragraph that the narrator has committed a murder, but throughout the backstory and the aftermath I just never particularly liked the characters enough to invest in their journey.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Suicide, Murder, and Gun violence

racheyohh's review

medium-paced

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

3.25

I found this on the side of the road years ago and finally read it. Not my favorite but much more enjoyable than I expected and I’m glad I picked it up! It was interesting and set in a place I hadn't read about before. It took some heavy topics and made them lighter and included all types of love & admiration: romantic, familial, friendship, and professional mentorship.

cmcrockford's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

For all its literary pretense, a crime novel and confession in the mode of The Killer Inside Me except the narrator is a Newfie bird artist. Extraordinary.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gun violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Terminal illness and Animal death

emeraldjulep's review

slow-paced

1.0

Cold, reserved, austere - in character, setting and plot. The writing is well done in that way but not my thing.

terriep's review

reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

chill_its_chaos's review

dark lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

selmbry's review

dark slow-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

3.0

nauzika_kasza's review

emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

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

2.25