What do you think?
Song of the Shaggy Canary
An eighteen-year-old divorcee with a baby and a young veteran hurt by the war and a broken engagement want friendship without commitment, but find themselves becoming committed to each other.
- GenresRomance
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 31, 2023
A sweet if slightly old fashioned story. I was surprised that the bulk of it is rather more about a teen mother and how she juggles her responsibilities than the prospect of a relationship or even a friendship with the aforementioned guy, so it wasn't quite what I was hoping for (especially because this is not a long book and the writing is rather spare), but the last third gets pretty swoon-worthy so still very much worth it. Also: even though it's dated, I love this cover.
And since there are so few reviews here, what the heck, let's walk through some plot. Possibly all of the plot. Watch me talk myself right into a 4th star...
While belatedly finishing her final year of high school (though we see far more of her working in the front office than in class), Sandy first crosses paths with 20-year-old John when he comes in to get a transcript to enroll in night school for his G.E.D. While showing her the course listings, one called "Sewing For Children" catches her eye. He helps her sign up for it, and when he turns out to live nearby, they soon strike up a proper friendship.
Prior to this, Sandy's life was very routine, since for some reason she got married at 16 (a "dreamy Christmas wedding") and it lasted exactly three months, until she got pregnant and her husband immediately fled (is this book accidentally or on purpose making a solid case for "maybe sometimes it ISN'T better to wait until marriage"). Now her days consist solely of school, homework, housework, and taking care of her 10-month-old son. She doesn't interact with a single high school classmate as far as I can tell, always rushing straight home to relieve her mom (who doesn't live with them) of babysitting duties.
But her world starts to expand once she introduces herself to a neighbor and works out a babysitting trade-off that allows her to attend the sewing class. In addition to spending more time with John, this ultimately also leads to her volunteering at a nursing home, where she finds a passion for helping people that may shape her post-graduation future.
That also also finally explains our title, which I've been curious about/assumed must be a metaphor since I first came across it, but is pretty literal: in looking for a way to brighten up the home, she decides to buy a canary for the common area, like her grandmother had, because of how cheerfully and constantly they sing. At the pet store, she falls in love with the unusual-looking title character and his "shaggy bangs" -- a a bit of Googling tells me she must mean a Gloster canary. She ultimately buys the residents a regular yellow canary that will presumably have more universal appeal, but...(mild spoilers ahead):
One reason the romance doesn't fully work for me is the pacing: ultra slow burn -- complete with an explicit "let's be FRIENDS and nothing more" conversation, although I will say that even when it felt platonic, I loved the sweet trip to the beach with her son in tow -- followed by time apart and then warp speed*. But if you're OK with that, the ending is very satisfying indeed.
*Some specifics about that, including the ending:
=========
Despite a review (ramble) that's now a literal thousand words long, I still don't think it's quite 4 stars to me, just because I was so consciously aware at all times how much I wanted more: more depth of feeling; more dialogue tags to get a sense of tone and expression and body language instead of just quotes with a lot of ellipses in the middle; more time to explore their friendship vs. just her alone, having a coming-of-age experience. Maybe her home life where it's just her & Chuckie would be more meaningful to me if I were a mother myself. But I'm grateful I got to read the book; ever since I learned about this author in Speaking for Ourselves, Too**, I've been excited for this one, and I'd still like to read more from her.
**ahhh, this actually kind of explains it: in that book she says, "My writing goal has been to put the pleasure of reading a novel within the grasp of everyone. This demands a writing style which respects the maturity of the reader, while simplifying the language but not the substance of the situations, relationships, or the characters. My novels are designed to span the reading gap, to be enjoyed and shared by good readers, emerging readers, and ESL students."
And since there are so few reviews here, what the heck, let's walk through some plot. Possibly all of the plot. Watch me talk myself right into a 4th star...
While belatedly finishing her final year of high school (though we see far more of her working in the front office than in class), Sandy first crosses paths with 20-year-old John when he comes in to get a transcript to enroll in night school for his G.E.D. While showing her the course listings, one called "Sewing For Children" catches her eye. He helps her sign up for it, and when he turns out to live nearby, they soon strike up a proper friendship.
Prior to this, Sandy's life was very routine, since for some reason she got married at 16 (a "dreamy Christmas wedding") and it lasted exactly three months, until she got pregnant and her husband immediately fled (is this book accidentally or on purpose making a solid case for "maybe sometimes it ISN'T better to wait until marriage"). Now her days consist solely of school, homework, housework, and taking care of her 10-month-old son. She doesn't interact with a single high school classmate as far as I can tell, always rushing straight home to relieve her mom (who doesn't live with them) of babysitting duties.
But her world starts to expand once she introduces herself to a neighbor and works out a babysitting trade-off that allows her to attend the sewing class. In addition to spending more time with John, this ultimately also leads to her volunteering at a nursing home, where she finds a passion for helping people that may shape her post-graduation future.
That also also finally explains our title, which I've been curious about/assumed must be a metaphor since I first came across it, but is pretty literal: in looking for a way to brighten up the home, she decides to buy a canary for the common area, like her grandmother had, because of how cheerfully and constantly they sing. At the pet store, she falls in love with the unusual-looking title character and his "shaggy bangs" -- a a bit of Googling tells me she must mean a Gloster canary. She ultimately buys the residents a regular yellow canary that will presumably have more universal appeal, but...(mild spoilers ahead):
One reason the romance doesn't fully work for me is the pacing: ultra slow burn -- complete with an explicit "let's be FRIENDS and nothing more" conversation, although I will say that even when it felt platonic, I loved the sweet trip to the beach with her son in tow -- followed by time apart and then warp speed*. But if you're OK with that, the ending is very satisfying indeed.
*Some specifics about that, including the ending:
=========
Despite a review (ramble) that's now a literal thousand words long, I still don't think it's quite 4 stars to me, just because I was so consciously aware at all times how much I wanted more: more depth of feeling; more dialogue tags to get a sense of tone and expression and body language instead of just quotes with a lot of ellipses in the middle; more time to explore their friendship vs. just her alone, having a coming-of-age experience. Maybe her home life where it's just her & Chuckie would be more meaningful to me if I were a mother myself. But I'm grateful I got to read the book; ever since I learned about this author in Speaking for Ourselves, Too**, I've been excited for this one, and I'd still like to read more from her.
**ahhh, this actually kind of explains it: in that book she says, "My writing goal has been to put the pleasure of reading a novel within the grasp of everyone. This demands a writing style which respects the maturity of the reader, while simplifying the language but not the substance of the situations, relationships, or the characters. My novels are designed to span the reading gap, to be enjoyed and shared by good readers, emerging readers, and ESL students."
December 11, 2024
I read this book every new school year when I was in high school I loved this book.
October 23, 2009
It was a long time ago... lol I had read a book that was in the school library by this author and then hunted down others by her in the public library.
September 2, 2014
I read this book back in high school. I checked it out from the school library several times. I remember it as a very sweet romance. I wish I could find a copy of it to buy.
November 8, 2018
C-. fiction, unmarried mother, ex-military, predictable, mom's stash, discard
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews