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A review by yak_attak
Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm
2.5
A difficult book to review for a number of reasons, not the least of which is expectations - Robin Hobb is a favorite author of mine, and I expect to find well written, nuanced, realistic characters along with a weighty, dark, but fulfilling plot. As one of her earlier novels, a whole decade from the famous Assassin's Apprentice, it's understandable that this wouldn't necessarily fulfill those expectations - oddly though, it mostly does... just... it's not...very...likable.
Far from the epic fantasy you've come to expect, Wizard of the Pigeons is a slow moving, subtle urban fantasy, set in modern (at time of publication) day Seattle. The titular wizard is a homeless man, who wanders the city, learns about its history and soul, and takes it upon himself to help out others along his journey.
It's these vignettes and small moments that I think are the novel's strengths, and lead to these great moments of both humanization of the homeless, but other a whole plethora of other issues - abuse, assault, familial expectations and pressures... etc. Lindholm's best writing is in these small scenes, and you really get the sense of this kindly 'soul of the city' helping out where needed, that I think she was going for.
Where it falls though is in its main plot - there's a threat, and a challenge that the main character undertakes, and I'd say that I'm trying to keep things simple to save you spoilers, but honestly that's about the degree of clarity you get from the book itself. Character talk past each other and never discuss the actual thing they're there about. The main character refuses to elucidate what his own thoughts are - The narrative itself even is confused (or rather, makes telling mistakes) with character's identities at times, meaning the whole book is in this bizarre "Is it real? is it a hallucination?" state - which... is interesting, but not emotionally compelling.
Moreover, it makes the central premise one that's weird and kinda uncomfortable - a magical homeless person, with issues pertaining to Vietnam written by someone who has neither of those attributes... I dunno, it's tough. I'm not saying Lindholm shouldn't be the one to write this, and in may ways she's brought up issues of exoticisng the homeless in the text herself, but it's all done in this weird romantic tone that... I dunno. Not a fan.
A hard one to recommend, even for fans of Hobb, but one I think also shows a lot of promise and subtlety from an upcoming writer. Don't skip it on my account, but certainly don't start here either.
Far from the epic fantasy you've come to expect, Wizard of the Pigeons is a slow moving, subtle urban fantasy, set in modern (at time of publication) day Seattle. The titular wizard is a homeless man, who wanders the city, learns about its history and soul, and takes it upon himself to help out others along his journey.
It's these vignettes and small moments that I think are the novel's strengths, and lead to these great moments of both humanization of the homeless, but other a whole plethora of other issues - abuse, assault, familial expectations and pressures... etc. Lindholm's best writing is in these small scenes, and you really get the sense of this kindly 'soul of the city' helping out where needed, that I think she was going for.
Where it falls though is in its main plot - there's a threat, and a challenge that the main character undertakes, and I'd say that I'm trying to keep things simple to save you spoilers, but honestly that's about the degree of clarity you get from the book itself. Character talk past each other and never discuss the actual thing they're there about. The main character refuses to elucidate what his own thoughts are - The narrative itself even is confused (or rather, makes telling mistakes) with character's identities at times, meaning the whole book is in this bizarre "Is it real? is it a hallucination?" state - which... is interesting, but not emotionally compelling.
Moreover, it makes the central premise one that's weird and kinda uncomfortable - a magical homeless person, with issues pertaining to Vietnam written by someone who has neither of those attributes... I dunno, it's tough. I'm not saying Lindholm shouldn't be the one to write this, and in may ways she's brought up issues of exoticisng the homeless in the text herself, but it's all done in this weird romantic tone that... I dunno. Not a fan.
A hard one to recommend, even for fans of Hobb, but one I think also shows a lot of promise and subtlety from an upcoming writer. Don't skip it on my account, but certainly don't start here either.