The Bird House: A Novel [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Kelly Simmons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2011

From the critically acclaimed author of Standing Still comes a psychologically charged novel about the power and failure of family.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Mothers and daughters and family secrets permeate this surprisingly dark novel of modern family life. Ann Biddle is struggling against early dementia and still desperately trying to resolve decades-old hurts and tragedies. The greatest of her tragedies is the death of her young daughter. Most parents of children who have died would tend to romanticize them as “little angels,” but Ann recognized that her daughter was an extremely difficult child and one she loved deeply. This departure from convention marks Ann as a character and Simmons as a writer. Ann’s greatest joy is her eight-year-old granddaughter, Ellie, who struggles with an overprotective mother, one who, true to Simmons’ form, is not a caricature of a helicopter mom but a complicated woman who may be harboring her own dark secrets. Moving back and forth between the present and the past, Ann struggles to tell her story to readers, her daughter, and herself. As Ann and her tightly wound daughter-in-law do an uneasy dance, they come to discover what they have in common and, in fact, what almost all mothers have in common. --Marta Segal Block

Review

“There’s nothing I like better than a dark family secret, and Kelly Simmons really delivers in The Bird House. Ann Harris, an impeccable Main Line grande dame, is blasÉ about her past until her beloved granddaughter begins digging around and raising the stakes dangerously. This is a beautifully paced novel that will keep you guessing right to the end.” —Pam Lewis, author of Perfect Family

“Kelly Simmons' The Bird House deconstructs the American family with lyrical prose, sharp insights, and heartbreaking honesty. Deeply moving and very powerful.” —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Rot & Ruin

“Kelly Simmons is able to clearly capture the voice of an elderly woman and tell her story in such crisp, tight prose I was hooked from the very first page. The Bird House is more than a suspenseful story, though—it’s about secrets: family secrets. And those are always the best kept ones.” —Chevy Stevens, New York Times bestselling author of Still Missing

“Simmons smoothly shifts between past and present in her complex and poignant second novel, told from the point of view of a courageous woman suffering from dementia.” —Publishers Weekly

“The writing is so evocative and detailed in its depiction of the inevitable reckonings that come with age.” —Kirkus Reviews

"A great title for book groups that enjoy strong female characters." --Library Journal

“Mothers and daughters and family secrets permeate this surprisingly dark novel of modern family life.” —Booklist

“With the turn of each crisp page or the slide of a finger on your e-book, there’s no doubt that Kelly Simmons’ two novels are anything less than masterpieces.... The Bird House has solidified Kelly Simmons’ spot as a captivating, talented writer who intimately connects her countless readers to a secret past.” —Mainline Magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press; Original edition (February 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439160937
• ASIN: B005DI8IJE
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,452 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tweetness, April 16, 2011

By 

Linda M. Beltran "Paris Maddy" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bird House: A Novel (Paperback)

You'll "heart" The Bird House

Date: April 16, 2011

This review is for the Print format.

"The Bird House by Kelly Simmons is set in the world of family secrets and the details of a grandmother's life. You'll be transformed to Ann Biddle's world by the rich characters and suspenseful, smooth narrative, as well as by her capricious eight-year-old granddaughter, Ellie, as grandmother and granddaughter embarck on Ellie's school project together.

If you've ever had a difficult child, questioned your capabilities as a Mum, forgotten an important date, lost someone you've loved, been bewildered by a family member's behavior, or just like a good read, you'll probably enjoy the time spent holding this little gem of a book in your hand.

I wouldn't put Ann's forgetfulness down to dementia as some of the other reviewers felt. For me, Ann seemed thoroughly engrossed in those minute details of a life spent that often come back to visit us, missed opportunities, departed lovers, those shadows that oftentimes follow us around and play havoc with our ability to keep body and mind together.

The mystery of Ann's dead daughter, mentioned on the very first page, was intriguing enough to keep the pages turning to see what happened and answer if Ann did actually have a heavy hand in the demise of her own daughter.

A beautifully told portrait of the ties that make up the conundrum of a family, of a lifetime."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful story of a family and its secrets, March 30, 2011

By 

L. Gondelman "Lori's Reading Corner" (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bird House: A Novel (Paperback)

Ann Biddle isn't sure which of her memories she can trust these days and which ones she cannot. Right from the start Ann lets us know that she killed her daughter. She tells of a not-so-perfect marriage and of other things she wishes she could have changed in her past. But how much of these memories are completely accurate? How many are distortions of a past that she now struggles to remember? Or could these be recollections she has constructed in her mind to protect herself from the real truths, the real hurts? Just how many family secrets are trapped in not only Ann's memory, but in the old trunks hidden away in her attic?

Ann's granddaughter Ellie is given a project for school that she needs Ann's help on. She must recreate the past, with a theme that runs throughout the family history, and then retell it in her own way. Ellie is a bright, reserved, sweet, precious eight-year-old who sometimes may be to mature for her own good. She is acutely aware of her surroundings, aware of her grandmother's fading memory, and aware that her mother, Tinsley -(Ann's daughter-in-law), - has reservations about the time Ellie spends with her grandmother. But is the reason for Tinsley wanting to keep Ann and Ellie apart due to Ann's fading memory and her concern for Ellie's safety when she is with her? Is it because she is jealous of the growing relationship between the older woman and young girl? Could it be because she knows that Ann may be aware of her secret? A secret she will do whatever is necessary to keep, including keeping grandmother and granddaughter apart.

Ann tells us her story through her diary entries, fluctuating between the present when she works with Ellie on her project and dealing with her failing memory, to the past when she discusses her marriage, her father's disappearance and fraud, regrets and the death of her child. The book is filled with situations that have more than likely happened in our own lives, with characters that are real, believable, and most likely remind us of someone who we know and love. You will be engaged in Ann's story from page one; wanting to know what her secrets are and how close to reality her perceptions of the past are. The Bird House is a beautifully told story of heartbreak, fading memories, past loves, guilt, family secrets, and the power of three generations of women.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing family story!, March 20, 2011

By 

Staci "Life in the Thumb" (Jeddo, MI, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bird House: A Novel (Paperback)

"Beneath the surface of any problem, if you scrabble a bit, you'll find a secret.

It may take a while-decades perhaps-not for your excavation, mind you, but for your desire to appear; for that childlike curiosity to float up again. Indeed, you may need an actual child to summon it, as I did.

But this is what drives us--the historians, the trash pickers, the gossips, the shrinks. And yes, the readers of books. We're all rooting around, teasing out other people's hidden reasons." [p.1]

......I absolutely fell in love with the opening sentences of The Bird House. Why? Because as a reader I do want to find out that deep, dark secret someone is hiding or learn what motivated someone to betray a friend or a lover. This is one of the biggest reasons why I love to read. The other reason? Is to find wonderful gems that touch me emotionally as this one did. I could go into detail about the book and why I found it to be a stellar read, but I really feel that would be robbing you, the new potential reader, of experiencing this one without knowing much beforehand. Suffice it to say that you will come to love Ann and her granddaughter Ellie. I really enjoyed seeing this story unfold through Ann's eyes because you were never quite sure if what you were seeing had actually taken place or not, due to her dementia. Ellie became the grounding force for me. She was sort of the guiding light in the story and helped fill in the gaps or missing pieces. I thought the author's use of a family project was genius in bringing two generations together. The author took this plot device and really worked it seamlessly into the story. I finished this book over the period of 24-hours. In fact, I had a hard time turning the light off Sunday night to go to bed and couldn't wait until my free time on Monday to finish the book.

Recommend? Oh yes!! I know that my review really didn't go into depth and honestly I hate to tell a reader too much about any book I read. I will say this, I loved the characters, even the ones I didn't care for very much (daughter-in-law) because the author made them REAL. The story could happen and has happened to many, many people. I was intrigued, captivated, and couldn't put this one down!!