Author | Gayl Jones |
---|---|
Country | Germany (1986) United States (2022) |
Language | German (1986) English (2022) |
Genre | Historical fiction |
Published | 1986 (orig.) September 13, 2022 (US) |
Publisher | Rowolht (1986) Beacon Press (2022) |
Pages | 207 (US 1st ed. hardcover, 2022) |
ISBN | 9780807029947 (US 1st ed. hardcover, 2022) |
OCLC | 1289918818 |
813/.54 | |
LC Class | PS3560.O483 B57 2022 |
The Birdcatcher is a 1986 novel by Gayl Jones, originally published as a translated version in Reinbek by Rowolht. [1] [2] [3] It was released in English in September 13, 2022 by Beacon to acclaim. The novel is a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. [4]
This article needs a plot summary.(October 2022) |
The Birdcatcher was generally well received by critics, including starred reviews from Booklist [5] and Publishers Weekly . [6]
Booklist called the novel an "intriguing, tightly crafted, and insightful meditation on creativity and complicated friendships." [5] They further noted that the "prose is captivating, at moments coolly observational and at others profoundly intimate." [5]
Publishers Weekly noted that "Jones, implicitly defiant, draws deeply from classic and global literature" and indicated that the novel "ought to be required reading." [6] They ultimately named The Birdcatcher one of the top ten novels of 2022, regardless of genre. [7]
The Boston Globe wrote that, despite the novel's short length, it "is a brilliant and unsparing examination of the burdens we place on friendship and marriage, the way that creative genius is misperceived as madness, the clumsy way mental health is addressed, the scourge of racism, and the alchemy of folklore and legacy bound in the secrets we hide." [8]
Discussing the novel's structure, The Guardian wrote, "Much of the novel is told in seemingly random spurts of dialogue, where the reader must pick up stray clues and make subtle connections." [9]
Kirkus Reviews provided a mixed review, calling the novel "drolly insinuating" and "predictably unpredictable." [10] They further noted that "shifts in tone and locale make you question almost everything that came before. Whether this was intended or not, its effect seems perfunctory, even abrupt." [10] They concluded, "It may not be the most powerful or best realized of Jones’ novels, but it may be the closest she's come to making us laugh as much as wince." [10]
The Birdcatcher is a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. [4]
Gayl Jones is an American writer from Lexington, Kentucky. She is recognized as a key figure in 20th-century African-American literature. Imani Perry posits Jones as "one of the most versatile and transformative writers of the 20th century" while Calvin Baker describes her as "The Best American Novelist Whose Name You May Not Know." In The Guardian newspaper, Yara Rodrigues Fowler stated: "Gayl Jones is a literary legend. In novels and poetry, she has reimagined the lives of Black women across North, South and Central America, living in different centuries, in a way no other writer has done."
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