Bird (Courtney Collins, Hachette)

Following the success of her first novel, The Burial, Courtney Collins’s new dual-narrative novel, Bird, centres on the titular 14-year-old girl. The story is told in alternating chapters differentiated by location and time: the Himalayas in an unknown year, and Darwin in the present day. In the Himalayas, Bird joins a pilgrimage after escaping from an arranged marriage. In Darwin, Bird is in a hospital, piecing together memories of a past life. The two narratives mirror each other in pace, plot, and character development, intertwining as the novel progresses. This distinctive structure, combined with various shifts of perspective, is sometimes difficult to follow, but allows the narrative to be open to interpretation and analysis, which is the book’s strength. In her author’s note, Collins shares that she travelled to the Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh to undertake research for this novel; this, paired with her experience living in southeast Arnhem Land and collaborating with local First Nations storytellers and artists, has resulted in a shift in her perspective: that we are born connected and we die connected. With this strong message of interconnectedness echoed throughout, Bird tenderly explores womanhood intergenerationally through a lens of community, hope and resilience. This novel can be described as The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, and while readers should note there are mentions of domestic violence and physical abuse in the book, this is a novel that will especially appeal to women of all ages.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 1800RESPECT on 0458 737 732, or visit www.1800respect.org.au. 

Books+Publishing reviewer: Lisa Schuurman is an editor, writer and book reviewer. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Category: Friday Unlocked reviews Reviews