Birdy [Paperback]

Naomi Wallace (Author), William Wharton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2004

From the acclaimed 1978 novel by William Wharton, BIRDY tells the story of a man undone by the horrors of World War II and the friend who tries to guide him back to earth. This stage adaptation, originally produced on the West End in London, is by MacArthur genius award winner Naomi Wallace.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

An inventive, hypnotic novel about frienship and family, love and war, madness and beauty, and, above all, "birdness." Wharton crafts an unforgettable tale--one that suggests another notion of sanity in a world that is manifestly insane. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

other plays include IN THE HEART OF AMERICA, ONE FLEA SPARE, SLAUGHTER CITY, THE TRESTLE AT POPE LICK CREEK and THE WAR BOYS

Product Details

• Paperback: 74 pages
• Publisher: Broadway Play Pub (June 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881452262
• ISBN-13: 978-0881452266
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #478,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book, September 8, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Birdy (Paperback)

The book is best described as "bird-y", like it's title. Whoever reads it will understand what I mean. In the center of the story stands an eccentric, introverted boy called Birdy, who's entire life is driven by an obsession with birds, and a dream - to fly and be free. The book opens with Birdy in a military mental hospital, traumatized by his experiences in WWII. His childhood friend, Al, has been called over to try and bring Birdy back to reality. At a loss of what to do, Al begins telling Birdy stories from their childhood, and recounting all the adventures they lived through together. Through Al's narrations and the remembrances they trigger in Birdy, the fascinating story of a most unlikely friendship unfolds. Al is a handsome, athletic Italian girl-chaser, with an abusive father and an obsessive need to prove himself. Birdy on the other hand, is a wild spirit. You can sense throughout the story how he feels caged, and reveres the birds he sees to be free. He constucts an aviary and raises canaries in his bedroom, studying them, learning their language, getting to know each one personally, and losing himself in their world. The descriptions of the canaries are so intense that the reader himself feels as though they are human, or he is a bird. Birdy is an amazing character - brave, self confident, a mechanical genius, who struggles to fit himself into human life, but who's mind works in a completely different way than anyone else's. The book tells the extraordinary story of the two friends, and is simply a pleasure to read and a refreshing change from the conventional.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF MY FAVORITE NOVELS, August 4, 1998

By 

M. G. Jamison (Fairlawn, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Birdy (Paperback)

I first read BIRDY when it was published in 1978; I was going into the ninth grade. Since that fist reading, I have read it two other times--once in college while pretending to work at the library and once just recently for a book club I'm in. It is an amazingly memorable book about friendship and war and our definition of what is sane. Some of the scenes are so vivid that they have become a part of my own memory. I have explored other books by William Wharton, but none of them have equalled BIRDY. (DAD and MIDNIGHT CLEAR are also worth reading, though.) I remember the first copy I bought had a blurb on the front cover which read, "a classic for readers not yet born." I hope those words come true.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Joy of Flight(?) or Terror Avoidance 101, July 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Birdy (Paperback)

This is an incredible and beautifully told tale of friendship, sanity(& insanity,) obsession and the horrors of war. The second reading is even better! As a bird lover and owner, I especially enjoyed the details of what the experience of being a bird is really like. I can only suppose that William Wharton has spent time as a bird, or has some very close friends who are birds and were willing to describe the experience of "birdness" to him for this book. The story of friendship and growing up is quite moving and enjoyable with much humor and insight. The section dealing with the boys' job as dogcatchers should be skipped or abridged by the squeamish, (or animal lovers, such as my spouse, who take fiction for reality too easily!) Highly recommended! Two enthusiastic wings up! (P.S. Also recommended; "Dad" by William Wharton.)