Customer Reviews

The Bird House: A Novel

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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."

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.

"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!!

Like another reviewer, I'd give this 3-1/2 stars if I could. She gave it 3; I'll go with 4. What I really liked about this story is that the main character, Ann, is so flawed. And what's most interesting is that we see these flaws through her own telling, although she often doesn't even recognize her selfishness and hypocritical attitude. As the book goes on, Ann becomes nastier and more unfair with her daughter-in-law, sometimes at the expense of the granddaughter, and I'm sure there are pleny out there who can identify. (The daughter-in-law's not so perfect either, but a more sympathetic character.) The so-called secrets are nothing earth shattering, but still a good story. I did think the little granddaughter, Ellie, was portrayed as much too wise and mature for her young years. When Ann purposely and repeatedly gives Ellie, forbidden treats behind the mother's back, I wanted to smack her up side the head for being such a bad role model. All and all, however, these characters were realistic and the writing enjoyable.

The Bird House by Kelly Simmons is a terrific novel and yet another of my favorites for the year! I really have to mention the cover as well - it's so serene and beautiful and I kept imagining myself sitting in that chair while I was reading. The Bird House by Kelly Simmons is such a beautiful novel of heartbreak, fading memory, hope, and the uncovering of the family secrets and the forgiveness that must go with them.

Ann Biddle is a seventy year old woman who is starting to experience, more and more often, the loss of memories she was sure she once had. From the beginning though we know that Ann has done something horrible in her past; something she is still running away from. Her eight year old granddaughter Ellie, who she really hasn't had a relationship with up to this point, asks her to help her with a school project. They have to put together a report chronicling something in their family that spans the years past. Ann has an attic full of such memories but she'd really rather avoid most of them. However, sharing this past with Ellie pulls Ann out of herself and leads her on a journey to face that troubling past.

This novel is told by weaving the past and present and it is done so well that you move seamlessly between the two which are forty years apart. Usually when I read a novel told in this way I much prefer one story to the other but not in this case. I looked forward to delving into Ann's past as much as watching her struggle with her memory in the present to enjoying her time with her granddaughter. We feel Ann's pain when she looks back into her memories of being a young mother and trying to cope with kids, an inattentive husband and breast cancer. Our hearts break when we journey with Ann through a tragedy that will reshape her life.

As a woman fighting dementia, Ann is always second guessing herself. Did I say that? Did I do that? Ellie keeps her on her toes though helping her to remember things as they go through the trunks in the attic and bring the past back to life. However Ellie's mother, Tinsley seems to have quite a few concerns about Ann and her memory and has Ellie keep an eye on Grandma. Yet Ann has some issues with Tinsley as well and eventually confronts her. There is a battle of wills though but while Ann may be losing her memory, she certainly isn't losing her spunk.

I loved Ann. Sure she had her flaws - who doesn't? The way in which she handles some things in her past may not have been the way I would have but we do what we do in any given situation and it's too late to turn back once it's over. Ann was full of spunk and sass and she had me laughing more than once with her ingenuity. Ellie was also a fantastic character who you couldn't help but love. She was curious in the way only kids can be and would very bluntly ask Ann questions. By doing this she made Ann look deeper into a life that she had been trying to keep buried for years.

This is a beautifully written novel and I don't want to say much more than I have - this is one you need to experience for yourself. All I know is I picked this novel up one day and finished it the next. Kelly Simmons tells Ann's story in such an intimate fashion that I found myself completely immersed and captivated by it. I felt Ann's pain and I felt her triumphs. I felt her joy over spending time with her granddaughter and loved how Ellie helped her Grandma move on from the past.

The Bird House by Kelly Simmons is a look into a life being affected by demenia and so much more. It's a look into a past that you may have preferred to have kept buried. It's a story of love as well - the love of a child that can bring you a new lease on an old life. I loved this book! I couldn't read it fast enough and it's still so much on mind. It would make a great book club selection because there is so much to discuss from family, children, marriage, infidelity all the way to the devastating effects Alzheimer's can have on a family. It's definitely a must read in my books!

Kelly Simmons "The Bird House" is narrated by Ann - a widow, a mother, a grandmother...a woman of secrets in a family full of women with secrets. Ann's granddaughter Ellie is assigned a school project on "Generations" and through Ann's working with her granddaughter on this, their relationship develops and their family history is gradually revealed. Though Ann's memory is impaired at times, we learn of past events through the journals that she has kept. Ms. Simmons tells a good story and engages us with interesting characters. This is an enjoyable and thought-provoking read, as well as being a very good discussion book for book clubs."

This is one of those books I'm not even sure where to begin. Just when you think you have gotten to the crux of the situation in this one, the author pulls another surprise out of her bag of tricks. I read this in one sitting, it reads quickly, easily and elegantly. The writing is great, the plotting is amazing and the characters are intriguing. What more can you ask for in a book?

The Bird House, at it's core is about family secrets. We get to see these secrets through the eyes of Ann who is a grandmother now and trying to connect with her granddaughter, Ellie through a school project at first and then just trying to keep the connection going. Ann has been through a lot as we read her journal in the present and back in the 60s as well. The journal entries shed light on Ann's life as she is struggling with the family secrets and with the dementia that is starting to creep into her life.

And it seems like the family secrets are destined to keep on as Ann learns things about her daughter-in-law and her son as well, through Ellie and through everyday life. The insights are what make this book. The reader gets a glimpse of everything on the surface, how life looks to others and to ourselves at the time we are living it. Then the insight of reading the journal 40 years later comes into play or seeing the life through the eyes of child, really gets to the heart of what is going on. I loved the insight. I loved how it made all the lives that are intertwined in this book three-dimensional and something you could see from several sides. The lives come to life on the pages of the book. You feel for each character. Even when something seems totally wrong, you can see something in it that makes you understand why the character did what they did.

The characters in this book came to life for me, especially Ann and Ellie, who the book focuses on. Ann's journal entries really help you see the whole person even as she is starting to forget things as she is getting older. Ellie is a great foil to the aging Ann, not just in the age difference, but in the fact that while Ann is struggling to understand, Ellie just takes things as she sees them and doesn't look any further than that. And sometimes that is what we need to do as Ann learns, just take things at face value. I felt close to both of these characters and felt the connection that I like to have when I read books.

Ms. Simmons has a true gift for writing this type of novel. I look forward to going back and reading Standing Still now as well. The Bird House to me was amazing, and what I loved even more is it is written on an easy to understand level. No lofty language or things you really have to study to understand. No, The Bird House is written as real life and that is what makes the book a wonderful book, to me.

I loved this novel! Written in such an honest, no holds barred way, this fictional account of a young mother struggling to raise her children, deal with cancer, all while married to an uninvolved, emotionally detached man, just touches the heart on so many levels.Many years later, as Ann is trying to nourish a relationship with her only grandchild Ellie, she has to grapple with her own long held secrets, along with secrets she learns about other family members. Add to the story that Ann is dealing with some signs of having early dementia, and you have a heart wrenching story. There are so many elements to this story, and so many opportunities for the female reader to identify with the feelings Ann wrestles with.

Chevy Stevens is quoted as saying, "I was hooked from the very first page". This statement also applies to me. Kelly Simmons has a way of weaving words together that leads you to want more. Here is the last paragraph from her first chapter. "It's all there, in every jewelry box and trunk, every photo album and yellowed postcard, every attic and basement. Just look, and you'll see what I mean. You don't have to travel to a lost city to find the artifacts of a mysterious society. Just go ask your grandmother." That just gives me the shivers. Secrets. Every family has them. Some larger than others.

I found the main character in The Bird House, Ann, to be a very likable and understandable character. Throughout the book we delve back and forth between the present- 2010 and the past-1967. We immediately learn that Ann had a daughter that died and that she feels she is responsible for her death. It isn't until the end of the book that we learn the events surrounding this death. I was very curious how her daughter died, because it became apparent as I read the book that Ann was a good mother. She was tired, bored, and frustrated, but she always seemed to do right by her children. They wore her down, but she loved them. I didn't understand how it could be possible that she could kill her daughter. I won't ruin the ending for you, but I will say that it involves an accident. An accident that could happen to anybody and makes me feel more watchful about my own children.

In the present Ann is developing a relationship with her granddaughter, Ellie. As the book progresses we see their relationship blossom and we also realize that Ann is suffering from the early stages of dementia. She is forgetful, but still lively regardless. The relationship that Ann and Ellie form is touching and Ann becomes a very likable grandparent. The story weaves around Ellie and her parents and all of their relationships together. Ann is very watchful and perceptive, personality traits that cause some problems as the story develops.

In the past we learn about Ann as a young mother with two children, her marriage to her architect husband, her mother, her father, her fight with breast cancer, and her relationship with her high school sweetheart. This dip into the past is the basis for the secrets of course. When I was reading the book I wanted to know right away all the secrets, but they are slowly spun throughout the book.

Kelly Simmons understands relationships. She must. Because she hits so true to the mark with her story.

Ann is a good woman who has faced many demons and discovers more about herself in The Bird House. A true to life novel, Kelly Simmons weaves a story of the mystery surrounding relationships.

This novel was really interesting, and I would definitely recommend it to others. It made me question what was true and what was imagined. While the story is somewhat unsettling at times, it's not frightening, and it's fascinating to see the story unfold over time. I'd recommend it for people who are interested in psychology, forgotten history and family drama.