Fabulous Fiction Firsts # 255

Thu, 04/14/2011 - 5:03pm by muffy

Rebecca Rasmussen's masterfully written debut novel The Bird Sisters * is full of hope and beauty, heartbreak and sacrifice, love and the power of sisterhood, and offers wonderful surprises at every turn.

Elderly spinster sisters, known around Spring Green, Wisconsin for their interest in "bird repair" look back on their lives spent in the same house, and especially the summer of 1947. Then, sweet Milly was known as a great beauty, and Twiss a brazen wild child who never wore a dress or did what she was told. It was the summer of the accident that ended their father's prospects as a golf pro; their mother's despair of her reduced circumstances; the local priest ran off to Mexico as a loss of faith; and Asa, the young man who played a part in their adolescence awakening . More importantly, it was the summer of Bett, their older cousin whose visit forever changed their lives.

"Achingly authentic and almost completely character driven, ...this wistful but wise story is enchanting and timeless. A splendid choice for those searching for literary coming-of-age novels".

While novels about sisters abound, this is, nevertheless a welcomed addition.

* = starred review