Bird (Rita Murphy)
Mar. 12th, 2011 08:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
booksofafeatherShort review: This book can't be described in a short review so well without spoiling it... or even a long review without spoiling it. All I will say is it's a strange, beautiful, ethereal feeling story that is absolutely recommended for everyone with the heart of a flyer... and also just as a great story... you won't understand why for a while, but it is worth waiting for as it slowly unfolds, and in the meantime, the rest of the story unfolding is a joy. Even the cover and the size of the book are part of the beauty.
Writing: Amazing... full of poetry, a beautiful sort of melancholy wistful feeling, mystery, and hope. The writing never lets this book down.
From a winged person's perspective...: At first, this book may not seem that it has much for winged people. The main character is a girl who is so light that the wind carries her, but soon she is bound to the ground. But you will understand in time why this book is called "Bird". All through the book, too, you will get an indirect feeling of her love for the air... in the way that she always describes the weather and the quality of the air and the feeling of being up high... more subtle than most books, but it is all through the story in a way that makes it really a story about a flyer, in a way that is rare, and realistic. To say more would spoil it....
Trigger warnings: A child is imprisoned and treated poorly.
Extra note: This book is by Rita Murphy who also wrote Night Flying (which I review at that link). Clearly, she has an attachment to this idea... flyers may want to watch out for her work in the future.
More thoughts...: This book makes me feel so torn... I want to talk all about it, but I want everyone who has an interest in this to experience this story for themself... I took many notes on it, but as I start this review I don't know how many I will use. It feels wrong to spoil it. It's a beautiful book, much better than Night Flying... although that was a good book, this book passes it in a way that makes it seem strange, that I gave Night Flying four out of five, where I can only give this book five out of five. Perhaps Night Flying should have scored lower. It's hard to say.
The experience of this book happens even before you open it, at least in the version I have. The cover, which is by Fernando Juarez, is beautiful in a way that you can only appreciate holding this book for yourself. The little details can't be seen on the low quality pictures on the internet... even when I was getting this book from the library, my friend with me said "that's a beautiful cover". The book is also so small and light to hold in your hands, which fits for a story of a girl who is so small and light that the wind blows her away.
Yet, for a tiny book, there is a lot inside it. It starts with a mysterious and slightly sad feeling that never leaves you, which captures so well the nature of the mansion where the girl lives... at the same time often delighting with the beauty of being in a high place. This book starts by showing flight as a fascinating, frightening and secret experience, but also thrilling... which is an interesting perspective, different from most. The wind is something for the girl to love but also to fear.
But, in case you are put off by this, or quotes like:
...there's no need for despair, because the way the book unfolds absolutely celebrates dreamers, flyers, and people who are not human, and looking for their own kind. This book made me want to cry... and to fly as well.
Writing: Amazing... full of poetry, a beautiful sort of melancholy wistful feeling, mystery, and hope. The writing never lets this book down.
From a winged person's perspective...: At first, this book may not seem that it has much for winged people. The main character is a girl who is so light that the wind carries her, but soon she is bound to the ground. But you will understand in time why this book is called "Bird". All through the book, too, you will get an indirect feeling of her love for the air... in the way that she always describes the weather and the quality of the air and the feeling of being up high... more subtle than most books, but it is all through the story in a way that makes it really a story about a flyer, in a way that is rare, and realistic. To say more would spoil it....
Trigger warnings: A child is imprisoned and treated poorly.
Extra note: This book is by Rita Murphy who also wrote Night Flying (which I review at that link). Clearly, she has an attachment to this idea... flyers may want to watch out for her work in the future.
More thoughts...: This book makes me feel so torn... I want to talk all about it, but I want everyone who has an interest in this to experience this story for themself... I took many notes on it, but as I start this review I don't know how many I will use. It feels wrong to spoil it. It's a beautiful book, much better than Night Flying... although that was a good book, this book passes it in a way that makes it seem strange, that I gave Night Flying four out of five, where I can only give this book five out of five. Perhaps Night Flying should have scored lower. It's hard to say.
The experience of this book happens even before you open it, at least in the version I have. The cover, which is by Fernando Juarez, is beautiful in a way that you can only appreciate holding this book for yourself. The little details can't be seen on the low quality pictures on the internet... even when I was getting this book from the library, my friend with me said "that's a beautiful cover". The book is also so small and light to hold in your hands, which fits for a story of a girl who is so small and light that the wind blows her away.
Yet, for a tiny book, there is a lot inside it. It starts with a mysterious and slightly sad feeling that never leaves you, which captures so well the nature of the mansion where the girl lives... at the same time often delighting with the beauty of being in a high place. This book starts by showing flight as a fascinating, frightening and secret experience, but also thrilling... which is an interesting perspective, different from most. The wind is something for the girl to love but also to fear.
But, in case you are put off by this, or quotes like:
"Is it not a good thing to be a dreamer, sir?"
"Not when one believes in things that can never be."
...there's no need for despair, because the way the book unfolds absolutely celebrates dreamers, flyers, and people who are not human, and looking for their own kind. This book made me want to cry... and to fly as well.
