Immagine dell'autore.

Laura Harrington

Autore di Alice Bliss: A Novel

9+ opere 486 membri 34 recensioni

Opere di Laura Harrington

Opere correlate

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Little Festival Of The Unexpected 2000 & 2001 (2001) — Autore, alcune edizioni10 copie

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A Catalog of Birds by Laura Harrington is a story about both love and loss. Following the rehabilitation of a badly injured Vietnam Vet, we learn of the toll this war had not only on the vet, but on all his family and loved ones. The story is told by Nell, just graduating high school and looking forward to her studies at university, but when her beloved brother, Billy, is returned to the family with burns and nerve damage, everything in their world changes. The expense of operations and rehabilitation eats up the families savings, and does little to improve his condition. Billy lives in constant pain and experiences survivors guilt along with many other side affects from his injuries.

Before we went to Vietnam, Billy was an artist who specialized in drawing birds, he found himself in his artwork and in the study of the winged creatures. Sharing their love of nature, he and Nell spent a lot of time wandering the woods near their home in upstate New York studying birds and their habitat. Along with the tragedy of her brother’s injuries, Nell’s best friend (and Billy’s girlfriend) has disappeared mysteriously and it is feared that she has become the victim of a serial killer.

A Catalog of Birds is a unique story that is both a searing anti-war story and a novel of family faith and love. The author gives us characters that are complex and very human in this sensitive story of a family whose lives have been torn apart by war.
… (altro)
 
Segnalato
DeltaQueen50 | 7 altre recensioni | Jan 4, 2023 |
Recommended by Greg and June
 
Segnalato
Michelle_abelha | 25 altre recensioni | Dec 12, 2021 |
I found this to be really slow and boring
 
Segnalato
karenshann | 25 altre recensioni | Dec 31, 2019 |
It is not often that I am moved to tears reading a book. This one dug in and touched all my vulnerable spots: VietNam vets, exquisite descriptions of nature, dashed dreams. The story revolves around the 1970 return of Billy Flynn from an unpopular war, the lone survivor of the crashed helicopter he was flying. He is filled with deep remorse and shame for his part in the war. His body is ravaged. His hearing is shot, the burns are disfiguring and painful, but, most of all, he has lost the ability to use his right hand, a huge loss to a budding artist who had dreams of being a pilot.

Sounds like a real downer, right? I prefer to think of it as a deep look into a nurturing family who works together to overcome a tragedy. The book might be about Billy but it is also a testimonial of love and support from his younger sister Nell, and the helpless reaction of his father Jack who had his own war wounds to overcome. He tells his daughter, "You can't leave it. You just end up carrying it." He goes on to muse that he "wishes he didn’t know the limits of love and hope, how little, really, can be covered over, hidden away, made whole."

Although there is a lot of heartache in this book, there is also a lot of life and hope expressed in Billy and Nell's relationship to each other and the natural world. Much of their childhood was spent in their explorations of the Finger Lakes region of New York where they grew up. They learned to sit quietly and study the birds while Billy honed his art skills in his field books. The only drawback to the story was the disappearance of Megan who was Nell's best friend and Billy's girlfriend. I didn't think she was integral to the story, but the void left by the mystery of her disappearing was distracting. I can only hope that the author left the door open to a sequel. I would like to spend more time with the Flynn family.
… (altro)
½
3 vota
Segnalato
Donna828 | 7 altre recensioni | Mar 9, 2019 |

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Statistiche

Opere
9
Opere correlate
4
Utenti
486
Popolarità
#50,828
Voto
3.9
Recensioni
34
ISBN
33
Lingue
2

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