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The Hummingbirds
Ezra works as a live-in groundskeeper on a celebrity couple’s enormous rental property in Los Angeles. When the magnetic Sybil sets her sights on Ezra and gradually lures him in, he is as conflicted as he is tempted. Then Grant, her husband, approaches Ezra with a different proposal—to monitor Sybil to see if she is having an affair—and he is faced with the formidable challenge in refusing one or the other.
And so begins this sexy, mesmerizing novel about Sybil, an actress desperately hoping for the important role that will resurrect her faltering career; Grant, a cunning, self-made movie producer infamous for subterfuge and secrets; and Ezra, the beautiful, troubled young man they employ—a man haunted by the memory and teachings of his mother, the leader of a new-age cult that deifies birds.
Over one life-altering week, Sybil casts Ezra as the center of her universe. Together, they fantasize about the new life for both of them, where Sybil directs and stars in an controversial film about the Middle East, and Ezra can finally realize his dream of traveling to photograph exotic birds, a craft he has cultivated in the hummingbird-filled gardens of the property. But when Sybil’s husband Grant discovers their passionate affair, the three are set on a collision course that can only end in violence.
In The Hummingbirds, Ross McMeekin captures people yearning for deep connections in a shallow world defined by the twin obsessions of power and beauty. It is a story of love and redemption, of murder and betrayal, and of the darkness that lurks in the heart of Hollywood.
And so begins this sexy, mesmerizing novel about Sybil, an actress desperately hoping for the important role that will resurrect her faltering career; Grant, a cunning, self-made movie producer infamous for subterfuge and secrets; and Ezra, the beautiful, troubled young man they employ—a man haunted by the memory and teachings of his mother, the leader of a new-age cult that deifies birds.
Over one life-altering week, Sybil casts Ezra as the center of her universe. Together, they fantasize about the new life for both of them, where Sybil directs and stars in an controversial film about the Middle East, and Ezra can finally realize his dream of traveling to photograph exotic birds, a craft he has cultivated in the hummingbird-filled gardens of the property. But when Sybil’s husband Grant discovers their passionate affair, the three are set on a collision course that can only end in violence.
In The Hummingbirds, Ross McMeekin captures people yearning for deep connections in a shallow world defined by the twin obsessions of power and beauty. It is a story of love and redemption, of murder and betrayal, and of the darkness that lurks in the heart of Hollywood.
- GenresContemporary
256 pages, Hardcover
First published February 6, 2018
6 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Ross McMeekin
4 books25 followersRoss McMeekin is author of the upcoming novel, PEPPERLEAF (Thirty West, 2024), as well as a story collection, BELOW THE FALLS (Thirty West, 2024), and the neo-noir novel THE HUMMINGBIRDS (Skyhorse, 2018). His short fiction has appeared in literary journals and magazines such as Virginia Quarterly Review, Tin House's Open Bar, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Shenandoah, Redivider, and X-R-A-Y. He served as editor of the literary journal Spartan for over a decade. He studied fiction at Vermont College of Fine Arts, earning a Master’s in Fine Arts, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Washington with a minor in music. He’s won year-long writing fellowships from Jack Straw Cultural Center and Hugo House in Seattle.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 13, 2020
The Hummingbirds is a hauntingly powerful, evocative piece of fiction that explores in a dream-like fashion a twisted love triangle between an aging Hollywood starlet -Sybil, her cunning producer husband - Grant, and the groundskeeper, Ezra. But this isn't just a soap opera. It explores these three people, all of whom are damaged inside by twisted pasts. Ezra's mother was a prophetess whose visions launched a church. At home, she would drink till she passed out sans clothing. What makes this novel explode though is how focused these characters are on their own little world and how nothing exists for them outside their world. The almost dream-like quality of the lazy affair by the pool reminds me of Newton Thornburgh's work.
April 30, 2018
After reading this book, I wanted to squeeze into a tank top, break out the Ray-bans, open a Corona, sit poolside and inhale a heap of Los Angeles smog.
The book is about vanity, guilt, and the seductions and traps that Los Angeles in particular has to offer. The plot revolves around a love triangle between an actress trying to take one last big swing before aging out of the industry, her big-shot producer husband, and the groundskeeper whose brokenness stems from his mother's involvement with a cult during his childhood and adolescence.
What distinguishes this book from other California noir books is the interiority of the characters. Their backstories, thoughts and feelings, and the specific ways they deal with their brokenness make them feel like actual people instead of tropes. I was particularly drawn to the villain, producer Grant Hudson. He, out of every character, recognizes the emptiness behind the promise Los Angeles and uses it for his own ends. In fact, I'd argue, it's why he's so successful. While the other characters are still grappling and struggling to understand that their dreams may be built on sifting sand, Grant knows the score, both about the industry and people's motivations, in general. So in a weird way, he is the distributor of hard truth, wielding it as a weapon to torment the good people who have found themselves in tough spots. It's a great contradiction; he's doing these terrible things and yet I found myself agreeing with a lot of his ideas, up until the point he uses them to justify the terrible things he does.
Anyway, it's a super fun read. Go crank up the Lana Del Rey and dive in.
The book is about vanity, guilt, and the seductions and traps that Los Angeles in particular has to offer. The plot revolves around a love triangle between an actress trying to take one last big swing before aging out of the industry, her big-shot producer husband, and the groundskeeper whose brokenness stems from his mother's involvement with a cult during his childhood and adolescence.
What distinguishes this book from other California noir books is the interiority of the characters. Their backstories, thoughts and feelings, and the specific ways they deal with their brokenness make them feel like actual people instead of tropes. I was particularly drawn to the villain, producer Grant Hudson. He, out of every character, recognizes the emptiness behind the promise Los Angeles and uses it for his own ends. In fact, I'd argue, it's why he's so successful. While the other characters are still grappling and struggling to understand that their dreams may be built on sifting sand, Grant knows the score, both about the industry and people's motivations, in general. So in a weird way, he is the distributor of hard truth, wielding it as a weapon to torment the good people who have found themselves in tough spots. It's a great contradiction; he's doing these terrible things and yet I found myself agreeing with a lot of his ideas, up until the point he uses them to justify the terrible things he does.
Anyway, it's a super fun read. Go crank up the Lana Del Rey and dive in.
October 1, 2017
Wow. What to say about this gem of a novel? Originally I just expected a fun noir book as the plot involves an aging starlet seduced by the groundskeeper whose mother was a cult leader. Trouble ensues when her arrogant producer husband discovers the affair--a trite little plot, right? Absolutely not! I sometimes do myself a disservice and read too quickly but I soon realized I needed to slow down as this writing was lovely! And while I enjoy flawed characters immensely, I found myself seeing them as people instead of characters so I could appreciate even the most shallow of thoughts from women who were drawn to be examples of this. Nuanced and poignant, the dialogue is witty and often tender; underneath the plot lurks a story that addresses wealth and poverty, beauty and inferiority, betrayal and redemption. This is a book to savor; I often found myself having to put the book down after a beautifully written passage-- just to contemplate and re-read (which I usually never do). It's hard to believe this is a debut novel. McMeekin clearly has a gift not only for a great story but also for some deep analysis that will touch your heart but not leave things tied up in a neat little bow. Because really, isn't that what life is all about?
April 11, 2018
Devoured this. It's California gritty, dark, beautiful and there are a lot of really pretty lines in here. Lush language. Sexy. And Ross does some surprisingly unique, interesting stuff w/the backstories. Whenever I had to stop reading, I always looked fwd to digging back in. Feels like a movie in a good way. He's a good writer. A really good writer.
March 12, 2018
Caveat. I've met Ross McMeekin. And I know his cousin (she's worthy of a novel, but with more likable characters). So I read this trying to see it from an outsider's view. Title, cover, blurbs, description. Would I pick it up? Yes. First scene test. Since it included the line, "...the vast maw of the sea opened below" that would be a definite sense that I was in the hands of an assured literary writer. So yes, onward! And after that I was a goner. I didn't expect the novel to be as suspenseful, as disturbing but as with movies that you can't stop watching, I couldn't resist the pull towards an act of violence foretold.
"The Hummingbirds" is a relatively spare novel and so I was further surprised by the power of the backstories for multiple characters. This is a disturbing but very assured work. My description can't match its force.
"The Hummingbirds" is a relatively spare novel and so I was further surprised by the power of the backstories for multiple characters. This is a disturbing but very assured work. My description can't match its force.
March 9, 2018
Ross McMeekin’s debut novel, The Hummingbirds, ostensibly a foray into California noir, explores themes of longing, alienation, and anomie, set against the glamour, wealth, and capricious scruples of Hollywood, rendered here as an idea—more so than a physical place—that permeates the American psyche; an idea that equates existential transcendence with self-aggrandizement and the crassest expressions of the Horatio Alger rags-to-riches myth (replete with the obligatory hard work, virtue, and grit), or it’s Machiavellian equivalent.
Ezra Fog, an amateur photographer and the resident groundskeeper of an expansive high-end rental property, is the ironic locus of the story. His presence here is more the product of an inertia of the will than anything resembling the ambitions that drive the property’s tenants: a B movie actress who is a little too old by the vapid standards of the industry to play the bombshell she has historically been typecast as, and her high-powered producer of a husband. The bullet points of this arrangement traverse familiar terrain within the noirish framework: the fading starlet has an affair with the ‘cabana boy’; the spurned husband is intent on revenge. But how it all unfolds (the idiosyncrasies of its expression and the motivations of those involved) is rife with surprise and nuance.
Ezra was raised in a Christian cult; his mother, dubbed ‘the Prophetess’ by her acolytes, its charismatic leader. Having distanced himself (in time and geography) from that time in his life, he has been living in limbo ever since, a refugee from the world he grew up in, a misfit in the one he desires: a status that he lacks the wherewithal to either repudiate or embrace, mired as he is in ambivalence and guilt. For Ezra, inaction is a form of agency, a way of conspiring with fate to absolve himself of the responsibility to choose. Ironically, his guilt is only marginally connected to the belief system he inherited as a child; he was—unbeknownst to his mother perhaps—a skeptic, even in preadolescence. The real source of his guilt relates to her. In his mind, he failed her in her hour of deepest need, and he is no longer in a position to make amends.
While the specter of a cult leader may lend itself to cliché, McMeekin’s rendition, parceled out in a series of vignettes presented in flashback and scattered throughout, assiduously avoids it. The portrait that emerges instead is one of considerable nuance, a woman with psychological scars who struggles to reconcile a troubled and sometimes sordid private life to the better version of herself she presents to the public. And yet she is curiously free of the cynicism and avarice that the role on its surface would seem to call for. She’s no Elmer Gantry.
The polarities of the Prophetess reverberate in the person of Sybil Harper, the ‘aging’ starlet on the downside of a career that never quite aligned with expectations. For Ezra’s mother, it was her public persona that provided the template for the person she aspired to be, a hedge against the reality of the woman behind that persona, internalized as a hackneyed knock-off; a facsimile gone awry, For Sybil, the reverse is true. In her mind, it’s the Sybil no one sees (part hidden reality, and part un-actualized, larger-than-life aspiration) that represents the more authentic version of herself, the antipode of the parody her public persona has been reduced to. In Ezra, Sybil sees a way out of her downward spiral, and an unlikely route to transcendence. In Sybil, Ezra sees a chance at redemption. Of course, lust has something to do with it too.
I’ve read The Hummingbirds twice; I rushed through it the first time, like a delicious meal that I was too hungry to eat at a pace conducive to savoring, driven by the need to know what happens next. (On the back of the book jacket cover, Peter Mountford describes McMeekin’s work as ‘propulsive.’ It’s an apt characterization). But the second time through—with the suspense attendant to an outcome-in-doubt no longer part of the equation—the book proved to be no less gripping. Beautifully written, provocative, and haunting.
October 29, 2020
Here's a novel that swelters. Chapter by chapter, the slow burn to its climax emits an asphalt heat, so that by midnight it hasn't cooled enough to walk barefoot on. There are many tragic truths braided together in a novel about never being the person in the mirror, about regret and longing and deceit and brutalism. Whether dodging a character's true self of acknowledging the animalistic nature of all humans, the characters here are flawed, bitter at who they've become or why they've become themselves.
The book clips along very quickly, with precious few moments to relax and absorb some of the Los Angeles sunshine that seems to brighten the very pages, sometimes washing out some of the depth, like an overexposed photograph. A terrific calamity of victimization, victim blaming, poison ideals, ego, and the veil through which a glint of beauty cannot remain.
The book clips along very quickly, with precious few moments to relax and absorb some of the Los Angeles sunshine that seems to brighten the very pages, sometimes washing out some of the depth, like an overexposed photograph. A terrific calamity of victimization, victim blaming, poison ideals, ego, and the veil through which a glint of beauty cannot remain.
November 11, 2017
I almost did not finish this book. I really didn't enjoy it at all. It is a story of a groundskeeper on the grounds of a wealthy movie producer and his wife, an actress. Each of these people are flawed, as you find out in the novel. It was tedious, and didn't give a lot of details before it jumped to the next chapter. I didn't find any of the characters to be likable or someone I wanted to invest in emotionally.
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review by netgalley.com
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review by netgalley.com
September 19, 2017
An interesting read, capturing me to finish it and find out what happened in a way that I didn't expect it to when I first started reading. This is a the story of two interlocking love triangles with Ezra, the pool boy, as the common factor.
One triangle is Ezra, and his best friend Bryce and Maria. Theirs are standard lives, normal jobs within the myth that is California and Los Angeles in particular. The other triangle is Ezra with Grant Hudson and his wife Sybil. The latter are in 'the industry'.
What I expected to be a 'normal triumphs false' story didn't turn out that way. Both sides show good and bad traits; all six (there is a brief appearance of April to further complicate the Bryce, Maria, Ezra story) have more to them than first appears.
Over time the pull of glamour, in the shape of Sybil, overwhelms Ezra only for a sharp slap back to reality dealt by Grant.
I enjoyed the conversations, the brief but sufficient descriptions of the scenery and surroundings and also the concerns and thoughts. I like the sharpness of the writing, short sentences and often in a flow of consciousness style.
What detracted from my enjoyment was that sometimes there was too much analysis - almost as if it was an exercise in writing rather than a story in its own right. Without giving too much away I also felt that what happened to Ezra's mother and Grant's stepfather (and to some extent his whole back story) were too much. With less background the characters would have been fine, at times there was too much and on a couple of occasions it almost went into melodrama. There again that might have been the author's intention since he is writing about Hollywood after all.
Interestingly after much detail from the past, some good activity in the present, the ending was a bit sudden. If this is intended as a series then I understand, but I'm not sure where this could go now.
Overall some great pieces of writing - phrases like "the power of the familiar"; "items of paraphernalia meant to make a person nostalgic for a time they never lived' caught me by pleasant surprise.
One triangle is Ezra, and his best friend Bryce and Maria. Theirs are standard lives, normal jobs within the myth that is California and Los Angeles in particular. The other triangle is Ezra with Grant Hudson and his wife Sybil. The latter are in 'the industry'.
What I expected to be a 'normal triumphs false' story didn't turn out that way. Both sides show good and bad traits; all six (there is a brief appearance of April to further complicate the Bryce, Maria, Ezra story) have more to them than first appears.
Over time the pull of glamour, in the shape of Sybil, overwhelms Ezra only for a sharp slap back to reality dealt by Grant.
I enjoyed the conversations, the brief but sufficient descriptions of the scenery and surroundings and also the concerns and thoughts. I like the sharpness of the writing, short sentences and often in a flow of consciousness style.
What detracted from my enjoyment was that sometimes there was too much analysis - almost as if it was an exercise in writing rather than a story in its own right. Without giving too much away I also felt that what happened to Ezra's mother and Grant's stepfather (and to some extent his whole back story) were too much. With less background the characters would have been fine, at times there was too much and on a couple of occasions it almost went into melodrama. There again that might have been the author's intention since he is writing about Hollywood after all.
Interestingly after much detail from the past, some good activity in the present, the ending was a bit sudden. If this is intended as a series then I understand, but I'm not sure where this could go now.
Overall some great pieces of writing - phrases like "the power of the familiar"; "items of paraphernalia meant to make a person nostalgic for a time they never lived' caught me by pleasant surprise.
November 14, 2018
Ezra is the Hudson's groundskeeper. He still struggles dealing with being raised by a mother who was both a religious Prophetess but would also drink, smoke, and sleep around. This results in Ezra not comfortable with creating close relationships and somewhat isolating himself as a groundskeeper with his main interest being the photography of hummingbirds. This history makes Ezra the perfect pawn in the Hudson's strained relationship. Sybil is an aging movie star best known for more adult type roles but striving to find that one role that shows she is a serious actress. Her husband, Grant, is a condescending movie producer. I struggled connecting with Ezra or finding any redeeming characteristics in Sybil or Grant which made this book difficult to really enjoy. They came across as somewhat flat caricatures but I feel Mr. McMeekin was trying to show the reader the angst each character had deep within them. While I think he did do that to a certain extent, overall I think he didn't manage to be truly successful at this endeavor. Thankfully, the story ended with a bit more introspection, or implied introspection, on the part of the characters that somewhat redeemed the book for me.
A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
September 26, 2017
In the first few chapters, I did not think that I would become invested in this book, and disliked it to the point that I wasn't sure I'd finish reading. Once I got past those initial pages, I admit that I was sucked into the suspense and wanted to see how the story ended. Despite being a page turner, I was bothered by the depiction of women in the book. Either slutty & dependent on a husband; slutty & conniving; manipulative, slutty, & crazy; or hard working, boring & scorned - none of the female characters in the book were given enough humanity to my liking. While I found the male characters had many unlikable traits, at least the character of Ezra was written with enough facets that I found a way to like him through his faults. I hoped that my initial impressions a somewhat sexist point of view wouldn't ring true, in the end I walked away feeling that the female characters weren't explored outside of their labels. Although there is an aspect of suspense that kept me interested, I couldn't get past the clichéd storyline and troublesome characters, and I found the ending abrupt and disappointing.
September 12, 2017
This is a story about a celebrity couple, (Sybil a beautiful actress and her husband Grant who is a producer) who are renting a somewhat isolated estate and the groundskeeper Ezra. Ezra is fascinated by hummingbirds and has developed the gardens in an attempt to attract these beautiful birds so that he can capture them on film. Each of the characters are somewhat self-absorbed and they are certainly flawed and damaged by their past.
Whilst beautifully written I found this book to be somewhat suffocating, undoubtedly well-constructed but ultimately quite bleak. Slowly we learn of Ezra’s history and what he underwent through the hands of his mother. The villain of the piece is Grant who manipulates his wife and Ezra but even then is Sybil also a victim?
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.
Whilst beautifully written I found this book to be somewhat suffocating, undoubtedly well-constructed but ultimately quite bleak. Slowly we learn of Ezra’s history and what he underwent through the hands of his mother. The villain of the piece is Grant who manipulates his wife and Ezra but even then is Sybil also a victim?
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.
September 17, 2017
I received a free copy from Netgalley in return for an honest review. I understand this is a debut novel and I would have loved to have given it four or five stars. However, I really did not enjoy it very much. The story has been done many times before-- beautiful, wealthy woman married to an older man has an affair with the help ( in this case the gardener). I found the characterization uninspiring.and I really didn't care what happened to any of the three main characters.
Overwritten at times and not enough substance to be a novel, perhaps it would have worked as a short story. More realistic dialogue? A bit of humour injected? better editing? I'm not sure. Perhaps using dialogue a bit more than narrative would have been a better choice.
Yes, I think if this had been a short story, it would have worked better.
Overwritten at times and not enough substance to be a novel, perhaps it would have worked as a short story. More realistic dialogue? A bit of humour injected? better editing? I'm not sure. Perhaps using dialogue a bit more than narrative would have been a better choice.
Yes, I think if this had been a short story, it would have worked better.
September 9, 2018
It is different, when I think of what to write for this book that is the only thing that comes to mind. There is very little of "surprising" story, all is very anticipated from the reader, but still I am drawn into the book and kept reading. The character Ezra is for me a different character from whom's perspective the chapter is written. It is a real world like approach, the character we are differs from ones own perspective to the ones around us.
Still both the story and character is at a standstill till the very last chapters, were you might see a change in Sybil, but then she goes back.
It was an ok read, and I think the book was lucky that I had the flu while reading it.
*Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
Still both the story and character is at a standstill till the very last chapters, were you might see a change in Sybil, but then she goes back.
It was an ok read, and I think the book was lucky that I had the flu while reading it.
*Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
May 16, 2018
I’m a patient reader. I give books a chance, I read things that are unpopular. I kept with this because it was recommended and had good reviews. Brilliant writing, they said. A great deep story with a point of view on privilege and life.
Not so much. I was rolling my eyes from the beginning. The writing isn’t brilliant. The story isn’t deep. I’m happy to read books where there’s no character you really can like, but those books need to make you feel something.
Lots of writers today want to explore privilege. But this was just 200+ pages of a contrived POV with shallow characters, with mediocre language.
Don’t waste your time.
Not so much. I was rolling my eyes from the beginning. The writing isn’t brilliant. The story isn’t deep. I’m happy to read books where there’s no character you really can like, but those books need to make you feel something.
Lots of writers today want to explore privilege. But this was just 200+ pages of a contrived POV with shallow characters, with mediocre language.
Don’t waste your time.
December 11, 2017
I received a free copy from Netgalley in return for an honest review. I had trouble finding much to like about the main character, he just wasn't engaging. The plotline seemed like it has been overused - wealthy young woman married to an older man has an affair with the gardener. I didn't have any connection with the characters. The characteristic of a noble protagonist living in a corrupt world didn't hold true for this story.
April 21, 2020
McMeekin has created a satisfying neo-noir thriller here with deeper characters than expected and a few twists to get the heart-beating with tension and empathy. Ezra isn't your average pool boy and Sybil isn't your cliched movie star either. McMeekin's use of nuanced backstory creates conflict that propels this story into fresh territory while keeping some of the conventions noir readers would expect.
March 28, 2018
I listened to this book in audiobook form, and received this book via a giveaway on the audiobook site Libro.fm. An interesting book set in the lush California valleys, filled with scandals and a plot full of wit and sophisication. While I don’t think this book was amazing for my personal tastes, I still liked it for what it was. 3 stars.
July 17, 2019
From the first paragraph I could not put this debut novel down. Ross McMeekin is a talent to watch. His plot twists only exceeded in excellence by his well developed quirky characters. I read it in two sessions and when it was finished I couldn’t shake the story. I can’t wait to read his next book.
October 19, 2021
Really detestable characters.
September 4, 2019
The Hummingbirds was a bit of a difficult read for me. It had the right ingredients, mystery, love, betrayal, passion, murder but it just didn’t work for me. I was feeling jaded most of the times. The writing was actually good but it failed to actually capture my interest fully.
Special thanks to Edelweiss and the Publishers for this review copy.
Special thanks to Edelweiss and the Publishers for this review copy.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews