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Birds of a Feather
Joan McKenzie is beginning to question her life's choices. Living alone and juggling two jobs to pay her mortgage aren't what she would have planned for herself. And that's exactly the problem. Because she never took charge of her life, her life took charge of her. Rather than finishing her education, she put all her energy into training dogs and showing horses. After she was dumped by the woman for whom she left her marriage, Joan just couldn't get into the dating scene. At times, she thought, the only things that kept her going were her dog, her love of the outdoors, and her long term relationship with her best friend, Diane.But just when she least expects it, not one, but two exciting new women walk into her life...and a dramatic change in Diane's situation will soon give Joan a chance for a brand new start.
215 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1999
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About the author
Jackie Calhoun
37 books19 followersJackie Calhoun is the author of twenty-seven novels. She lives with her partner in Northeast Wisconsin. Write to her at Jackie@jackiecalhoun.com and/or friend her on Facebook.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 9, 2019
Birds of a Feather was a different kind of read. Normally I like slice-of-life books, especially about older women, but this one was somehow boring and yet struck home all at the same time.
Joan spends her time bird watching and working two jobs. She has the best dog anyone could ask for. Her best friend runs a successful veterinary clinic and is in a happy, healthy relationship. Joan’s not upset about that–not at all.
The bulk of the book is spent exploring Joan’s daily life. Her birding hobby, her two jobs where she’s either selling one type of farming equipment or another, and her quiet down time at home. She has all she needs in life. She’s comfortable with her small home, with her old car, with the only companion she really needs, her dog Yeller.
And then Linda visits the store.
Joan suddenly becomes a stalker and enlists her best friend, Diane, in finding ways to make her stalking a little less creepy. She also picks up a gay best friend who’s struggling to control his dog–but only because he lives close to Linda’s parents. Joan happens to have a past of training dogs and she agrees to help her new gay best friend with his dog so she can continue to creepily drive by Linda’s parents’ house.
It’s not until she meets Liz that Joan finally finds a way to see Linda.
Liz is the cute puppy of the book. She’s peppy and adorable and she finds every way possible to spend more time with Joan. But Linda isn’t fond of the blossoming relationship and Joan just really wants to be with Linda but maybe Liz is kind of cute. And then Tania, Diane’s longtime girlfriend, dies! Randomly! In one sentence! It’s just glossed over so that Joan can switch gears to Diane. Instead of being a decent friend and comforting Diane, Joan starts to believe maybe she’ll have a chance with Diane now!
The writing is so cut-and-dry that it was hard to connect to any of the characters. It was a story of observation, of bizarre third-person-omniscient. An entire weekend could happen in four sentences! Tania was previously an important character and her death is just shrugged off! Any connection Joan had with Liz or Linda was superficial and we never get to know how she feels about either woman.
And yet the story somehow strikes home. Joan doesn’t have any meaningful relationships. She spends her time working six days a week, and the other one in solitude. She doesn’t like going out and trying to make connections. The only time we see real detail or comfort in the writing is when she takes her coffee to her patio, or when she’s trekking, to watch the birds. Even by the end of the book, Joan is still flip-flopping about her life and connections.
I felt hollow and unfulfilled as I put down Birds of a Feather. It was a quick book for a weekend read but it was horribly depressing.
Joan spends her time bird watching and working two jobs. She has the best dog anyone could ask for. Her best friend runs a successful veterinary clinic and is in a happy, healthy relationship. Joan’s not upset about that–not at all.
The bulk of the book is spent exploring Joan’s daily life. Her birding hobby, her two jobs where she’s either selling one type of farming equipment or another, and her quiet down time at home. She has all she needs in life. She’s comfortable with her small home, with her old car, with the only companion she really needs, her dog Yeller.
And then Linda visits the store.
Joan suddenly becomes a stalker and enlists her best friend, Diane, in finding ways to make her stalking a little less creepy. She also picks up a gay best friend who’s struggling to control his dog–but only because he lives close to Linda’s parents. Joan happens to have a past of training dogs and she agrees to help her new gay best friend with his dog so she can continue to creepily drive by Linda’s parents’ house.
It’s not until she meets Liz that Joan finally finds a way to see Linda.
Liz is the cute puppy of the book. She’s peppy and adorable and she finds every way possible to spend more time with Joan. But Linda isn’t fond of the blossoming relationship and Joan just really wants to be with Linda but maybe Liz is kind of cute. And then Tania, Diane’s longtime girlfriend, dies! Randomly! In one sentence! It’s just glossed over so that Joan can switch gears to Diane. Instead of being a decent friend and comforting Diane, Joan starts to believe maybe she’ll have a chance with Diane now!
The writing is so cut-and-dry that it was hard to connect to any of the characters. It was a story of observation, of bizarre third-person-omniscient. An entire weekend could happen in four sentences! Tania was previously an important character and her death is just shrugged off! Any connection Joan had with Liz or Linda was superficial and we never get to know how she feels about either woman.
And yet the story somehow strikes home. Joan doesn’t have any meaningful relationships. She spends her time working six days a week, and the other one in solitude. She doesn’t like going out and trying to make connections. The only time we see real detail or comfort in the writing is when she takes her coffee to her patio, or when she’s trekking, to watch the birds. Even by the end of the book, Joan is still flip-flopping about her life and connections.
I felt hollow and unfulfilled as I put down Birds of a Feather. It was a quick book for a weekend read but it was horribly depressing.
Displaying 1 of 1 review