Set in a small town in Newfoundland, The Bird Artist tells the story of Fabian Vas, village idiot, semitalented bird artist, and murderer of the lighthouse keeper. It is a sad, elegant story of a boy who grows up not by grand experiences, but by suffering through the foolish decisions his parents force on him and his own indecisiveness. This leads to a doomed arranged marriage, a ruined home life, and what would seem to be utter isolation from any real human contact. Really a very bleak situation. But through it all, Fabian is guided (however cryptically) by his true love, Margaret Handle, and his bird artist mentor, who he communicates with by mail. This is a story that is frustrating, that is bleak, that seems sometimes to be all but hopeless. But I found myself hoping for this luckless hero, because I saw too much of my own life in the one he creates for himself.

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The Bird Artist :: by (published 1994) read: 1 January 2002 rating: [+]

The Bird Artist ::
by (published 1994)
read: 1 January 2002
rating: [+]