On March 29th, 2022, there were five of us at book group to discuss The Wild Birds, chosen by Joan and held at her home on a rainy afternoon: Joan, Marylib, Saran, Lucie, and Libby. In one way or another, everyone found the book refreshing, readable, interesting, and containing certain depths in the characters. Joan said she was drawn by the title when she bought the book, and she could not stop reading it, even if it was hard at times to go back and forth between the different places and times. The author presents three scenarios with different characters and the time frames jump around back and forth which some found confusing or annoying. The stories were all connected by a silver box of different bird eggs that happened into some of the character's possessions, and we all asked, what did this box mean for each person. The box connected the characters to nature yet nature was also important for every character. We all felt that a book that was tied to nature was a done deal to read.
The settings were the Farallone Islands off of the coast of San Francisco, Burning Woods, OR, and Arizona and various desert locations. Marylib said at times it was hard to follow. Lucie said she just gave into it and she had fun reading it, as did Libby. Lucie brought up the roll of women struggling to make their way in the world. Olive was brave to dress as a man, and made her way to the islands, but in the end she was rescued by a man. Sal was a true independent woman but overtaken by her love for Alice. So many of the characters were trying to find out where they belonged in the world, and this was all stitched together by the thread of the silver egg box. Victor who was not accepted by his well off family in Seattle, was wandering to find himself and find acceptance for who he was. He wanted to be his own man. What kids of shelters do we make in this life until we find one we can call home. Were those eggs in that box representing a shelter for each species, each character. Sal was doing work finding and counting bird nests in the desert, symbolic of her search.
Libby felt there could have been a whole book about those mystical, historic Farallone Islands. Saran said that Olive and Warren were a great couple to have their story expanded. The whole history of the eggers was fascinating. The young first time author was brave to create and put together such an ambitious book, and we all felt that if you let it wash over you as you read, it was worth reading. Saran said that people are rare birds. I think that expresses the characters in this book, there being a certain depth and differences of the situations and characters.
Some of the birds we met were the Northern harrier, the blind hawk, a tanager, the sea birds, cactus wrens, the green tailed towhee, and the murrelet.
All in all it was a fun afternoon, a good choice of a book, and we are curious what this first time author has next in her repertoire.
