Review: A sweet and clever romance
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 7, 2014
In real life, romances (brief and hurtful infatuations aside) rarely spring from insta-love or from physical attraction alone, which is why I found Leslea Tash's Bird After Bird such a breath of fresh air in this genre. Wren and Laurie's love affair still has that "kismet" feel to it, but it is based on so much more—deep, well-crafted characters that have their own inner lives, desires, and gritty pasts to overcome, and a small town in rural Indiana that will leave you feeling like you've been there. The writing is smooth and effortless, carrying readers between Chicago and Birdseye, Indiana, with ease, and fluently switching between Wren's point of view and Laurie's. (And what lover of Little Women wouldn't swoon over this Laurie, too? He's a hot, heart-broken soldier with a sensitive, artistic side. Yum.)For me, Bird After Bird was not just a romance but a subtle exploration of what it means to be an adult, especially in the absence of parents, partners, friends or family. Wren's relationship with her adorable, dearly departed father (whose letters made me cry right out of the gate), and Laurie's relationship with Sylvia are also very engaging, and bring a real poignancy to the tale as well as letting the reader learn more of the hero and heroine's pasts. It's a story about coming home, too, in many ways, and about the fight or flight impulses we all need to quell to make relationships work. Wren and Laurie's story reminds us that we must sometimes decide where the soul "fits": amid the rush and bustle of a busy, city career, or in the slow, comforting caress of a place we know well, and that, ultimately, knows us better than we think it does.Throughout, the birds tie it all together, sometimes humorously, which adds another layer of intelligence and interest to the novel. Even if you're not a birder or a regular romance junkie (which I'm not either), I'm sure Wren and Laurie's love will captivate you just as much as it did me.