A review by bookmarish
All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld

5.0

The interesting cover of this book caught my eye in the bookstore, and when I read the description I was intrigued. I wasn't disappointed. This was an intricately wrought story of a woman trying to outrun a disturbing past which seems to stalk her nonetheless. The possible psychological instability of main character Jake and the wonderful subtle storytelling, alternating between past and present as she works her way back to the root cause of her constant fear, made this such a fascinating read that I finished it in two days. The contrast between England and Australia, with the lovely but unsettled landscape detailed in both, was deftly done. I loved how author Wyld wove in the details of the work at the sheep stations and how there was always a presence of animals throughout the story, a source of beauty and vulnerability, protectiveness, and even viciousness. It's one of those books that you seem to understand intuitively but still evades explanation. I'm glad I picked this up on a whim--it's a haunting story that will stay with me.