Tanya Sousa's Blog - Posts Tagged "ishmael"
Pre-reviews: The Starling God
I always have a number of people read through my manuscripts before I deem them "finished" (which is a laugh, because any author knows it feels like a book is never EVER truly finished even when it goes to print!).
I respectfully ask different people to do this for a wide variety of reasons. When I had a fairly solid draft of my upcoming novel, "The Starling God", I had a bird expert read through for accuracy of bird information, and a woman who is a shaman to offer insight on the rather Universal idea of connectedness the book describes. I also wanted someone to read the book who was a more science-oriented type -- one who wasn't already a fantasy reader. Would such a person be able to find the story compelling?
To my surprise, that person wrote a review (preview?) of the book that expressed what I was trying to get across in the story so well, I knew I wanted to post it in the blog. So without further adieu, here it is. Thank you Darryl Duffe for the time you took with this -- and thank you to the other wonderful readers who gave me such excellent feedback.
T.
Pre-Review:
"The Starling God", by Tanya Sousa, begins with an urgent dramatic scene in which the main character, a lone surviving starling nestling is rescued from repairmen fixing a hole in the eaves of a building and cast the nestlings out of the nest considering the species a nuisance. The young bird is saved and nurtured by a kind human female who has gained the status of a benevolent ' god' among the local 'Bird kind' as a result of providing food and habitat around her house. This pastoral area she's provided is deemed as 'The Sacred Space' by several species of birds who regularly gather around this lovely garden landscaped with grass, flowers, trees, bushes and a feeder. Humans in the story are all generally considered 'gods' by birds because of our attempts to control the environment in nearly every way. The lone surviving starling nestling is labeled a Starling God of bird prophecy when he is released as a fledgling and refers to his human rescuer as ‘Mother’.
As the author progresses with the story, she delicately establishes an anthropomorphic world mainly for the purpose of storytelling, which allows the reader to experience the world from an avian perspective. This alternate yet somewhat familiar, universe, creates a framework for the story that's at once natural and human-modified to greater and lesser degrees. The birds who don't understand human technology have different more bird-centric terms for human features, human clothing and human artifacts.
The story takes place over several months most involving several species of birds and their relationships to other species, predators, the 4 seasons, forests, fields, geographic features and human activities and human degradation of the earth's natural environment. The events make the reader consider what starlings and humans have in common, both as non-native 'invasive' species.
Once you become immersed in the avian vantage point, Ms. Sousa creates an adventurous tale where there is travel, danger and encounters with multiple sub-cultures (developed in separate geographic populations) of birds based on their resource base and adaptations to their local environment. Crucial environmental and philosophical issues (including aspects of sustainability and biodiversity) are played out in the plot.
The challenges and plot twists take the reader through many experiences, from joyful to tragic, through the eyes of other species – feathered and sometimes even furred. The surprising tale is woven with deceit, treachery, some violence, a lot of curiosity, honest discussion and debate, romantic partnership, individual friendships, family relationships and social structures.The differing roles are sometimes assigned by species, like for instance, red wing blackbirds are "Watchers"(sentries providing early warning to birds in the "Sacred Space" for predators and any signs of danger) "Seekers" are like curious students. "Tellers" are usually older birds (sometimes doves) that pass down essential bird knowledge like the role of professors."Cleaners" are crows and vultures that remove dead carcasses. There are "Praisers" sometimes purple finches who kick off the mornings and close the evenings with songs of praise. and various other roles that have their own bird chosen names instead of using the terminology of everyday American English. There are power couples, female power groupies, The plot includes environmental degradation, human on human cruelty and sometimes even the milk of human kindness.
The purpose of the main character's quest is for meaning and understanding. The journey takes the young starling (and the reader) into a new, constantly changing mature realization that neither people nor any particular species are 'gods' but rather that all life on this planet, including human, has an inter-species connectedness. The story leads the ‘Starling God’ to the conclusion that each species is adapted with its own valid talents and abilities and there is folly and injustice in not realizing the interconnectedness and importance of all life forms sharing the world. He get's a lot of this new perspective from all of his observations and is corroborated by his telepathic communication with a large cetacean. Darryl Duffe
I respectfully ask different people to do this for a wide variety of reasons. When I had a fairly solid draft of my upcoming novel, "The Starling God", I had a bird expert read through for accuracy of bird information, and a woman who is a shaman to offer insight on the rather Universal idea of connectedness the book describes. I also wanted someone to read the book who was a more science-oriented type -- one who wasn't already a fantasy reader. Would such a person be able to find the story compelling?
To my surprise, that person wrote a review (preview?) of the book that expressed what I was trying to get across in the story so well, I knew I wanted to post it in the blog. So without further adieu, here it is. Thank you Darryl Duffe for the time you took with this -- and thank you to the other wonderful readers who gave me such excellent feedback.
T.
Pre-Review:
"The Starling God", by Tanya Sousa, begins with an urgent dramatic scene in which the main character, a lone surviving starling nestling is rescued from repairmen fixing a hole in the eaves of a building and cast the nestlings out of the nest considering the species a nuisance. The young bird is saved and nurtured by a kind human female who has gained the status of a benevolent ' god' among the local 'Bird kind' as a result of providing food and habitat around her house. This pastoral area she's provided is deemed as 'The Sacred Space' by several species of birds who regularly gather around this lovely garden landscaped with grass, flowers, trees, bushes and a feeder. Humans in the story are all generally considered 'gods' by birds because of our attempts to control the environment in nearly every way. The lone surviving starling nestling is labeled a Starling God of bird prophecy when he is released as a fledgling and refers to his human rescuer as ‘Mother’.
As the author progresses with the story, she delicately establishes an anthropomorphic world mainly for the purpose of storytelling, which allows the reader to experience the world from an avian perspective. This alternate yet somewhat familiar, universe, creates a framework for the story that's at once natural and human-modified to greater and lesser degrees. The birds who don't understand human technology have different more bird-centric terms for human features, human clothing and human artifacts.
The story takes place over several months most involving several species of birds and their relationships to other species, predators, the 4 seasons, forests, fields, geographic features and human activities and human degradation of the earth's natural environment. The events make the reader consider what starlings and humans have in common, both as non-native 'invasive' species.
Once you become immersed in the avian vantage point, Ms. Sousa creates an adventurous tale where there is travel, danger and encounters with multiple sub-cultures (developed in separate geographic populations) of birds based on their resource base and adaptations to their local environment. Crucial environmental and philosophical issues (including aspects of sustainability and biodiversity) are played out in the plot.
The challenges and plot twists take the reader through many experiences, from joyful to tragic, through the eyes of other species – feathered and sometimes even furred. The surprising tale is woven with deceit, treachery, some violence, a lot of curiosity, honest discussion and debate, romantic partnership, individual friendships, family relationships and social structures.The differing roles are sometimes assigned by species, like for instance, red wing blackbirds are "Watchers"(sentries providing early warning to birds in the "Sacred Space" for predators and any signs of danger) "Seekers" are like curious students. "Tellers" are usually older birds (sometimes doves) that pass down essential bird knowledge like the role of professors."Cleaners" are crows and vultures that remove dead carcasses. There are "Praisers" sometimes purple finches who kick off the mornings and close the evenings with songs of praise. and various other roles that have their own bird chosen names instead of using the terminology of everyday American English. There are power couples, female power groupies, The plot includes environmental degradation, human on human cruelty and sometimes even the milk of human kindness.
The purpose of the main character's quest is for meaning and understanding. The journey takes the young starling (and the reader) into a new, constantly changing mature realization that neither people nor any particular species are 'gods' but rather that all life on this planet, including human, has an inter-species connectedness. The story leads the ‘Starling God’ to the conclusion that each species is adapted with its own valid talents and abilities and there is folly and injustice in not realizing the interconnectedness and importance of all life forms sharing the world. He get's a lot of this new perspective from all of his observations and is corroborated by his telepathic communication with a large cetacean. Darryl Duffe
