Birdbrain. A book review by Elliot Jackman
by Virginia Arthur
Independent Author / Publisher
Virginia Authur tells us a story about a young woman, Ellie, that was been lulled into complacency in her life until she has an epiphany while accidentally getting involved with a bird watching group.
She knows she’s unhappy and bored with her marriage but doesn’t really have a plan on what to do about it. Once she decides that she can’t stay in the relationship any longer, she begins a long and hard process of what could be considered a type of spiritual growth. Not spiritual in the religious sense, but more emotional and intellectual.
She can’t really afford to just go find a new place to live, so she bounces around between her best friend, her mother’s house and her sister in San Diego, CA.
During this time, she also realizes that she needs to do something to improve her life. With some pushing from her mother, she completes her degree in biology. She can now realize her dream of making “bird watching” a career.
This natural progression also causes Ellie to realize that what the average person calls progress, is really mass destruction, murder and genocide of many species of animals and plants. This sets her on a path that all her friends, family and acquaintances label as “environmental activism.”
Involving herself in many battles, most of which are lost, she eventually finds her niche in life and can channel her feelings in a way that makes her abilities and knowledge more productive.
The story itself was compelling enough that I wanted keep reading. It wasn’t because there was necessarily always some drama that was unfolding for which I needed to see what was going to happen, but more because Ellie’s transformation seemed to be a very real and plausible progression for someone to follow. It outlines the types of outside and inside influences that can completely transform the way someone views the world and society.
Overall, the book is well written. There is some dialogue in the first portion of the book that, I must admit, I reread twice and still didn’t understand what the people were talking about. This didn’t turn out to affect my enjoyment of the book.
I enjoyed watching Ellie’s transformation, without having the author “talk down” to me about any particular environmental crusade. The story made the point solely by showing Ellie’s intellectual progression and the way her thinking changed based on the behavior of people around her, along with her changing relationships with her friends, family and lovers.
I have to go now, as I suddenly feel the need to grab my binoculars and go watch some birds!