Firebird

by Rob Turner

An enigmatic teenage girl is referred to a psychiatric clinic, but what if she and her story come to threaten her doctor’s own sense of what’s real? When Dr. Chris Evenson meets Catherine Abercrombie, he is shocked to realise that not only is she the subject of a mysterious picture story he has just received in the post, but that she is uncannily like someone he knew in his youth. As he seeks to sympathetically endorse her sense of who she is while maintaining proper professional distance, his attempts to understand her begin to weaken his own ability to distinguish reality from delusion. Firebird explores that hazy boundary between what we consider illusion, and what we accept as real. Readers of drafts have ‘A journey into the mind that is at times harrowing, yet at the same time oddly calming and peaceful. The dream like quality of the narrative is entrancing.’ ‘I loved this book – I was delighted by the psychological and mystical journey, the search for truth, the different layers of meaning. A powerful piece of work which leaves one reeling, but also thinking for hours afterwards.’ ‘Binds philosophy and psychology together beautifully to uncover the fragility of perceived reality, and the delicate nature of human consciousness and identity . . . brought me back to my days in university studying Joyce and Eliot.’

285 pages, Paperback

Published July 13, 2021

Reviews

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enigmatic teenage girl is referred to a psychiatric clinic, but what if she and her story threaten her doctor’s own sense of what is real?

When Dr. Chris Evenson meets Catherine Abercrombie, he is shocked to realise that not only is she the subject of a mysterious picture story he has just received in the post, but that she is uncannily like someone he knew in his youth. As her therapist he must sympathetically endorse her sense of who she is while struggling to maintain proper professional distance, as she and her story begin to erode his own grip on reality.

Firebird explores that hazy boundary between what we consider delusion, and what we perceive to be real. Reader comments:-

‘Was not at all what I expected . . . a journey into the mind that is at times harrowing, yet at the same time oddly calming and peaceful. The dream like quality of the narrative is entrancing.’

‘Of the different levels of reality in this book, one has to do with the beauty of words and imagery themselves, just as harmony and counterpoint can excite in a piece of music.’

[alex lester · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fine read: The threads are just arcane enough to be simultaneously discomfiting and satisfying, and more importantly perhaps, skilled enough to want to know what happens! Kudos, Mr Turner.