Sep 27

Sep 27 The Birdcatcher

Author: Gayl Jones
Publisher: Beacon Press
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

Gayl Jones, the novelist Toni Morrison discovered decades ago and Tayari Jones recently called her favorite writer, has been described as one of the great literary writers of the 20th century. Now, for the first time in over 20 years, Jones is publishing again. In the wake of her long-awaited fifth novel, Palmares, The Birdcatcher is another singular achievement, a return to the circles of her National Book Award finalist, The Healing.

Set primarily on the island of Ibiza, the story is narrated by the writer Amanda Wordlaw, whose closest friend, a gifted sculptor named Catherine Shuger, is repeatedly institutionalized for trying to kill a husband who never leaves her. The three form a quirky triangle on the white-washed island.

A study in Black women's creative expression, and the intensity of their relationships, this work from Jones shows off her range and insight into the vicissitudes of all human nature - rewarding longtime fans and bringing her talent to a new generation of readers.

TL;DR Review

The Birdcatcher is a slightly challenging but engaging novel that explores friendship, creative expression, and mental illness. Gayl Jones is a master, and it shows here.

For you if: You like novels that feel a bit like literary puzzles.

Full Review

The Birdcatcher was written by Gayl Jones in the 80s, in English, but at the time it was curiously only published in German. Now it’s finally been published in English, and it’s a finalist for the National Book Award. What a unique experience, to have a book older than me up for this year’s prize, lol.

Anyway! The Birdcatcher is a raw, honest, disturbing, and somewhat absurd little novel about a romance author named Amanda who goes to stay with her married friends in Ibiza. The wife, Catherine, is routinely institutionalized for calmly and inexplicitly attempting to murder her husband. Catherine is also a sculptor, and she’s working on a long-term piece called the Birdcatcher. Throughout the book, we flash back and forth between Amanda’s time in Ibiza and how she spent the years immediately leading up to it, which is presented as a bit of a puzzle.

This is one of those books I think I appreciated and respected more than enjoyed, per se (although I would NOT to so far as to say that I didn’t enjoy it at all). It’s definitely a bit more challenging — more “literary,” perhaps — than other books on the NBA on the list. The ending in particular lost me a bit, and it left me feeling like I wasn’t *quite* smart enough for this book (which probably just means I need to reread it, tbh!).

Still, there’s no denying that Gayl Jones is a master. You can feel it in her sentences, in the way she plays with structure and point of view. Here she explores sanity and art and women and friendship and freedom in a way I’ve never seen before. Catherine is an enigma. Amanda surprises us. Jones shocks us. It’s a whole experience.

If you don’t mind a little bit of readerly elbow grease to puzzle through a novel, definitely give this a shot.