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A review by dylankakoulli
A Feather on the Breath of God by Sigrid Nunez
4.0
“A Feather On The Breath Of God” is a relatively short -but utterly compelling and thought provoking read, all about the tumultuous relationships between parents and children. Exploring themes of heritage, displacement, language and identity.
We follow a relatively young -unnamed woman, as she looks back to the world of her immigrant parents: a withdrawn, Chinese-Panamanian father and a homesick, rather eccentric German mother. Who met and married in postwar Germany, before finally emigrating and settling in 1950’s New York City. Whilst growing up in a cramped housing project with her mum, dad and younger sister, our narrator would often escape the humdrum of family life, into dreams and aspirations -inspired by her parents tales of their past, the art and literature she was exposed too, and -for a short while, escaping into the otherworldly life of ballet.
Honestly, Nunez writing blows my mind every god damn time! She has this masterful way of using simple -yet unpretentious, language and structure, that perfectly manages to conjure such strong and evocative emotions and astute observations.
Made up of four parts, it is only until you come to the end, that you see how beautifully everything falls into place -not fully resolved, but it is undeniably a perfect exploration of someone attempting to find and piece together a sense of self, through both experiences and expressionism.
4 stars
Shout out to the one and only Chloe -who certainly knows me so well and for giving me this book!
We follow a relatively young -unnamed woman, as she looks back to the world of her immigrant parents: a withdrawn, Chinese-Panamanian father and a homesick, rather eccentric German mother. Who met and married in postwar Germany, before finally emigrating and settling in 1950’s New York City. Whilst growing up in a cramped housing project with her mum, dad and younger sister, our narrator would often escape the humdrum of family life, into dreams and aspirations -inspired by her parents tales of their past, the art and literature she was exposed too, and -for a short while, escaping into the otherworldly life of ballet.
Honestly, Nunez writing blows my mind every god damn time! She has this masterful way of using simple -yet unpretentious, language and structure, that perfectly manages to conjure such strong and evocative emotions and astute observations.
Made up of four parts, it is only until you come to the end, that you see how beautifully everything falls into place -not fully resolved, but it is undeniably a perfect exploration of someone attempting to find and piece together a sense of self, through both experiences and expressionism.
4 stars
Shout out to the one and only Chloe -who certainly knows me so well and for giving me this book!