Monday, April 11, 2011

The Bird Sisters; Rebecca Rasmussen


(Isn't this cover gorgeous?)

Title: The Bird Sisters
Author: Rebecca Rasmussen
Publication Year: 2011
Publisher: Crown
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Author
Date Completed: 4/11/2011
Setting: Wisconsin
Rating: 5/5 stars
Recommend: yes 

"Whenever a bird flies into a window in Spring Green, Wisconsin, sisters Milly and Twiss get a visit. Twiss listens to the birds' heartbeats, assessing what she can fix and what she can't, while Milly listens to the heartaches of the people who've brought them. The two sisters have spent their lives nursing people and birds back to health.".

Known to most, in the small town of Spring Green, Wisconsin, as "The Bird Sisters",  life for these spinster sisters, destined them to always be together.  As young girls, Milly, was a beautiful girl, who was in love with Asa; she dreamed of marriage and children. Twiss, was somewhat of a fun-loving, wild spirit who enjoyed her freedom. Life, as we know, does not always turn out as we planned, and for Milly and Twiss, the summer of 1947, when the sisters were teenagers, was the turning point in their lives that carved out what would be their future--- growing old together in their childhood home.

The story moves from present time back to that summer of 1947, and it is told in alternating chapters. The reader gets a glimpse into the sister's parents troubled marriage, their mother's frustrations and regrets, their father's downward fall from his job as a respected golf pro, and also what transpired the summer older cousin Bette came to visit. Bit by bit the reader understands the events that determined the course of their adult lives.

From  the very beginning I was anxious to find out what happened that was so horrible to cause the lives of Milly and Twiss to turn out the way they did. The sister characters are so finely honed,  so much so that I felt emotionally invested in them early on. Although their lives made me sad, I admired how devoted they were to one another.  There is so much more that I could say, however, I want to be careful not to say too much. The Bird Sisters was a terrific debut novel. It's written in a style that worked well for me: a character driven novel with memorable but flawed characters, a story that hooks you early on and keeps you turning the pages, and just one of those stories that will keep me talking about this book for a long while.

In some ways this book made me think of (2) other books I read and loved as well over the last several years: Tomato Girl; Jane Pupek and Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt; Beth Hoffman. As with The Bird Sisters, these books left a lasting impression, each were debut novels, and each in their own way moved me deeply.  Three MUST READS for your summer reading list.

I loved reading what the author says, inspired her to write this story ----- 


From the Author

I grew up in Spring Green, Wisconsin, but I also grew up in Northfield, Illinois--sadly, when I was a baby, my parents divorced. Because my life was split between the two places, I never really felt that either belonged to me and I still don't today. I suppose that's why in my fiction, I pay very close attention to place; I'm constantly searching for a way to make home feel like home. My stories tend to come out of the swollen look of a river, or an iced over fishing hole, or a bird on a winter branch. The idea for The Bird Sisters came out of two things: my curiosity about my grandmother and her family history, and my devotion to finding the answer to the ongoing question in my life: what does it mean to be home? For Milly and Twiss, I extended the question a little bit further: what does it mean to stay there? My grandmother Kathryn--Kit, she liked to be called--lost both of her parents when she was seventeen, her mother by way of Scarlett Fever (although the people who knew her best said she died of a broken heart) and her father by way of a broken leg and then a fatal blood clot. Her father, my great grandfather, was a wonderfully talented golfer who gave lessons to wealthy members of whatever golf course he was working at. Unfortunately, my great grandfather turned out to be a wonderfully talented philanderer, too. Those are the facts; what interests me is what came between them. My grandmother lived her life with questions about her parents that she couldn't bring herself to ask. "They were the best parents ever," she'd say one day, but then another she'd say, "I don't know if they really were." She carried a loneliness around inside of her that she couldn't bear to share with anyone because talking about what had happened made her more and more uncertain about whether or not she was loved. My grandmother had a sister named Virginia, whom she wrote a card to a few times a year and visited even less frequently. I've always wondered what might have happened if she and Virginia had been able to hold onto each other when everything else was slipping away from them. I've always wondered if my grandmother might have then found happiness in her life. Milly and Twiss are my gift to her, my proof of love. The book is a gift to myself, proof that I have a home in the hills of Spring Green, in the green of the rivergrass and the brown of the fields beyond. Writing the book, which I completed during my tenure in the MFA Program at the University of Massachusetts, has taught me that home doesn't always translate to four sturdy white walls. The Bird Sisters is my first novel. 

32 comments:

  1. Wonderful review! I have this book on my reading list. I've not read any bad review for this book. I can't wait to read it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks very interesting to me. Thanks for the recommendation.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That cover IS gorgeous! Interesting premise and a bit different from anything I've seen.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That cover IS gorgeous! Interesting premise and a bit different from anything I've seen.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The cover is gorgeous, and what a wonderful piece from Rebecca! I love Spring Green - it truly is a beautiful place. I have many wonderful memories from there, including, it is the first place I ever played golf!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think this book sounds wonderful and I was very impressed with the piece the author shared. Very touching. I'll be on the lookout for THE BIRD SISTERS. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Diane!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your review and the author's backstory note really make me want to read this book.

    Thanks for sharing a future great read for me!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a wonderful review~ Thank you so much for taking the time to read my book. Your words are so insightful and lovely :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have been curious about this book since seeing it in several people's mailboxes. It sounds like it was very moving, and I also just love the cover. Great review and guest post!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I kind of skimmed your review since I'll be reading this soon. I'm so excited about this book and can't wait to read it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for the review. I've added this one to my list; it sounds like the characters are ones that stay with a reader and I like the author's story of why she wrote it. I'm intrigued.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It does sound good, and I really like the title! Hey, that did look like me in that video!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Another gorgeous review of Rebecca's book. The fact that it has similarities to Beth's book has me desperate to read it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Okay that cover seriously makes me have book envy. And your review is wonderful. This goes on the TBR list for sure.
    Alayne - The Crowded Leaf.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This book sounds like a wonderful exploration of the meaning of family and home. I will be adding this one to Mt. St. TBR.

    ReplyDelete
  16. This sounds like a wonderful book. Poignant characters and yet thought-provoking.

    ReplyDelete
  17. YES! Sounds like my cup of tea :) Thank you!
    (love their names, too)

    ReplyDelete
  18. The characters sound intriguing. I think I'll pick it up.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I have been to Spring Green many times so I am very anxious to read this book. It is on the top of my wish list. I'm glad to see it getting such great reviews. I will be sure not to miss this one!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Excellent review! You've got me interested!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh, I'm so glad that my interest in this book was validated by your lovely review. I'm even more intrigued because of the author's personal connection to the story.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I've been wanting to read this book for the cover alone so to hear that it's this good is so exciting! I need to get a copy for myself!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Great review. It's not something I would normally pick up but your thoughts have made me consider it. I like the themes it deals with.

    ReplyDelete
  24. This book is high on my tbr list. I think it sounds wonderful and your review confirmed that it's a terrific debut. Thank you for including the informationd and comment from Rebecca Rasmussen. I love that she's from Wisconsin because my dad grew up there! I like knowing the inspiration behind her novel and the very personal nature of it explains why it's such a beautiful book

    ReplyDelete
  25. That does sound good. I like novels about sisters and secrets and family drama. :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Sounds like a god read. And I love the cover art.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I always enjoy hearing what the authors have to say; it can really make an impact on how I view the book. This book already sounded interesting to me but when I read about how Rasmussen doesn't feel like she belongs to either parent, I feel a real need to see how she writes relationships.

    ReplyDelete
  28. This is the second review I read for this book and now I am positively dying to read it. I will suggest it for our book club. Thanks for the review!

    ReplyDelete
  29. I agree Diane, this novel definitely made a lasting impression on me as well.

    ReplyDelete
  30. If this book is like Tomato Girl and Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, I'm definitely going to have to read it!

    ReplyDelete
  31. This cover is beautiful! I was sold on that even before your 5 star review!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I've just recently added this to my reading list. I like that you compared it to CeeCee.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to visit and double thanks for any comments. If you ask a question in your comments, I will try to reply to it here, or by email if your settings allow me to do so. Thanks again for visiting.