Stranger Bird

by Joe Pitkin

In a tiny village at the end of the world, the young misfit Burdock is summoned to the service of a great and distant emperor. On his journey, the boy is awakened to his own gift, the talent for understanding the speech of animals, and he comes into contact with many who would use his abilities for their own ends. Yet after arduous travel, Burdock arrives at the capital and the emperor's palace, only to find that the land is held together by a dark secret. How Burdock navigates this secret marks his passage from the powerlessness of childhood to adult realization, to the knowledge that, of all creatures, only people can choose what they become.

286 pages, Paperback

Published October 26, 2017

About the author

Joe Pitkin has lived, taught, and studied in England, Hungary, Mexico, and at Clark College in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. His short stories have appeared in The Boston Review, Analog, Black Static, Cosmos, and other magazines and podcasts, as well as on his blog, The Subway Test. He lives in Portland, Oregon, in the shadow of a small extinct volcano. His most recent novel, Exit Black, will be published by Blackstone on 20 February 2024.

Reviews

[Angie Sangiam · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been a while since I’ve picked up a book that has me so thoroughly entranced, as if I was transported into the book. From the beginning, I was charmed by Burdock himself as well as his family. It all felt very genuine, as if I was Burdock himself being called to serve the emperor or that I was one of his family members mourning his departure. It’s a very realistic portrayal of family.

Witnessing Burdock’s character growth was a delight. He starts off as a young boy who is restless and curious. He is well loved but doesn’t fit in. As he continues on his journey, his connections with others shows rather than tells us of his broadened understanding of the world and the creatures that reside in it. His goodness and desire to do no harm shines through the pages and makes him a very captivating and fun character to follow.

The story is written in a way that is reminiscent of fairy tales that I so loved to read as a child. I feel this sense of wonder that I have felt reading the likes of Gaiman and Pratchett. It’s also full of thoughtful ideas and questions of how we should function as individuals and as a society. Questions like whether anything is a necessary evil and what we can do as one person to stop the evils of the world.

As the book explains, sometimes, when things feel hopeless and there’s not much we can do, all we can do is share our voice. And that, perhaps, is the most powerful of all the things can do. May we all find our voices and share it.

I’m off to find other stories by this author and look forward to the future books written by him.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my usual cup of tea, but I met the author and I'm glad that I decided to give his book a read. His main character, Burdock, is charmingly naive, and when he is summoned to the Emperor's palace for "ordinary service" he is apprehensive enough to at first turn back from the long journey ahead of him. In the process he discovers that he has acquired the ability to speak with animals, the first being a little sparrow who follows him throughout his travels and calls him "Stranger Bird." Burdock's gift gives him a unique understanding of the plights of various creatures, both wild and domestic; and his arrival at the Emperor's palace and the sumptuousness that surrounds him there is a vehicle for learning what it is like to be confined and spied upon. The boy's courage ultimately leads him home and into a new adult life of responsibility to his people as well as all creation.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very thoughtful, meditative, fairy-tale feeling book. I enjoyed it and found it very relaxing to read.