Review: Laze Away a Summer Afternoon
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 9, 2013
Place of Many Birds, by Jan Merry, includes the short stories Before Winter Comes, Killing Time, Spirit of Activity, and of course, Place of Many Birds.In Before Winter Comes, motherless children discover a layer cake smothered in coffee icing on the doorstep.  In Killing Time, Maurice is an old man who rides his bike through the surrounding countryside. A stranded bicyclist and a painter strike up a conversation in Spirit of Activity. And last, in Place of Many Birds, a five-year-old sister and eight-year-old boy ride journey by train with their mother to meet their father and brother and start a new life.The book is a nice slice of life in the 1960's and earlier, in Australia. The writing is conversational and moseys along through the stories. With a tall glass of iced tea and this book, you could laze away a summer afternoon with Place of Many Birds.