Nine Birds Singing by Edythe Anstey Hanen - HFVBT

Nine BIRDS SINGING

BY EDYTHE ANSTEY HANEN

Publication Date: December 5, 2017

New Arcadia Publishing

Paperback; 276 Pages

Genre: Literary Fiction

Goodreads

Publisher's Summary 

 Maddie is a writer of local history but wants to use her words to unlock the hidden truths that lay just below the surface of her life. But it’s magnetic words on a refrigerator door – Have dreams. Must travel – that push Maddie into the journey she must take: the search for what she has yearned for all her life: independence and freedom from the abusive fanaticism of her parents’ religious beliefs. From Vancouver in the sixties to present day Mexico and a small island on the Canadian west coast, Nine Birds Singing is a love affair with words. It weaves through past glories and youthful hubris in a search for understanding and acceptance. Profound friendship, skewed love and loss all play a role in Maddie’s search for redemption.

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Praise for Nine Birds Singing

“In Nine Birds Singing, Edyth Anstey Hanen’s appealing narrator Maddie recalls and examines her own search for independence from her parents’ restrictive values. The writer and Maddie, together, gather the reader in to share an intimate, wise, and moving tale.” -Jack Hodgins, Author of Spit Delaney’s Island

“Nine Birds Singing is a finely written book, lovingly crafted, poignant and perceptive. A tale of gradual self-understanding, awakening and ultimate release.” -Nick Bantock, Author of the The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy

“If, like me, you despair for the collapse of the English language take comfort. In Nine Birds Singing you will discover a veritable Aladdin’s Cave of delights. Edythe Anstey Hanen not only uses the basic blocks of language, words, to propel her characters and her story, each word has been selected with meticulous care with attention to its meaning and its ability to resonate. The work is a symphony for the logophile. Don’t miss it.” -Patrick Taylor. USA Today, New York Times and Globe and Mail best-selling author of the Irish Country Doctor series

“Readers will enjoy the unique views and poetic pacing of Nine Birds Singing by Edythe Anstey Hanen. She savours and survives landscapes and relationships in teasing but tasty quick episodes. Her novel takes readers via circular time travelling through decades of Mattie’s life in Canada and Mexico. Enjoy this new voice!” -Bernice Lever, Small Acts, Black Moss Press, 2016

My Perspective

Nine Birds Singing is the story of Maddie's finding herself.  
It's the part of the story that drew me to it.

Maddie is a survivor, most obviously from her parents' religious fanatacism, a toxic friendship with Thea, and an array of romantic relationships that don't work, culminating with Joey.

Maddie finds solace in words and in her true friendship with Carmelita.

I think if you're a word person, you'll get this novel and want to even re-read it so that you can follow the lyrical tone again once you've read quickly for the narrative.  

Nine Birds Singing isn't a quick summer read for sure...it's one you want to take time to savor.  

About the Author

Edythe Anstey Hanen has published prize-winning short stories and poetry in literary magazines including Room Magazine and anthologies across Canada, in addition to articles in the Globe & Mail, National Post and the Hamilton Bay Observer and is a regular contributor to Mexconnect, an online travel magazine. She lives on Bowen Island in British Columbia, Canada, where for many years she was the editor of the Bowen Island Undercurrent.