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monalyisha 's review for:
And the Birds Rained Down
by Jocelyne Saucier
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
It took some effort to acquire this slim novel-in-translation. Nominated for a bunch of Canadian awards and adapted to (French) film in 2019, it was tricky to find in my home state of Massachusetts. I had to look outside of my regular library network (which is typically well-connected and robust)! I’m happy to say that it was WELL worth it, however. This will be among my favorite reads of the year: top 3, at least.
A trio of elderly men build off-grid cabins in the forest, so they can live and die on their own terms. Enter two women: one a young(ish) photographer, the other an aged woman recently sprung from a psychiatric institution.
Contemplative, kind (especially with regard to those who live on the fringes), and subtly funny. One of the quiet jokes that has stuck with me is that the narrator rejects the phrase “nature photographer” as an identifier. Instead, she calls herself a “vegetative photographer…because of all the veins of leaves [she] stooped over to capture on film and the contemplative life [she] led.” Her favored pace is to move with “ceremonial slowness.” See what I mean? Lovely and clever.
Some might be unhappy about the ending, which does include some upsetting details, but I’m not among them. A major theme running throughout is “destructive beauty” and the way that “death lurks in every story.” Alongside this darker theme is a lighter one: “happiness needs only your consent.” Every sentence served these dual masters.
A trio of elderly men build off-grid cabins in the forest, so they can live and die on their own terms. Enter two women: one a young(ish) photographer, the other an aged woman recently sprung from a psychiatric institution.
Contemplative, kind (especially with regard to those who live on the fringes), and subtly funny. One of the quiet jokes that has stuck with me is that the narrator rejects the phrase “nature photographer” as an identifier. Instead, she calls herself a “vegetative photographer…because of all the veins of leaves [she] stooped over to capture on film and the contemplative life [she] led.” Her favored pace is to move with “ceremonial slowness.” See what I mean? Lovely and clever.
Some might be unhappy about the ending, which does include some upsetting details, but I’m not among them. A major theme running throughout is “destructive beauty” and the way that “death lurks in every story.” Alongside this darker theme is a lighter one: “happiness needs only your consent.” Every sentence served these dual masters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury