Summer and Bird by Katherine Catmull
346 pages
Published 2012
Read from September 4 to September 5
Rating: ★★★★ out of 5
This
is a book I wish I'd written. Birds have always seemed under-utilized
in fantasy; the bony, pinnate patterns of their lives have long struck me
as a source of endlessly fascinating fantastic possibility, possibility
reflected in the rich body of bird folklore in cultures around the
world. This is the first novel I've read (out of the admittedly few
fantasy works I've read) that wings and scratches its way into that
alien treetop territory I've wanted to explore in my own fiction.
Catmull's descriptive voice is terrifically evocative, and the emotional
heart of the tale is refreshingly complex for a children's novel,
though told without great subtlety. That overt sense that, yes, this is
still a children's novel clipped my enjoyment somewhat, as did a
(seemingly) extended sequence toward the middle of rather literal
psychological symbolism. In my own bird-infested fantasy novels, the
ones I do intend to write someday, I had toyed with the notion of
manifesting fantasy-psychological symbols for my characters, but now I
realize that can get quite dull.
On the whole, though, I emphatically recommend Summer and Bird. Support avian fairy tales!
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