Snapper

by Brian Kimberling

**NPR's Best Books of the Year 2013**

A great, hilarious new voice in fiction: the poignant, all-too-human recollections of an affable bird researcher in the Indiana backwater as he goes through a disastrous yet heartening love affair with the place and its people.
 
Nathan Lochmueller studies birds, earning just enough money to live on. He drives a glitter-festooned truck, the Gypsy Moth, and he is in love with Lola, a woman so free-spirited and mysterious she can break a man’s heart with a sigh or a shrug. Around them swirls a remarkable cast of characters: the proprietor of Fast Eddie’s Burgers & Beer, the genius behind “Thong Thursdays”; Uncle Dart, a Texan who brings his swagger to Indiana with profound and nearly devastating results; a snapping turtle with a taste for thumbs; a German shepherd who howls backup vocals; and the very charismatic state of Indiana itself. And at the center of it all is Nathan, creeping through the forest to observe the birds he loves and coming to terms with the accidental turns his life has taken.




From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Fiction, Birds, Short Stories, Contemporary, Humor, Nature, Book Club

Audio

First published April 23, 2013

About the author

Brian Kimberling grew up in Evansville, Indiana, and graduated from Indiana University. As a student he was involved in a major study of songbirds, an experience central to his first novel, Snapper. Subsequently he taught English in the Czech Republic, Mexico, and Turkey. He now lives in England with his wife and son.

Snapper, which won the inaugural Janklow & Nesbit Bath Spa Prize, will be published by Pantheon (US) on April 23, 2013, and by Tinder Press (UK) on May 9, 2013. Brian’s work has appeared in The New York Times, on NPR, and at Flavorwire, and elsewhere.

Bio from http://briankimberling.com/

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

If only you could judge a book by its cover. This is a beautiful looking book and some of the writing is really excellent but I found the whole very disappointing. It is as if a loose collection of creative writing project scraps have been lazily chucked into a lovely cover and called a book. Promisingly sketched characters begin to appear then drop out of sight without leaving a ripple. Coming of age scenes are plucked from a best-of collection that seems to stagger around era and genre like a magpie gathering glinting junk rather than building a nest. One minute it is Stand by Me, the next it is a bitter travelogue. Tantalisingly, the loose episodic structure could work but there doesn't seem to be any care bringing it together and the scarce character threads that run through the whole (narrator, adored Lola and best friend) end up the weakest least memorable characters of all. The writer has great potential. I hope next time he's not allowed to get away with such laziness.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me get this out of the way: I know nothing about birds and am primarily concerned with them as a decorative motiv. I also know nothing about Indiana, other than where it roughly falls on the map (hoping my non-US passport can provide a partial excuse for my ignorance). Well, let me rephrase that: now that I have read this book, I do know something about birds and Indiana, in fact, a lot more that I have ever expected to know. What I'm trying to say is, I picked up this book because of a very strong recommendation (thanks, Cameron!), even though birds and Indiana were not exactly very high up there on my interests list, and I am really glad I did.

This novel reads a lot like a series of short stories, except that they are all set in Indiana, they all feature endearingly sarcastic birdwatcher-by-chance Nathan Lochmueller and they follow some kind of chronological order, with events from one story lightly impacting another. The stories are all somewhat quirky, filled with truly original characters and situations that almost touch the absurd. Or maybe it's the narrator's very refreshing point of view that makes them seem that way.

You see, Nathan Lochmueller (Brian Kimberling) has an uneasy relationship with his home state. It's very obvious he loves Indiana (and by the end, you'll love it a little yourself) but he can't help shaking his head and making snarky remarks at its people (and even its fauna). Cue exhibits A and B:

“Bowfishing, at least as practiced in Southern Indiana, combines hunting and angling while eliminating the need for the skills of either. You sit in a rowboat firing arrows at large targets three and four feet away in three feet of water. It’s considered a good date in Jefferson: a lady can work on her sun-tan while her gentleman kills things, and the only expense is beer.”

“It takes no skill to find a bald eagle. You look for flat rabbits on country roads. Wait a while and the national emblem will appear, menace anything that got there first, and plunge his majestic head deep in a mass of entrails.”

Final verdict: this is a very touching, supremely hilarious book, filled with memorable characters and situations. And Kimberling writes really well. I would probably read 300-page instruction manual if he wrote it. But I'm crossing my fingers for another novel.j

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure that this book ever had a plot... the narrator (and the author, I suppose, by proxy) was self-involved and each chapter seemed more like a vignette than part of the engine moving this book forward. There's no crime in chapters as vignettes, but the summary on the back makes it seem like there will be more than a snapshot of various time points in the narrator's life - moving back and forward in time. I was a little bored for most of the book and I still can't tell if the author loves, hates or is indifferent to his home state of Indiana.

[Alyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected a lot, largely because the first page was really intriguing and I liked the authors voice. Unfortunately, as the tale went along, I wasn't really pulled into it. I guess lately I've been spoiled by more compelling works like A Handmaids Tale and Bel Canto which have more meaning (from my estimation) and so this book was just a little on the light for me. The plot wasn't compelling, and his relationship with Lola seemed stupid and made me think a lot less of the protagonist. A lot of the stories told did not resonate with me at all. The protagonists love hate relationship with Indiana was confusing as opposed to eye opening. And the ending seemed stilted and incoherent. It's like he wrote a lighthearted book but tried to end on a semi depressing note but with not enough background and the point wasn't really well made. Other reviews say it's hilarious, but I legitimately had no idea that there was supposed to be much humor in the book (until I read the reviews afterwards) and I laughed maybe once.

So essentially, I think this book just wasn't meant for me! Obviously it appeals to a lot of people, so I am sure it could appeal to you too. I think the author did a good job writing it, I just couldn't relate, so!

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian Kimberling calls on his experience as a professional birdwatcher to create the framework for his inventive first novel. To be honest, I'd never heard of birdwatching as a profession, but as Nathan, the central character shows, there is more to it than meets the eye. He starts out doing it as a student, but his observation of migratory songbirds and collection of information using triangulation techniques to calibrate the height of bald eagles' nests is fed into a data bank that fills guides to be pored over by what we normally think of as bird watchers. Most importantly, the other most important character in the book is its location -- Indiana, where, according to the Michelin Guide at least in this book, "Everything is flat, everyone is fat, and you can't buy beer on Sunday." This book, however, proves there is more to Indiana.

This could be loosely described as a collection of short stories since each chapter introduces people never seen again, characters so memorable and unique and vibrant. Oddly, the hardest character to remain in imagination is Nathan himself, a first person narrator who never seems to solidify as well as his friends. His family with one exception, an uncle who moves to Indiana from Texas with disastrous results, also remains in the background. As with other parts of the country, Kimberling considers Indiana to be a locale with its own identity that is rapidly being undermined and "gentrified" into the sameness of a generic America, and through this book, he is attempting to present his native state as he knew it before it's too late.

[Becky Loader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ho-hum. Another young male author who wrote about his college years and how he found humble employment as a professional bird watcher while he was waiting to find himself. Ho-hum.

[Lori L (She Treads Softly) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brian Kimberling's debut novel, Snapper, features thirteen chapters that are really loosely connected stories chronicling Nathan Lochmueller's maturation into adulthood. Nathan grew up in southern Indiana (as did author Kimberling). After graduating with a philosophy degree, he accepts a job as a songbird field researcher. Nathan spends his time hiking through the woods locating songbirds, their nests, and tracking them. During this time period Nathan falls in love with Lola.

Nathan has a love/hate relationship with Indiana. Even as he shares the foibles of its people, he has a devotion to them, especially Evansville. But this novel is not simply about an amateur ornithologist stumbling through life. It's so much more and tackles Nathan's maturation with a great deal of wry humor and thoughtful insight. While relating the blunders and shortcomings of those around him he calmly accepts the absurdities as a part of life. Most of the stories are college/post college but some go back to high school. They end with Nathan in his thirties.

The characters Kimberling has assembled in Nathan's stories are unforgettable. There is Lola who Nathan worships even while she's unfaithful; Gerald, his socially awkward boss who owns a sofa and bird guides; his friend, Shane, with whom he has several interesting experiences before Shane becomes a librarian; his Texan uncle Dart who has a clash with the clan; Fast Eddie who in the future will promote "Thong Thursdays" at his business; Ernie and Maude of Santa Claus, Indiana; and Darren, the man who ended his career as a songbird field researcher.

I really enjoyed the writing in Snapper - the word play and the descriptions were wonderful. Kimberling manages to be funny and subtle while making a poignant observation. For example: "A real ornithologist spends his life in a database: I was the underpaid field hand who collected the information in that database. I was like a voracious reader unwilling to taint or corrupt his passion by submitting to years of studying postcolonialism or feminist theory. "(pg. 140) (Touché Brian - you just described my passion for book blogging.)

As Kimberling captures the haphazard, accidental path Nathan's life takes it reminds me that many of us have taken a rather accidental road to get where we are years later. And the results are not always a bad thing, despite how it may look from the outside.
Oh, and the cover of this book is gorgeous. It features reproductions of John James Audubon images.

Very Highly Recommended

Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book by Pantheon Books/Random House for review purposes.

[Gail · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected more about bird watching than about frat boy-type experiences. The book was mildly entertaining, especially about poking fun at podunk Indiana (I'm a Hoosier), but it certainly did not live up to the hype. Nathan, the main character, was good at self-deprecation, but that only goes so far to keep a reader's attention. The book seemed to be more focused on his obsession with Lola, a more than free-spirited woman whose attention he couldn't seem to garner for more than a day here or there, but yet mysteriously they were still "friends" 18 years later.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book really had no plot to speak of. The narrator Nathan seemed to tell disjointed stories about his past and his present situation.
Disappointing.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nathan Lochmueller is a birdwatcher; it is not every day you can build a career around doing something you love. Snapper charts the love affair that Nathan has with bird watching and the seamlessly unobtainable Lola. This is a coming of age, and quite possibly a semi-autobiographical, novel set in rural Indiana, ‘the bastard son of the Midwest’.

This is a bookclub book so it will be a little tricky reviewing this without some of the others’ insights being mixed in with mine. Normally I write a review before attending book club but I seemed to have run out of time. This is a coming of age story that explores life in Indiana as well as the life of a biologist.

Apparently the biology is right and this was important to one of the book club members, who is in fact a biologist as well. For me this felt more like a combination of little stories; just as I start getting into one story the chapter ends and we are on another story. Non-linear groups and the only thing that seems to hold the threads together is the relationship between Nathan and Lola.

I hate to use someone else’s thoughts but one group member hit the nail on the head when she called Lola a manic pixie dream girl. Nathan seems bitter and cynical about everything except when it comes to Lola. He seems blinded about this unobtainable girl, she was never leading him on but he still lived in hope.

I really enjoyed this novel, almost experimental in the style but I felt like the chapters were so disconnected it really took me out of the novel. My major problems with this novel were the editing. I don’t know how this got published with such inconsistencies in the formatting; some chapters have quotation marks, others don’t (I really don’t know why books choose not to have them) and this really annoyed me. If you want to print a book, at least have a standardised format for the entire book. It feels like some chapters were formatted by a different editor to the others and no one compared notes. Even the major mistake where the city Canberra is found in the country Canberra instead of Australia.

Apart from all of this, I enjoyed reading Snapper in all its nuances and will probably read more from this debut author. I’m sure if Brian Kimberling writes another novel it will be autobiographical and to do with biology which are not really my thing but this pretentious, semi-experimental novel is definitely my thing.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2013/...

[Anita Lynch-Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son recommended this book and I really enjoyed it. A realistic coming of age tale about a young man with a degree in philosophy who finds a job documenting the lives of birds in a national forest for minimum wage . Some of his friends move forward , getting normal jobs, some fall into an abyss of drug use and others lose touch and move away.

Brian Kimberling knows how to tell a story. I could picture his adventures in the woods with a broken down truck, covered with mud, listening for birds all the while writing snarky comments about the birds marital behavior . It's also a kind of love letter to the Indiana of his youth, despite where he says, "Indiana where everything is flat and everyone is fat."

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Big disappointment. I guess I was expecting something along the lines of the movie "The Big Year" - more about birding. The lead character is a bird researcher in Indiana for only the first part of the book, but it meanders aimlessly into disjointed incidents in his life and goes no where. He is also very insulting to Indiana, a state I am quite fond of. And what a strange ending - you think he is going to wrap things up with some feel-good nostalgia, but instead it just stops. Kimberling is not a bad writer and I hope he tries again, but with a better editor next time that knows more about story telling.

[Lizzie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nathan isn't like other guys. He understands how women look at women. He understands the natural beauty of the songbird and prefers it to the violent impulses of hawks and owls. He would rather go canoeing than shoot turtles off logs, unlike the rest of the inbred, subliterate state of Indiana. He drives a truck with a slur on the hood because he's a cool guy. His uncle has a run-in with the KKK, but he's a good, upstanding man who isn't racist, just likes racist jokes. He hates Bloomington because he's so far above the mindless, alcohol- and sex-obsessed students who infiltrate the town every year. Sigh.

Kimberling's writing would be slightly more tolerable if it wasn't basically just thinly veiled autobiography. The narrator is an unlikable manchild at his best who seemingly never matures, right to the point of the very last line of the very last page. The narrative style also meanders in a way that never appears to be meaningful, in favor of disparate anecdotes from a directionless, not-like-other-men narrative.

tl;dr the best part about this book is the cover

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Placeholder till I get back from the spa.]

When I read the title and description, I thought to myself, "No way was this inspired by anything but Howard Norman's The Bird Artist." There are similarities -- the fixation on birds, the elusive redheaded love interest, the near-indifference to practical matters -- but also enough differences to make this book feel certainly inspired by, but never an imitation of Mr Norman's work. The greatest difference, obviously, is in the vast amount of love dealt and attention paid to the state of Indiana in Brian Kimberling's book. The anecdotes of middle America, particularly those involving characters like Uncle Dart and Aunt Loretta as well as Maud and Ernie, are stand-outs and make you fall in love a little, too.

The most impressive thing to me, though, was the depiction of Nathan Lochmueller, the narrator and hero of the piece. While the book can read as a roman a clef, Nathan is presented in a manner that is unvarnished and unapologetic for his failings. Nathan himself, of course, apologizes for occasionally being a douche, but Mr Kimberling's narrative choices make it clear that the author is intent on presenting a fully-fleshed, unromanticized portrait of a young man discovering himself. Any romance is attached solely to Indiana, and even so often in a backhanded manner.

I also liked the way the book skipped back and forth in time. It didn't feel like a gimmick but a natural progression, almost the way a friend will interrupt a story he's telling you to explain a detail with another anecdote, then another. In lesser hands, this device (among others) would have felt contrived, but Mr Kimberling does a good job of avoiding any semblance of pretentiousness in this fine, funny debut novel.

I received this book gratis as part of ELLE Magazine's ELLE's Lettres Jurors' Prize program.

[Jennifer Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this collection of linked fiction -- each chapter is a self-contained story focused on the same main character (Nathan), and the story moves chronologically, though there are gaps in the time sequence. It's engaging, funny, and a must read if you have any association with Indiana (I don't, but if you know the places he's writing about, it will be even harder to put down). Nathan is an ornithologist, but the real story is the trajectory of his obsession with a beautiful and flighty woman with a restless heart who doesn't deserve him. The author weaves Nathan's love of the physical (birds and Indiana's trees) with the thoughts that swirl around his head (love, social conservatism, liberal college towns, childhood friendships) in just the perfect balance.

Snapper is over-written in some places (some might call it poetic writing). Each chapter ended with a little cringe, with the story not quite reaching a solid stopping place or conclusion. While that's a nice device to keep the reader on her toes, after a while it wore thin.

[J.P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out with a lot of promise. Socially inept middle-aged ornithologist teams with with college student as they pursue birds for a state survey over the summer.

The narrative doesn't stay on that path however, and soon becomes less interesting. Written entirely in the first person, the book is a series of mostly random encounters with odd people. The writing is fine and there's levity thrown in, but the story reads like a bunch of diary entries. Compelling it isn't, and exactly what the author is trying to get across is never clear. Is the protagonist bragging or complaining or just plain sarcastic? No way of telling.

The writing is too aloof and there's not enough laughs to make it as a humerous novel. It would have better if the author chose to continue with a few characters introduced early on and develop them instead of switching to new ones throughout. Overall, this could have been better. Somewhere between 2 1/2 and 3 stars.

[Lukie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aside from some interesting bits about birds, this is really a young man's experiences living amidst the odd combination of unsophisticated Hoosiers and college types that define his Evansville, Indiana, home. Early adventures in the woods cement his love of nature and lead to his job as ornithology research assistant, that has him sitting in blinds in trees for hours on end. But the book is hardly a document of arboreal daydreaming. Motley friends and a love fixation pop in and out as colorfully as the songbirds Nathan's observing. This is good writing. And yes, a good read also for those who like birds.

[Khris Sellin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indiana Wants Me

I don't remember how I found this book, but I'm glad I did.
This is a collection of stories about the (fictional) life of Nathan Lochmueller. The ridiculous situations he finds himself in and Kimberling's wry humor make for a perfect combination. Kind of a tribute to Indiana, in a backhanded compliment kind of way, followed by a slap. ;-)

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I write a blog called "The Wannabe Birder." It's surprising, given the modest title and my equally modest qualifications, how many offers of review copies of books that gets me.
I ignore most of them, but I accepted the offer of "Snapper."
Not only was there a connection to birdwatching, but the publicist promised it would be hilarious. And it was set in southern Indiana.
I am not from Indiana, but I lived there long enough that it feels like one of my homes. It should be said, however, that I spent most of my Indiana years in Northwestern Indiana, in a region, or near a region -- there are arguments about this -- known as the Calumet Region.
But no one in Indiana calls it that. They just call it The Region, as in:
"You're from The Region?"
"Well, close to The Region."
If you are from, or almost from, The Region, other Hoosiers eye you with a mixture of respect and disdain. The underlying sentiment is that if you are from The Region you must be tough, even if you don't look tough.
Southern Indiana and The Region are only technically in the same state. Two areas could hardly be more unalike. But I picked up enough Southern Indiana-ness during my Hoosier years that Brian Kimberling's evocation of that part of the state in "Snapper" rings true to me. He makes Evansville sound just as dreary as it looked to me the one time I drove through it. (I seem to remember a string of massage parlors on the north side of the city.)
"Snapper" is told in the first-person, by a narrator who is from southern Indiana and is employed, for much of the book, "chronicling the lives and births and deaths and domestic disputes of forest songbirds for biology departments and government agencies."
The author also is from southern Indiana, and also once studied songbirds for a living. It's not surprising, then, that "Snapper" reads like a memoir. It also seems more like a collection of connected short stories than a novel, not that there is anything wrong with that. My favorite chapter, or short story, is the one set in Santa Claus, Indiana, which is a real place where people really do answer letters to Santa Claus.
Still, "hilarious" is a pretty high bar, and I don't think "Snapper" gets there. "Mildly amusing" comes closer. I chuckled a few times, particularly at the following line, although it's subtle and I almost missed it ("IU" is Indiana University):
Important research is done at IU, particularly in ornithology, but it is overshadowed and undergirded by a culture of vapid SAVE THE PLANET sloganizing and forty thousand earnest ignorant undergraduates insisting that YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. There's a competent Mathematics Department there running a good statistics course, but obviously those kids aren't enrolled in it.

[M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

While listening to NPR's summer book recommendations I found my curiousity piqued by the mention of a book set in my hometown of Bloomington, Indiana. Although I moved away a decade ago I still find myself getting teary eyed when I listen to John Cougar Mellancamp, when I think of beautiful deciduous forests, and when I crave that college town experience. So naturally this book called to me. When I picked it up I was shocked to discover that the author looks familiar. It's entirely possible that we crossed paths in Bloomington sometime in the mid-to-late-nineties. Naturally, that made me even more sentimental remembering that small town feel Bloomington had during that period. Brian Kimberling mirrored my thoughts on so many things. I loved how he summed up that annoying "suffocating liberal orthodoxy." I remember feeling so stifled by the ridiculous level of political correctness of that town. Later, when I went to school at Indiana University I remember writing all of my papers from the feminist perspective for the easiest A. There were so many elitist jerks in that town, but I do miss that nowadays. I now live in a pretty anti-intellectual state in comparison.

Anyway, back to the book! Snapper definitely succeeded in taking me down memory lane, and the author helped me define my own uneasiness about certain aspects of Hoosier culture. However, I never found myself caring about any character other than the narrator, and his birds. I found myself getting irritated when other characters were in the scene. Though the character "Lola" is a constant throughout the book she never entirely comes to life. She is all body parts and red hair.

I also thought the "time-shifted vignettes" transitioned roughly on several occasions throughout the book. The subject matter would change in an abrupt way that I found irritating.

Basically, I think this could have been a much more powerful book if it had been edited or rewritten a few more times. There were quite a few sentences that were extremely clunky that any editor should have picked up on.

In spite of my critiques, I really appreciated this book. It took me down memory lane, and evoked the Midwestern summer for me which was exactly what I was looking for.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a debut novel from newcomer Brian Kimberling who was born and bred in rural Indiana. This book is about Nathan Lochmueller and revolves around his love/ hate relationship with his native state and his forlorn love for flibbertigibbet red head of his dreams - Lola. He spends a great time of the book detailing his feelings for her and how both the feelings and the people involved actually mature.

He is also a professional bird watcher for part of the novel until he becomes an operative at a raptor hospital. Along the way we get to meet his friends and foes as he travels life's long highway. There are characters aplenty who are all treated with care and consideration even when they are giving Nathan a hard time. Whilst this is a gentle tale there are also moments of pure humour and wry observations all wrapped up in a lilting writing style that just seems to stroll along in a most agreeable way.

This is one of those reads that just seem effortless, and at one time I was thinking, that not a lot was happening, but it is that it just is told in such an accessible style. Brian Kimberling has written what appears to be an autobiographical story in a very surprising debut that I really enjoyed and I think he will find he definitely has a hit on his hands.

[Enrique Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before you can form the words Winesburg, Ohio or Spoon River Anthology, you will soon find yourself remembering Alison Anders' or David O. Russell's earliest work in Snapper, Brian Kimberling's entertaining debut, a novel that is, in essence, a collection of vignettes taking place in southern Indiana. Kimberling demonstrates an intense fascination with the local, and with the local as a kind of normative universe, as he conjures the cadences and rhythms of life in the Hoosier State through the prismatic prose of Nathan Lochmueller, the wry and solipsistic pseudo-ornithologist who becomes the center of all the narratives. Like the confluence of the Wabash and Ohio Rivers, Snapper find many narrative streams coalescing through Nathan’s prismatic storytelling, which strikes an appropriately delicate balance between humor and pathos. This (obviously) personal account of the Indiana landscape, and its most intimate observations, eventually bloom into an earnest love for this place (which is supposedly hard to love) and for the people who inhabit it. There are also a lot of birds. And a very mean alligator snapping turtle, the inspiration for the novel's title.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many thanks to my daughter who gave me this debut novel -- a humorous coming-of-age story set in southern Indiana, precisely the place that I came of age. The fictional Nathan (and the author) grew up right in my backyard, so to speak (though several decades later), and the delight of knowing every little town, park, and wide-spot-in-the-road mentioned in the story was a novelty all in itself. (Evansville -- right smack on the Ohio river -- is the town in question, in case you're wondering, though the action in the novel is set through-out most of the southern half of Indiana.)

Though Nathan's family is . . . er . . . bawdier than mine was, and his attitude toward life more irreverent, I'm nevertheless enough of a Hoosier to know that many of the colorful, broadly humorous characters he meets are not as exaggerated as you might think, especially in the rural, woodsy areas he frequents as an ornithologist (a word none of the people he meets would use -- he's a professional birdwatcher!) And I'm also enough of a Hoosier to know that you never, and I mean never, underestimate the mean streak in a snapping turtle -- a snapper.

If you are looking for a book with oddball charm, look no further -- this is it.

[Nancy MacKneson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based on the reviews of others I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, tried as I might to enjoy it I was truly happy when I reached the last page!

The biggest weakness with this book is the lack of a plot. It was more a rambling soliloquy from someone who thought their random life experiences were more important and interesting then they really were.

I also found the character development lacking. Characters started out interesting but then just withered away. One of the most intriguing characters introduced at the beginning of the book seemed to just disappear without comment.

All of this said, there were clever sparks of humour [even though much of it was around bashing Indiana which grew tired very quickly] which gives a glimmer of hope for this author.

[Veronica Stoldt · Rating 2 out of 5]

During my regular visits to the library, I found this piece in the new fiction section. After reading it, I find myself unchanged by the book. I don't connect with the main character at all, had no immersion in the plot, and it was a fairly boring slice of life type of book.

Yet, it wasn't bad by any pretense. The writing flowed well, although it was difficult to tell when you were in any part of the book, the secondary characters were all quite well written and colorful, the settings in the story were believable and still interesting, and it could be easily be described as quaint.

Still, I had no attraction to the book, so it wasn't really good. There was neither much good or bad about it, just that odd spot in between where you rarely linger.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very different than what I usually read & it's kind of outside the realm of what we've been reading in our book group. I wasn't sure at a few points--it was hard to keep the thread going through what felt like some very random stories--but then Kimberling just jammed on it at the end. Sorry library copy, but I was dog-earing most of the last 15 pages. I found it totally redeeming--a refreshingly short novel about the complications of living in & being from the midwest. It's about birds, lots of birds, but so much more--growing up, nostalgia, college towns, infatuation.

Looking forward to our group's discussion on Sunday.

[Murphy Harrington · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is book was a true disappointment. I’d say the biggest shame is that this beautiful cover was wasted on much mediocre writing. From the beginning it’s clear that this author knows nothing about North American birds - saying a professional ornithologist would save a starling nest from a cat?? Two seconds of research would have put that idea to bed.

The killer for me was “it’s like staking out the girls’ shower block at a summer camp. It can be done but takes skill.” So pervy and completely unnecessary.

That came after the worst mess of jumbled writing I’ve suffered through in a long time, so DNF, and I’m sure I won’t regret it.

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, near-perfect stories about one man's life, all told in the first person. Fun, funny, insightful, and brilliantly-written. One of my favorite books in a long time. So much fun.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read it outside on several perfect summer evenings. The gentle breeze from the trees brought Kimberling's book from Indiana right to my backyard.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Achingly sad book, marginally about songbirds, about losing your way and finding a new path.