A review by judeinthestars
The Black Bird of Chernobyl by Ann McMan

emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0



We’re living through some pretty fucked up times (yeah, I know, understatement), but Ann McMan might be the antidote to (at least some of) it. In a world led by idiocy and ignorance, McMan’s wit is at once refreshing and therapeutic.

Lilah Stohler is a lot more interested in death than she is in life. I mean, life sucks, right? As the new director of the family funeral home, she excels “downstairs”. To help with dealing with the living, her dad, just before leaving the business to his daughter, hired Sparkle Lee Sink, who, at least on the surface, is everything Lilah isn’t. She’s warm, she’s kind, she cares, and she bakes the most delicious ginger chews. Lilah hates her at first sight, obviously. Add to that undesired Instagram fame after a smartass teen dubs Lilah the Black Bird of Chernobyl and hard decisions regarding whether to sell or keep going, and a trip to the National Funeral Directors Associations in Las Vegas feels like the perfect break.

I am such a huge fan of Lilah Stohler. She’s intense, she’s clever, she wields the driest sense of humour like a shield, behind which she hides her fear of being loved, of being seen, as much as she hopes for it. And sure, I love Sparkle, but Sparkle’s easy to love. Lilah, however, is an acquired taste, and I love that McMan didn’t simply write her as misunderstood. She’s a lot mellower than she wants people to know, but she’s also not a complete stranger to bitchiness.

While The Black Bird of Chernobyl is a romance, and the Grumpy/Sunshine interactions are a lot of fun (that’s where the narration shines), my favourite parts include the beautifully-written secondary characters. From death’s delivery man Dash and his Ford Transit Van to the Freeman brothers (who aren’t brothers at all), from Rita Kitty, hairdresser to the dead, to Lilah’s family (including her younger sister Frankie, whom we met in The Big Tow), they’re all delightful. My absolute favourite, however, is Kay Stover, the funeral home business manager, who calls out Lilah on her BS while always having her back. All these relationships are infused with so much love, mixed with the best banter and sarcastic retorts.

Is it too much at times? Yes. Did I mind? Hell no. I needed the laughs, I needed the quips, I needed the smarts. And I needed the gentleness and the vulnerability Lilah had been fighting to ignore until she got wiser. My heart rejoiced in the warmth (despite one completely heartbreaking twist) and my brain in feeling its wheels in action.

If I believed in star ratings, I’d acknowledge that I’m probably slightly overrating this book, but since I don’t, I’ll overrate if I want to.

Video review: https://www.instagram.com/p/DHEU2zCIa82/

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

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