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A review by bianca89279
The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner
5.0
Am I allowed to declare my undying love for Stegner's writing after only reading two of his books? Is it presumptuous, hasty? I do not care. I love his writing!
The Spectator Bird is narrated by Joe Alston, a depressed, morose, seventy-year-old, retired literary agent. He lives with his devoted wife, Ruth, in Northern California. Their life is quiet and he seems to be happier with just staying home reading rather than socialising.
There's a more exciting, distracting episode relating to the couple's visit to Denmark twenty years prior when Joe attempted to track down his roots of his Danish-born mother, while recuperating from illness. They rent a room in the house of mysterious countess Astrid, a striking woman, down on her luck. While spending time with her, they find out about her family's strange history and a few other things.
The indignities of ageing, long marriage, grief, depression, making choices vs just falling into things are some of the prevalent themes of this relatively quiet novel.
This novel was published forty-two years ago. It aged really well because of its universal themes.
The Spectator Bird is literary fiction of the highest calibre, the type that makes me think "This is why I read".
I forgot to mention, this audiobook was narrated by the incredible Edward Herrmann, who gets a million stars.
The Spectator Bird is narrated by Joe Alston, a depressed, morose, seventy-year-old, retired literary agent. He lives with his devoted wife, Ruth, in Northern California. Their life is quiet and he seems to be happier with just staying home reading rather than socialising.
There's a more exciting, distracting episode relating to the couple's visit to Denmark twenty years prior when Joe attempted to track down his roots of his Danish-born mother, while recuperating from illness. They rent a room in the house of mysterious countess Astrid, a striking woman, down on her luck. While spending time with her, they find out about her family's strange history and a few other things.
The indignities of ageing, long marriage, grief, depression, making choices vs just falling into things are some of the prevalent themes of this relatively quiet novel.
This novel was published forty-two years ago. It aged really well because of its universal themes.
The Spectator Bird is literary fiction of the highest calibre, the type that makes me think "This is why I read".
I forgot to mention, this audiobook was narrated by the incredible Edward Herrmann, who gets a million stars.