Customer Reviews

Singing Bird

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When Lena Malloy receives a mysterious phone call from the nun who arranged the adoption of her daughter some 27 years ago, Lena decides to find out just who were the parents of little Mary were. With her husband on an extended business trip, the timing seems perfect. However, what Lena slowly unfolds is a mystery far more troubling than she had ever expected. Indeed, she ends up learning to, "Be care what you ask, it might not turn out the way you intended." This is a touching story about gain and loss, about learning things you didn't want to know, and how you go on.

I would like to say something profound at this point, but I really can't think of anything to say. Ms. McAuley writes with a power and emotion that is a little hard to describe in pithy little comments. Suffice it to say that this is a very touching and even suspenseful story, as you strive to unravel the mystery with Lena. I loved this book, and highly recommend it to you.

Roisin McAuley's affecting and poignant first novel, "Singing Bird," is an engrossing story of a mother and daughter who were both adopted as babies. The mother, Lena Molloy, waited until adulthood to inquire about her birth parents, but she was unable to learn who they were. Mary, the daughter whom Lena adopted in Ireland, seems content with the idea that she may never know who gave her up for adoption. At twenty-seven, Mary is now a talented and beautiful singer who is a rising star in the opera world.

Lena and her husband Jack are about to move into a new home, and they are looking forward to retirement in a few years. They are financially successful and have a second home in France. Lena and Jack have had a good marriage and they are bursting with pride at their daughter's success in the music world.

Suddenly, Lena gets a phone call from the nun who gave Mary to her so many years ago. This phone call turns Lena's life upside down. She makes the fateful decision to take a vacation in Ireland with her friend, Alma. While in Ireland, Lena plans to spend some time searching for the names of Mary's birth parents. Lena has no idea that by doing so, she may be playing with fire.

"Singing Bird" is filled with vivid and intriguing characters. Lena is an adoring wife and mother who has a hole in her heart because she longs to know the names of her natural parents. Her curiosity about her own origins drives her to learn about her daughter's birth parents, as well. Other memorable characters are Sister Monica, the crusty nun who contacts Lena after twenty-seven years of silence, and Alma, Mary's intelligent and often sarcastic best friend, who is unhappily involved in a dead-end affair with a married man.

McAuley is a natural storyteller. Her writing flows effortlessly, and she uses foreshadowing very cleverly to give the reader small clues about what is to come. "Singing Bird" has romance, gentle humor, beautiful descriptive writing about Ireland, and heart-tugging suspense. As Lena gets closer to the truth, the book is impossible to put down.

The biggest weaknesses in "Singing Bird" are the author's use of coincidence and her slightly pat ending. However, these small flaws do not detract from the warmth and compassion of this compelling story that will touch many readers, whether they are adopted or not. "Singing Bird" is a wonderful achievement by a very gifted writer.

When we first meet Lena Malloy, we see a woman who appears completely content with her life, including her marriage to a wonderful, faithful husband, Jack, and her relationship to her beautiful 27-year old adopted daughter, Mary, an up-and-coming opera singer. However, a single phone call changes all that--Sister Monica, the Irish nun who arranged Mary's adoption, contacts Lena, supposedly just to "catch up," but the call leaves Lena feeling anxious and unsettled. When Mary suddenly announces a change in schedule that will involve a performance in Ireland, Lena makes an impulsive decision to travel to Ireland on holiday, seek out Sister Monica, and find Mary's birth parents as a "gift" to her daughter.

The story which follows is interesting and engaging, although it involves quite a few coicidences. In fact, one character even points out that she herself has been searching for years to find her adopted daughter whereas it has taken Lena only a few days to track down the information she seeks. Furthermore, the author is a bit heavy-handed in her foreshadowing style: the book's conclusion offers several surprising twists, but I (along with virtually every character other than Lena) was able to accurately predict these with more than half the story to go. Still, this is a mostly entertaining novel that is likely to particularly appeal to Irish fiction enthusiasts and/or those with their own adoption experiences.

I should confess up front that I am hardly an impartial reader for this book. I was adopted at birth and as an adult I searched for and found my birthparents. So these characters and this tale truly touched my heart. It spoke to me in a language I thought not many shared. But in these pages, I began to realize how universal certain themes are - especially those of home and family, belonging, history and legacy.

Singing Bird is a stunning story, both delightful and haunting at various turns in the journey. There are fresh and rich explorations of relationships: mother and daughter, husband and wife, father and daughter, best girlfriends, and our relationship with our former/other/future self. This author is amazingly adept at explaining that elusive but inescapable tether that binds us to where we came from, and how that connects to who we might've been, who we are free to be, who we are perhaps freed from being - when we find the answers we need to be whole.

Roisin McAuley has a way of writing that lifts off of the page and wraps you up completely in Story. Buy the book, you'll be enchanted whether you relate to adoption or not. And if by chance you know adoption from the inside - you might even find yourself a little bit healed by the turning of the final page, as I did.

Three stars is generous.
As I read, I found myself desparately wanting the plot to move along and get to the point. The plot idea was interesting, but the author wasn't very adept at fleshing it out. The characters don't generate sympathy and the plot twist at the end seemed very contrived. I got the feeling that the author didn't quite know how to end it, so she just plopped the ending in, leaving me thinking "Are you serious??" Some authors excel at plots with interweaving characters; not this one.

I'm bothered by a book that could have been really good but isn't. Luckily, I borrowed this from a friend and didn't spend any money on it.

I'd only recommend this if you want some fluff reading that doesn't require a lot of brain power.

Lena Molloy couldn't be prouder of her daughter. Twenty seven year old Mary is on the brink of opera stardom and both Lena and Mary's father, Jack are delighted. Little did they know that when they adopted Mary she would turn out to be such a great talent. However, Lena has received a confusing call from the nun at the home where Mary was adopted from.

The nun states that she is retiring and is doing a last check on all of the babies that she has adopted out. Lena finds this suspicious, however, given that they have had no contact in twety seven years. She and her best friend, Alma plan a trip to Ireland to do some further investigating on Mary's birth parents and the possible reasons for the nun's telephone call. Along the way, they will uncover truths about themselves, their friendship, and secrets they aren't sure they wanted to know.

This book had great depictions of Ireland and a plot that sped along quickly. I found myself not being able to put it down without reading just one more chapter. Enough plot twists and surprises to keep the reader interested the entire time!

I loved this book and couldn't anticipate how it would resolve. You are swept up with the story line and the characters and feel you are part of the action. I have never been to Ireland but it truly came alive as the main character travels around the country. I am recommending it to all my reader friends.

Contented we find the little Molloy clan, late of Ireland, now moving from one house to a new one in merry old England. Mother Nena's in the kitchen about to uncork the bubbly as she awaits arrival of her best friend Alma and others. Doting husband and father Jack, successful businessman Jack, romantic Jack, is at work doing successful businessman stuff. Daughter Mary travels with the opera, don't you know, boasting her own CD: Mary Molloy sings Mozart and Rossini. A singing bird on two continents---if not more---Mary's headed to San Francisco for another opera gig.

Idyllic the Molloy existence is--almost. There is only the matter of Mary's murky adoption out of Ireland's County Mayo to ponder. Mary and Jack tried for years to get pregnant, but it was not in the cards, and Nena herself was adopted, knowing nothing of her birth parents. Jack and Nena were approached at a cousin's wedding in Ireland by a nun, Sister Monica Devine, who with iron-fist ran Saint Joseph's Home for unmarried mothers. The Molloys jumped at adopting Mary, though left in the dark about her lineage. Today a nagging question remains more in Nena's mind than Mary's: Where did Mary's stunning voice come from?

Then the phone rings at the Molloy's. Sister Monica calls from the Emerald Isle. She's retiring and wants to check on the welfare of all her wee adopted ones, Mary included. How is Mary? What is her line of work? The questions also roll off Nena's tongue. What can you tell me about Mary's birth parents? Are they ill? Is there anything I should know about them? Sister Monica, in a word, remains noncommittal, further piquing Nena's growing obsession about her daughter's roots. Nena says people need to know who they are and where they came from, although Jack and Mary tell her she should leave well enough alone.

In a flash Nena and friend Alma, who swore off men following a jilting from her latest married flame, are on the plane to Dublin, where they rent a car and point it toward the west of Ireland. Using powerfully descriptive language to paint the beauty of the Irish countryside, McAuley unfolds a kind-of Thelma and Louise travelogue as the gal-pals head toward a showdown with Sister Monica. Fellow travelers with their own interesting tales appear to entertain readers while Nena blurts out her story to one and all over wine and good food, in bed-and-breakfasts dotting the Emerald Isle. A kindly widower, a barrister from Dublin named Donal, is lonely enough not to be put off by Nena's one-track banter and offers background information into the rights of adoptees and birth parents under Irish law. We sense a potential romance blossoming for Alma and Donal, but Alma's ice isn't easily thawed.

Sister Monica now runs Saint Joseph's as a senior citizen's home. The young pre-natal mothers are all gone and she is indeed ready to retire. Mysteriously, Sister seems about as glad to see Nena as she would Lucifer himself. Stonewalling Nena's questions, she's scolded as if she were a recalcitrant parochial school student. Adoptive parents have no rights under Irish law, Nena is reminded. What's more, Nena is told, be careful what you wish for. You just might get it. Sister will provide no information about Mary's birth parents to her. Thank you. Goodbye.

Not easily rebuffed after a long holiday journey, Nena has an epiphany. What do Catholics and others turn to when hope seems lost? God? Prayer? No---the Internet. She's soon peering at group pictures of unmarried mothers and babies from Saint Joseph's, taken during the timeframe that her daughter was born. Off in the rental car she goes, driving the back roads of Ireland in a madcap search of women who posed for the picture taken twenty-seven years ago. Nena feels even more pressure now that Mary's coming to Dublin in tow of a handsome male operatic lead---her lover---and a man who's unfortunately married. Tsk, tsk.

Our heroine Nena discovers two other morsels of information that evolve to cloud the picture. The lesser of them is that Sister Monica is not a well woman. More importantly, (drum roll) Sister Monica's brother, Father Frank Devine, is also known as Ireland's Singing Priest. He boasts a body of musical work, appearing on the telly and CD. Needless to say, if our Father fathered a child the possibility exists that......, well, you know.

As Nena flits about Ireland ingratiating herself to women in the group picture, she has only to identify Mary's birth mother, assuming that the lady will own up to an ancient affair. There `tis. Case closed, right? Nope. Surprise awaits sleuths who think they have McAuley's puzzle solved. The intrigue has just begun in this finely crafted plot set in a scenic Irish backdrop. Those whose forbears emigrated many years ago from the aulde sod appreciate the toil that goes into genealogical web unraveling. Many records from the Famine period were lost, destroyed or poorly kept. We who have the family history neatly catalogued into narratives and contained in binders probably had a pest like Nena to thank for placing it there. And most likely, much of it was accomplished pre-Internet. Singing Bird is worth a read.

Roisin McAuley grew up in County Tyrone and resides with her husband in Reading, Berkshire, in the U.K.

This is a tale of incompleteness, hope, triumph against the odds, a giant leap to a major conclusion and then lies, deceit and devastation. Over twenty years ago Lena Malloy adopted her daughter Mary, and without any warning, Sister Monica, the person who handled the adoption, calls Lena and asks how Mary is doing. When asked why she made the call, Monica says that she is about to retire and as a final act is checking up on the status of the babies she adopted out. The story is set in Ireland and Monica is the former headmistress of a hostel for unwed mothers.

Lena is puzzled and recollects how she and her husband Jack came to adopt Mary. For years they had tried to have a child but without success. While attending a wedding they were suddenly asked if they would like to adopt a girl. The adoption was expedited and in a few days they were parents. Mary has grown into a very talented opera singer and was headlining at major opera houses around the world.

Lena herself was adopted as an infant and even though she grew up in a very good environment, she has always wanted to learn about her biological parents. Therefore, unbeknownst to Mary, Lena begins a search for Mary's parents. At first the search starts slow, but it moves pretty fast and she learns the name of Mary's mother. However, to achieve this knowledge, she resorts to lies and trickery, impersonating her daughter so that people will be more forthcoming.

Since a priest who is also a talented singer had assisted Mary's mother, Lena reaches the conclusion that the priest is Mary's father. She goes so far as to confront the priest, and when he says that she had best just let the past lie undisturbed, she takes it as a subtle admission of guilt. It turns out that she is very wrong about her beliefs and when she learns the truth she finds it difficult to bear. Her drive to learn about her daughter was fueled by her feelings about being adopted and she had ignored the advice of almost everyone that what she was doing could lead to a place she would rather not go.

In the end, she is trying to come to grips with the reality she has found, but the book ends at the point when she takes the first major step. The story is a good one, filled with an Ahab-like quest that Lena cannot put aside. She will not rest until she finds the truth and does not concern herself with whether Mary really wants to know. To achieve those ends, she begins lying to everyone, and starts making subtle threats if she doesn't get what she wants. For what appears to be the first time in her life, right or wrong does not matter; there is only what she wants to know. I enjoyed the book even though it is in a genre that I ordinarily do not care for.

A lot of adopted children search out their birth parents, but not as many adoptive parents seek them out instead. Roisin McAuley's debut "Singing Bird" starts as a family drama, evolving into a look at children, fidelity, marital love, religion and most importantly, the story of adoption and family.

Twenty-seven years ago, successful businessman Jack and his wife Lena had no children... until they went on vacation in Ireland. There, a local nun asked if they wanted to adopt a baby, and because they were desperate for a child, they accepted. Now, their daughter Mary is beautiful, accomplished, and a rapidly ascending opera star.

Then one day, Lena receives a phone call from the nun. She's about to retire, and is checking up on her "babies," but Lena is strangely uneasy. She decides to travel to Ireland to find out more, and ends up searching for Mary's birth parents... and her own. But as she searches through the cold trails, Lena finds out disturbing truths about the past... and a dark secret in her own marriage.

This is apparently Roisin McAuley's first book. That comes as something of a pleasant surprise, since her writing is so polished. "Singing Bird" is a pretty simple story that tackles a variety of topics, and delivers a gut-punch as well. Not many authors can do that on their first attempt.

McAuley's writing style is very plain and mostly lacking in detail. But it does have quite an impact -- she uses quiet language to communicate issues without being preachy. There's an ominous undertone from the first page onward, hinting at the intensity that builds up in a climax in the last chapters. Saying any more would give away the secrets that Lena uncovers.

Lena herself is an unusual heroine, forging ahead through all the nasty little secrets buried in Ireland. The things she finds challenge her Catholic faith, and her belief in family, but in the end she ends up stronger than ever. Her husband Jack is something of a dark horse, although that is necessary to the plot; her rambunctious pal Alma is a lot more interesting.

"Singing Bird" is an unusual, intense book, and is an unusually polished debut for Ms. McAuley. A dramatic novel that is definitely worth reading.