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The Lovebird
A 2013 Montana Book Award Honor Book
Margie Fitzgerald has a soft spot for helpless creatures; her warm heart breaks, her left ovary twinges, and she is smitten with sympathy. Under the spell of her seductive but troubled Latin professor, she joins a ragtag group of animal rights activists called Operation H.E.A.R.T., and appears to have found her mission in life. But in time Margie’s increasingly reckless and dangerous actions force her to flee her flowery California home, say goodbye to her fragile dad, and seek shelter on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. There, she will make unexpected discoveries about animals, kinship, love, and her own heart.
Margie Fitzgerald has a soft spot for helpless creatures; her warm heart breaks, her left ovary twinges, and she is smitten with sympathy. Under the spell of her seductive but troubled Latin professor, she joins a ragtag group of animal rights activists called Operation H.E.A.R.T., and appears to have found her mission in life. But in time Margie’s increasingly reckless and dangerous actions force her to flee her flowery California home, say goodbye to her fragile dad, and seek shelter on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. There, she will make unexpected discoveries about animals, kinship, love, and her own heart.
- GenresFictionContemporary
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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970 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
October 13, 2013
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the first half of this book wasn't it. It moved slow. The heroine was an awkward and not-particularly-endearing character who seemed very shallow. I slogged through the book, certain that at some point, things would get better.
Suddenly, they did. In the second half of the book, Margie, the heroine, finally came to life.
Overall, I liked the book, despite its slow start. It's a love story of sorts, but mostly a tale of a coming-of-age of a young woman as she finds her place in the world. It just isn't who and what she thought it was going to be.
Suddenly, they did. In the second half of the book, Margie, the heroine, finally came to life.
Overall, I liked the book, despite its slow start. It's a love story of sorts, but mostly a tale of a coming-of-age of a young woman as she finds her place in the world. It just isn't who and what she thought it was going to be.
March 18, 2013
This is my type of book. Some might say it's slow, but I think the writing is beautiful. Margie is a soft-hearted college freshman who falls in love with her Latin professor, Simon, and moves in with him. Under his influence, she becomes vegan and involved with his animal rights protest group.
Margie is a beautiful portrait of an impressionable, emotion-ridden girl. Her left ovary twinges when her feelings of compassion are triggered. On her first task with the operation H.E.A.R.T. (Humans Enforcing Animal Rights Today) she frees birds from a pet shop and can't stop thinking about the frail one that didn't get away.
But this is a coming-of-age tale, so Margie makes the transformation to a stronger, independent woman. This happens when she goes to hide out in Montana with a Crow Tribe (Native American) family. The Matriarch had been a protester/civil rights activist in the 60's. She's the one that tells Margie that "You're a girl as long as you allow life to happen to you. You become a woman when you start living according to your own instincts, your own intelligence, and your own desires." I almost hesitate to put this quote here because I don't want you to think that this whole book has that kind of tone; on the contrary, it has a lot of subtlety and good descriptions.
"During the days that followed such dreams, I had that limitless feeling of longing, a nameless longing, so that the smallest sight, such as grass blades barely moving in the breeze, or a lone moth on a dusty porch light, made me sick with longing, longing to swallow the whole of life in one gulp, or to be kissed with deep, secretive kisses, to be loved by someone who could see me, the dark stranger of my dream life...and I wondered why my time with Simon had not extinguished it, why it lingered. And I wished I had a mother to talk to about it."
Margie is a beautiful portrait of an impressionable, emotion-ridden girl. Her left ovary twinges when her feelings of compassion are triggered. On her first task with the operation H.E.A.R.T. (Humans Enforcing Animal Rights Today) she frees birds from a pet shop and can't stop thinking about the frail one that didn't get away.
But this is a coming-of-age tale, so Margie makes the transformation to a stronger, independent woman. This happens when she goes to hide out in Montana with a Crow Tribe (Native American) family. The Matriarch had been a protester/civil rights activist in the 60's. She's the one that tells Margie that "You're a girl as long as you allow life to happen to you. You become a woman when you start living according to your own instincts, your own intelligence, and your own desires." I almost hesitate to put this quote here because I don't want you to think that this whole book has that kind of tone; on the contrary, it has a lot of subtlety and good descriptions.
"During the days that followed such dreams, I had that limitless feeling of longing, a nameless longing, so that the smallest sight, such as grass blades barely moving in the breeze, or a lone moth on a dusty porch light, made me sick with longing, longing to swallow the whole of life in one gulp, or to be kissed with deep, secretive kisses, to be loved by someone who could see me, the dark stranger of my dream life...and I wondered why my time with Simon had not extinguished it, why it lingered. And I wished I had a mother to talk to about it."
August 26, 2017
The characters were engaging. Found myself really caring for what happened to the main character. Interesting look at driving forces behind protest actions too. But Magie's life path was interesting to follow. Sure were a lot of mother-less characters. could be a direct comment on the effects, or just more general about people looking for love....
July 28, 2013
This book should have been right up my alley, as someone whose love for animals morphed into animal welfare and then into animal rights. Unfortunately, the just didn't work for me.
On the good side, although it mentioned some of the horrible things that are routinely done to animals, it didn't go into gory detail, something that most people who care about animals beyond their pets already know about. I certainly do, and didn't want more.
A couple of the first characters introduced were a man who was suspected of letting a parakeet die due to neglect, and an animal rights activist. I liked the parakeet killer and didn't like the activist, who had some pretty slimy personal ethics. This doesn't bode well.
The protagonist, a college student, came across as silly and contrived. She had a left ovary that twinged in emotional situations, and I heard more about her ovary than I ever wanted to know. Along with that, there was too much symbolic imagery – hyacinths, red roses, buffaloes, ladybugs. It all came across as feeling just too gimmicky. The story was too predictable.
I enjoyed some of the parts about the Crow Nation, but it also felt overly romanticized to me. And while there was some romance throughout the book, it devolved into a clichéd romance that I just didn't care for.
Other people have loved this book, so apparently my opinion on this one is in the minority. If it sounds like something you would like, go for it.
I was given a copy of this book for review.
On the good side, although it mentioned some of the horrible things that are routinely done to animals, it didn't go into gory detail, something that most people who care about animals beyond their pets already know about. I certainly do, and didn't want more.
A couple of the first characters introduced were a man who was suspected of letting a parakeet die due to neglect, and an animal rights activist. I liked the parakeet killer and didn't like the activist, who had some pretty slimy personal ethics. This doesn't bode well.
The protagonist, a college student, came across as silly and contrived. She had a left ovary that twinged in emotional situations, and I heard more about her ovary than I ever wanted to know. Along with that, there was too much symbolic imagery – hyacinths, red roses, buffaloes, ladybugs. It all came across as feeling just too gimmicky. The story was too predictable.
I enjoyed some of the parts about the Crow Nation, but it also felt overly romanticized to me. And while there was some romance throughout the book, it devolved into a clichéd romance that I just didn't care for.
Other people have loved this book, so apparently my opinion on this one is in the minority. If it sounds like something you would like, go for it.
I was given a copy of this book for review.
November 5, 2013
I don't usually take the time to write reviews but this gorgeous book made quite an impression. For one thing, the prose is so beautiful, at times breathtakingly so, that I recommend reading it for that reason alone. The story is also engaging and I found myself falling in love with not just the main character, but many of the other characters, including a very free-spirited friend the protagonist makes in the first part of the book, along with many of the people she meets in the second part of the novel which takes place on an Indian reservation in Montana. I could picture everyone so clearly in my mind--a testament to the writer's skill--as well as every place depicted, every scene. The writing appeals to the senses in a way that is quite distinctive from that of other writers. I feel like this book is, in a word, BRIGHT. It's artistic. Earthy. Life affirming. It is about love and healing, among other things. If you are looking for something dark and edgy, this probably isn't to your taste, but if you like poetic, visual writing and an uplifting story with (yes) a happy ending, this could be your cup of tea.
May 5, 2014
I received this in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway and immediately loved the cover. Now we all know you can't judge a book by its cover but in the case of The Lovebird it was a good indication of what I would find between the covers. The author had me hooked with her descriptive writing and I was pulled in after the first few pages. The main character in the book falls into a relationship with her Latin teacher who then leads her into the world of animal rights activists. Her actions within the group lead her down a destructive path once her relationship with the teacher comes apart. She retreats to an Indian reservation to lay low and finds a family there who embrace and love her. The story has vivid details and I especially enjoyed all of the detailed descriptions of the reservation and traditions kept alive by the family she stayed with, Nice story and worth a read. Happy to have gotten a free copy.
October 16, 2013
Sometimes one just needs a comforting, loving read. Lovebird came along just the right moment for me. Usually flowery descriptions and romance are not of interest, but, this week, Margie's search for love, care of the earth, ability to know where she belonged, was just the right touch for me. If you need an escape from your world and want to be surrounded by characters who know how to care for one another, spend a few days with The Lovebird.
July 4, 2017
Nothing Like a Good Lovebird
Very good on animal rights philosophy, and sensible vegan views. Just the right amount of sharp plot twists. Outstanding descriptive language and dialogue. It's a very fine read.
Very good on animal rights philosophy, and sensible vegan views. Just the right amount of sharp plot twists. Outstanding descriptive language and dialogue. It's a very fine read.
December 31, 2022
3.6
Although the narrator made me want to shake her at times, in the end we saw genuine growth and resolution.
Like other readers, I found the "twitching left ovary" thing very annoying and wish the author had left that out.
Although the narrator made me want to shake her at times, in the end we saw genuine growth and resolution.
Like other readers, I found the "twitching left ovary" thing very annoying and wish the author had left that out.
March 28, 2018
This book was really hard to get through. The prose is pretty, I guess, but it is bothersome when the author
goes into a list in exactly this manner making the whole thing suddenly read very choppy;
and then the list seems to go on and on with plenty of details that you don't really need to know for no other reason than to seemingly point out that she can write a pretty prose;
and just when you think it's safe to get back into the flow of the narrative, the list continues onto the next page and you're not even remotely certain what is being described anymore.
So that was pretty annoying and it's everywhere in this book. But this book also contained one of my other pet peeves: a gimmick. Main character Margie has an overly empathetic left ovary. No joke, whenever she sees a human, animal, inanimate object that looks like it is in need of some kind of motherly affection or fixing, her left ovary twinges. Which is kind of what my eye did every single time I had to read it. A gimmick is a horrible thing to saddle a main character with. And for me it always has the opposite of the intended effect. This did not endear Margie to me. All it did was make me feel like she should have gone to her OB/GYN to see if she had an actual problem.
So the other reasons this book received only 2 stars from me:
I was really disappointed with the love affair she had with her Latin professor. In the first chapter or two, I was kind of getting this Lolita vibe (but don't worry, Margie clears everything up by saying she's 18, so it's not illegal, just morally questionable) and I was thinking that the book would go down kind of the same road, but the book went in basically no direction at all. I mean, it has a clear plot and Margie does end up figuring everything out, but it's all pretty boring. Definitely no Humbert Humbert rhetoric to spice things up.
This book is just bizarre. I know that there were themes explored to which an average person can relate: growing up without a parent and/or with a parent who isn't emotionally available. Falling for the wrong person, etc, but this book explored those concepts in a way that seemed too out there for a normal suspension of disbelief. Margie's lover, Simon, has her read all these books about animal cruelty and abuse until she becomes the animal rights activist he wants her to be. And then she gets involved with his animal rights group. This group does really stupid things like releasing pets from pet stores and breaking into fur shops to pour paint on fur coats. But things really come to a head when Margie burns down a restaurant that serves wild game. But honestly, all these things are so completely out there. And I didn't care anything about what would happen to Margie or any of her animal rights compatriots. And this portion of the book dragged on and on.
Things get a little more interesting when Margie, on the run from the government, hides with a friend's family on an Indian reservation in Montana. But Margie is still irritating and weird. The only things that saved this book from a one star rating were the secondary characters in the second half of the book and the ending, which caused happiness for one of the secondary characters.
But really, this book was bizarre and kind of boring and I spent most of my time reading it wishing that Margie had a little more personality.
goes into a list in exactly this manner making the whole thing suddenly read very choppy;
and then the list seems to go on and on with plenty of details that you don't really need to know for no other reason than to seemingly point out that she can write a pretty prose;
and just when you think it's safe to get back into the flow of the narrative, the list continues onto the next page and you're not even remotely certain what is being described anymore.
So that was pretty annoying and it's everywhere in this book. But this book also contained one of my other pet peeves: a gimmick. Main character Margie has an overly empathetic left ovary. No joke, whenever she sees a human, animal, inanimate object that looks like it is in need of some kind of motherly affection or fixing, her left ovary twinges. Which is kind of what my eye did every single time I had to read it. A gimmick is a horrible thing to saddle a main character with. And for me it always has the opposite of the intended effect. This did not endear Margie to me. All it did was make me feel like she should have gone to her OB/GYN to see if she had an actual problem.
So the other reasons this book received only 2 stars from me:
I was really disappointed with the love affair she had with her Latin professor. In the first chapter or two, I was kind of getting this Lolita vibe (but don't worry, Margie clears everything up by saying she's 18, so it's not illegal, just morally questionable) and I was thinking that the book would go down kind of the same road, but the book went in basically no direction at all. I mean, it has a clear plot and Margie does end up figuring everything out, but it's all pretty boring. Definitely no Humbert Humbert rhetoric to spice things up.
This book is just bizarre. I know that there were themes explored to which an average person can relate: growing up without a parent and/or with a parent who isn't emotionally available. Falling for the wrong person, etc, but this book explored those concepts in a way that seemed too out there for a normal suspension of disbelief. Margie's lover, Simon, has her read all these books about animal cruelty and abuse until she becomes the animal rights activist he wants her to be. And then she gets involved with his animal rights group. This group does really stupid things like releasing pets from pet stores and breaking into fur shops to pour paint on fur coats. But things really come to a head when Margie burns down a restaurant that serves wild game. But honestly, all these things are so completely out there. And I didn't care anything about what would happen to Margie or any of her animal rights compatriots. And this portion of the book dragged on and on.
Things get a little more interesting when Margie, on the run from the government, hides with a friend's family on an Indian reservation in Montana. But Margie is still irritating and weird. The only things that saved this book from a one star rating were the secondary characters in the second half of the book and the ending, which caused happiness for one of the secondary characters.
But really, this book was bizarre and kind of boring and I spent most of my time reading it wishing that Margie had a little more personality.
March 12, 2024
Beautiful prose, vivid settings, and a sense of being torn between two places. These things resonated with me, especially the love for Montana where I myself have chosen after several years of feeling as if I had two homes, or none.
I think the rest of this story might have been more compelling for me while I was still in college, the age of Margie. The animal rights acts felt shallow and poorly thought out (like a young person might do I suppose), and I don't love relationships between a teen/young adult and much older man, especially a professor with a student. But Granma is right - you stop being a girl when you stop letting life happen *to* you.
I think the rest of this story might have been more compelling for me while I was still in college, the age of Margie. The animal rights acts felt shallow and poorly thought out (like a young person might do I suppose), and I don't love relationships between a teen/young adult and much older man, especially a professor with a student. But Granma is right - you stop being a girl when you stop letting life happen *to* you.
October 9, 2020
This book is beautifully written. A young college woman falls in love and has a relationship with a much older professor of Latin who is also an animal rights activist. Margie has loved animals her whole life but it is because of her infatuation with her professor that she becomes an activist. Her lover, Simon, breaks up with her and hands her the organization founded. Her involvement leads to the FBI seeking to arrest her so she flees to Montana and lives on a Crow reservation. There she develops a true relationship with nature and the family with whom she stays.
May 8, 2021
I started to read this book, but as soon as it started it really felt a little too self-indulgent, and desperate to be interesting. This 18 year old girl sleeps with her dreamy professor within minutes of reading, and how chill he is with it all just felt un-self-aware of the author. I flipped through the book once I realized what exactly I was reading, and it did not look promising to me. I hope the author keeps writing, because she clearly can, but I think she needs to get her sea legs.
January 31, 2020
It was pretty average. The relationships were kinda meh at best. I was lost at many times and I felt that the book dragged a bit. The ending is the only reason this book got three stars. And they made such a big deal of some events in the beginning and they were glossed over. Also she made it seem like everything ended "badly"? And everything seemed fine to me maybe even happy.
June 25, 2017
Though it got off to a slow start -- which ought, in my opinion, to have been caught and remedied by editors -- I ended up really enjoying this book. Especially enjoyed the Native American part of this story. Brown is a beautiful writer and storyteller. Looking forward to more from her!!
August 14, 2018
This book was actually better than I thought...slow start
October 28, 2020
Couldn’t find much empathy for the protagonist, but the writing was beautiful.
October 31, 2020
A bit sappy and predictable, but I did enjoy reading it. Though a few times I thought I would scream if she mentioned her left ovary again, or -- worse -- mentioned being "milled" yet again.
January 7, 2025
A Christmas gift because “the synopsis reminded them of me”. Pretty slow beginning/middle, a good reminder to be in charge of your love.
December 20, 2013
I'm a smell person. I love certain aromas and I often nestle my little guys head to inhale his gorgeousness/uniqueness/kindness via his hair or cheek. This book spoke much of fragrances which appealed to me huge.
Some quotes I liked:
"I had the feeling I used to get as a girl when I fell asleep with a dish of orange blossoms beside my bed and their neroli essence seeped into my dreams -- a feeling of limitless longing." Page. 7
The part of the book where Margie's dad is taking her to the dance and stops for the corsage was one that stayed with me throughout the read and is simply beautiful. P. 16-19
Margie (main character as she checks out her deceased Mother's beauty items...
"I turned to the master bathroom and pulled out a shoebox stashed under the sink. It was full of her old beauty supplies. There were several lipsticks. Their waxy surfaces, I had noted during countless previous inspections, were still lined with the prints of her lips." P. 38
"There were a few bobby pis strewn on the bottom of the box. Because they carried no traces of her, I had no rules against using them." P. 39
~~
"Love,: he had said, "is laying your head down on the tracks while knowing full well that the train is coming, and enjoying the coolness of the metal against your neck." P.56
"...he radiated a romantic red amore essence that harmonized perfectly with his environs...In his warm rosiness and sensuousness -- which was painted all over his face, audible in his voice, traceable in his movements -- there were implicit promises of nuzzling animal love." P. 60
"And now there were only aching nights when Simon, after brushing his teeth and sliding under the sheets, lay with his back to me and I lay with y back to him, and then I began the turn and he did not follow it. He stayed still, and when I rested my fingertips against the back of his neck where his straight hair stopped and the skin was soft as a boy's, he remained where he was, and the hours passed, and we did not meet." P. 72
"He took big greedy bites of his snow cone and tipped the cup against his lips to sip the juice. It stained his lips violet, which only heightened the strength of his features. It seemed, I thought once again, that Jim must always be embellished, marked, as if the universe conspired to draw attention to his bold beauty through the accidental application of colours." P. 279
"It was almost dusk, and in the pearl light I could see, not too distant, the new strip mall where we had gone to get the supplies for Cora's legging. I had to turn away. The dusk was the same no matter where it happened, I thought. It held the secrets of all hearts and made them visible for a few minutes, held them suspended in the air like thousands of tiny beads." P. 295
"You become a woman," she had told me, "when you start living according to your own instinces, your own intelligence, and your own desires. You're a woman when you take ahold of yourself." P. 295
"..my memories of Montana made me hurt in the most exquisite possible way, the way memories of certain sights, sounds, smells, and smiles do. You know. They make an invisible kind of beauty inside of you." P. 317
As a lover of Montana, I enjoyed this book; especially the descriptive parts of the landscape and the vast, vacant beauty of this State.
Some quotes I liked:
"I had the feeling I used to get as a girl when I fell asleep with a dish of orange blossoms beside my bed and their neroli essence seeped into my dreams -- a feeling of limitless longing." Page. 7
The part of the book where Margie's dad is taking her to the dance and stops for the corsage was one that stayed with me throughout the read and is simply beautiful. P. 16-19
Margie (main character as she checks out her deceased Mother's beauty items...
"I turned to the master bathroom and pulled out a shoebox stashed under the sink. It was full of her old beauty supplies. There were several lipsticks. Their waxy surfaces, I had noted during countless previous inspections, were still lined with the prints of her lips." P. 38
"There were a few bobby pis strewn on the bottom of the box. Because they carried no traces of her, I had no rules against using them." P. 39
~~
"Love,: he had said, "is laying your head down on the tracks while knowing full well that the train is coming, and enjoying the coolness of the metal against your neck." P.56
"...he radiated a romantic red amore essence that harmonized perfectly with his environs...In his warm rosiness and sensuousness -- which was painted all over his face, audible in his voice, traceable in his movements -- there were implicit promises of nuzzling animal love." P. 60
"And now there were only aching nights when Simon, after brushing his teeth and sliding under the sheets, lay with his back to me and I lay with y back to him, and then I began the turn and he did not follow it. He stayed still, and when I rested my fingertips against the back of his neck where his straight hair stopped and the skin was soft as a boy's, he remained where he was, and the hours passed, and we did not meet." P. 72
"He took big greedy bites of his snow cone and tipped the cup against his lips to sip the juice. It stained his lips violet, which only heightened the strength of his features. It seemed, I thought once again, that Jim must always be embellished, marked, as if the universe conspired to draw attention to his bold beauty through the accidental application of colours." P. 279
"It was almost dusk, and in the pearl light I could see, not too distant, the new strip mall where we had gone to get the supplies for Cora's legging. I had to turn away. The dusk was the same no matter where it happened, I thought. It held the secrets of all hearts and made them visible for a few minutes, held them suspended in the air like thousands of tiny beads." P. 295
"You become a woman," she had told me, "when you start living according to your own instinces, your own intelligence, and your own desires. You're a woman when you take ahold of yourself." P. 295
"..my memories of Montana made me hurt in the most exquisite possible way, the way memories of certain sights, sounds, smells, and smiles do. You know. They make an invisible kind of beauty inside of you." P. 317
As a lover of Montana, I enjoyed this book; especially the descriptive parts of the landscape and the vast, vacant beauty of this State.
June 4, 2013
Margie Fitzgerald is a waif-like young woman attending college in the San Diego area. She falls for Simon, her Latin professor, and they quickly become lovers. Simon is head of an organization called H.E.A.R.T. (Humans Enforcing Animal Rights Today). The organization takes on causes and activities that impact the rights of animals, especially those in captivity. An example is freeing all the birds in a pet store or organizing rallies to combat the cruelty that goes into raising meat for human consumption. Margie is quickly swayed into Simon's way of thinking and becomes a member of H.E.A.R.T.
Most all the members of H.E.A.R.T. have animal names. There is Orca, Bumble, Bear, Ptarmigan, and Raven. Only Simon and Margie keep their given names. There comes a point when Simon decides he no longer wants to be with Margie and, at the same time, passes the leadership of the organization on to her. Margie is heartbroken about the break-up and, as with most things that cause her stress or arouse her, her left ovary 'flames'. Simon believes that leading H.E.A.R.T. will give Margie a purpose and minimize the pain of their break-up.
As leader of the organization, Margie decides to undertake an activity that comes to the attention of the FBI. There is an undercover agent in their group who videotapes Margie's incendiary speech and puts her under arrest. Bumble posts bail and suggests that Margie get out of town and hide out rather than show up for her sentencing. He is part Crow Indian and has a relative on a reservation in Montana. He takes Margie there and she is taken in by Bumble's family.
Margie stays with Granma, Cora, and Jim for a lengthy time and learns about the native ways of living, especially from Granma. There is a lot of information about the Native American belief system - connection of humans with the earth and the connectivity of all things. Native American traditions, spirituality, and communication are correctly portrayed. Margie wonders how long she'll have to be on the lam and is torn between her new life in Montana and her continued longing for Simon.
Margie's mother, Rasha, died in childbirth and Margie often thinks about her. Rasha was a perfume developer and Margie's sense of smell is beautifully portrayed in this novel. Margie calls to her mother in different ways, always with a sense of hope and wistful desire. Margie's father, who brought her up, is a passive drunk who was emotionally distant from Margie throughout her childhood.
The novel is very interesting and a quick read. Margie's lack of self-confidence, aloneness, and susceptibility to the beliefs of others is a main theme throughout. The reader cares about Margie and shares her journey as she develops and becomes her own person. I believe that this is a book that will appeal primarily to women because of its focus on Margie, her 'flaming' left ovary, and the relationship between Margie and Granma. There is romance, spirituality, and suspense throughout and I recommend this book to those who are concerned about animal rights, Native American beliefs, and like a good romance story.
Most all the members of H.E.A.R.T. have animal names. There is Orca, Bumble, Bear, Ptarmigan, and Raven. Only Simon and Margie keep their given names. There comes a point when Simon decides he no longer wants to be with Margie and, at the same time, passes the leadership of the organization on to her. Margie is heartbroken about the break-up and, as with most things that cause her stress or arouse her, her left ovary 'flames'. Simon believes that leading H.E.A.R.T. will give Margie a purpose and minimize the pain of their break-up.
As leader of the organization, Margie decides to undertake an activity that comes to the attention of the FBI. There is an undercover agent in their group who videotapes Margie's incendiary speech and puts her under arrest. Bumble posts bail and suggests that Margie get out of town and hide out rather than show up for her sentencing. He is part Crow Indian and has a relative on a reservation in Montana. He takes Margie there and she is taken in by Bumble's family.
Margie stays with Granma, Cora, and Jim for a lengthy time and learns about the native ways of living, especially from Granma. There is a lot of information about the Native American belief system - connection of humans with the earth and the connectivity of all things. Native American traditions, spirituality, and communication are correctly portrayed. Margie wonders how long she'll have to be on the lam and is torn between her new life in Montana and her continued longing for Simon.
Margie's mother, Rasha, died in childbirth and Margie often thinks about her. Rasha was a perfume developer and Margie's sense of smell is beautifully portrayed in this novel. Margie calls to her mother in different ways, always with a sense of hope and wistful desire. Margie's father, who brought her up, is a passive drunk who was emotionally distant from Margie throughout her childhood.
The novel is very interesting and a quick read. Margie's lack of self-confidence, aloneness, and susceptibility to the beliefs of others is a main theme throughout. The reader cares about Margie and shares her journey as she develops and becomes her own person. I believe that this is a book that will appeal primarily to women because of its focus on Margie, her 'flaming' left ovary, and the relationship between Margie and Granma. There is romance, spirituality, and suspense throughout and I recommend this book to those who are concerned about animal rights, Native American beliefs, and like a good romance story.
May 23, 2013
{Excerpt from my personal book review blog}
"For starters, the writing itself is both incredible and exasperating. There's an amazing mastery of adjectives - someone must have a significantly powered inner thesaurus, Natalie Brown! - and a clever and whimsical use of alliteration in places that I really enjoyed. However, this also lead to storyline bottlenecks in places, where it became so hard to simply breathe in the words themselves - got so choked up in descriptions and repetitive descriptions, etc. - that I had to set the book down and practically air out my head. Love, love, love the vivid and flowery descriptions in some places... not so effective in others.
Speaking of flowery descriptions, I really have to emphasize that parts of this book are magical. The heroine, herself, I can't really like that much, but the way she speaks and thinks is lovely. I could almost see why our Woody Allen-ish beginning love interest could find her to be so "winsome" and "precious" (like I said, Woody Allen). I mean, almost. She actually was a terrific whiner and oblivious and seriously morally ambiguous and just... awkward, even though I hate that word. But her words were just gorgeous, a whole lot of the time.
I don't know how much I can fault for personality, however, because she was just a romantic. Living la vie boheme, she was running around falling in love with much older men, interjecting Latin phrases everywhere, obnoxiously vegan, and in love with everything floral... it was only appropriate that it spilled into her language. At other parts, however, she filled the role of a snobby hipster to its brim, while others, she was Zooey Deschanel in a Lolita role. Simultaneously perfectly sweet nearing on saccharine, as well as utterly lost and shake-my-head naive. I had trouble with her. And she has a weird thing for older guys with kids, even though she's not yet out of college.
The main interest it held for me, surfaced when she was forced to flee, leave her home and friends behind, and live on a Crow reservation in Montana. Probably because I basically live next door to the Puyallup reservation, and nearly every time there are Native Americans depicted in popular literature, it is either unrealistic, cliched, or overly romanticized. I still think that this particular depiction was over-romanticized (even though our heroine will claim again and again that it's not), but it's better than most offenders.
In total, the entire book was way too hipster-vegan-Woody Allen- romance - indie- weird. And I am having trouble, in retrospect, figuring out whether I actually liked it or not. I guess, for that, I'll rate it in the middle of the scale: a 2.5, for Margie. But because I'm so short on time, I really can't elaborate more than that."
"For starters, the writing itself is both incredible and exasperating. There's an amazing mastery of adjectives - someone must have a significantly powered inner thesaurus, Natalie Brown! - and a clever and whimsical use of alliteration in places that I really enjoyed. However, this also lead to storyline bottlenecks in places, where it became so hard to simply breathe in the words themselves - got so choked up in descriptions and repetitive descriptions, etc. - that I had to set the book down and practically air out my head. Love, love, love the vivid and flowery descriptions in some places... not so effective in others.
Speaking of flowery descriptions, I really have to emphasize that parts of this book are magical. The heroine, herself, I can't really like that much, but the way she speaks and thinks is lovely. I could almost see why our Woody Allen-ish beginning love interest could find her to be so "winsome" and "precious" (like I said, Woody Allen). I mean, almost. She actually was a terrific whiner and oblivious and seriously morally ambiguous and just... awkward, even though I hate that word. But her words were just gorgeous, a whole lot of the time.
I don't know how much I can fault for personality, however, because she was just a romantic. Living la vie boheme, she was running around falling in love with much older men, interjecting Latin phrases everywhere, obnoxiously vegan, and in love with everything floral... it was only appropriate that it spilled into her language. At other parts, however, she filled the role of a snobby hipster to its brim, while others, she was Zooey Deschanel in a Lolita role. Simultaneously perfectly sweet nearing on saccharine, as well as utterly lost and shake-my-head naive. I had trouble with her. And she has a weird thing for older guys with kids, even though she's not yet out of college.
The main interest it held for me, surfaced when she was forced to flee, leave her home and friends behind, and live on a Crow reservation in Montana. Probably because I basically live next door to the Puyallup reservation, and nearly every time there are Native Americans depicted in popular literature, it is either unrealistic, cliched, or overly romanticized. I still think that this particular depiction was over-romanticized (even though our heroine will claim again and again that it's not), but it's better than most offenders.
In total, the entire book was way too hipster-vegan-Woody Allen- romance - indie- weird. And I am having trouble, in retrospect, figuring out whether I actually liked it or not. I guess, for that, I'll rate it in the middle of the scale: a 2.5, for Margie. But because I'm so short on time, I really can't elaborate more than that."
July 10, 2013
This review and others can be found on Cozy Up With A Good Read
I remember reading the synopsis of this when I first requested it off Netgalley, but to be honest by the time I got around to reading it I forgot what it was about... I knew I liked the colours of the cover and I knew there was something interesting about it or why would I have requested it, right? Well it definitely was a cute book, but at times I felt that I was reading two different stories (both were interesting, but there needed to be something more to connect them).
The first half of the book focuses on Margie while in college and on her romance with her Latin professor. Throughout the book, I really sympathized with Margie, she is lonely and a very homey kind of girl that is always on the outside, until her Latin professor brings her to the inside of something, and that changes her life. When Margie finally finds her place it all becomes so much, she changes everything because of this love she has for her professor, she becomes vegan and becomes heavily involved in this group of animal activists. When the relationship falls apart, you really see how this person affected Margie and slowly everything around her starts to unravel and she gets herself in trouble. From here, we come to the next part of the book where Maggie must flee to the most secluded place ever... Crow country, a native reserve.
I really felt that the first half and the second half were almost two different books, Margie is a completely different character in each section. I do understand that the setting really changes her, and helps her learn about herself and what she needs to do to change. I really loved the characters during this part of the book, they help Margie learn so much about her life and they become family to her. This time alone gives Margie the chance to reminisce of her past and realize her mistakes.
The one thing about this book that I didn't realize until it was mentioned was when this was all taking place. Something about the beginning made me feel that this was a book that took place more in the past, something like the 70's or 80's... but it actually all takes place in present time. It's great to read a book about someone who becomes so passionate about a cause that it really takes over their life, and seeing how it effects not only them but the people they spend time with too.
In the end, I did enjoy myself with this story. It was great to see Margie learn that to grow up she needs to choose her own path instead of letting other choose it for her. Margie is a character that really grows up over time and learns where home really is for her. Though I felt that there were two different stories, I still enjoyed Margie's story.
I remember reading the synopsis of this when I first requested it off Netgalley, but to be honest by the time I got around to reading it I forgot what it was about... I knew I liked the colours of the cover and I knew there was something interesting about it or why would I have requested it, right? Well it definitely was a cute book, but at times I felt that I was reading two different stories (both were interesting, but there needed to be something more to connect them).
The first half of the book focuses on Margie while in college and on her romance with her Latin professor. Throughout the book, I really sympathized with Margie, she is lonely and a very homey kind of girl that is always on the outside, until her Latin professor brings her to the inside of something, and that changes her life. When Margie finally finds her place it all becomes so much, she changes everything because of this love she has for her professor, she becomes vegan and becomes heavily involved in this group of animal activists. When the relationship falls apart, you really see how this person affected Margie and slowly everything around her starts to unravel and she gets herself in trouble. From here, we come to the next part of the book where Maggie must flee to the most secluded place ever... Crow country, a native reserve.
I really felt that the first half and the second half were almost two different books, Margie is a completely different character in each section. I do understand that the setting really changes her, and helps her learn about herself and what she needs to do to change. I really loved the characters during this part of the book, they help Margie learn so much about her life and they become family to her. This time alone gives Margie the chance to reminisce of her past and realize her mistakes.
The one thing about this book that I didn't realize until it was mentioned was when this was all taking place. Something about the beginning made me feel that this was a book that took place more in the past, something like the 70's or 80's... but it actually all takes place in present time. It's great to read a book about someone who becomes so passionate about a cause that it really takes over their life, and seeing how it effects not only them but the people they spend time with too.
In the end, I did enjoy myself with this story. It was great to see Margie learn that to grow up she needs to choose her own path instead of letting other choose it for her. Margie is a character that really grows up over time and learns where home really is for her. Though I felt that there were two different stories, I still enjoyed Margie's story.
January 24, 2013
I absolutely adored this novel. It was fun and full of emotion, really a deliciously colorful and sensual read. Exciting new writer!
I fell in love with the quirky, very endearing main character, Margie, and her slightly idiosyncratic voice, which is by turns playful and poignant. She has the voice of a very bookish, sensitive and, in some ways, precocious young woman who has a somewhat antique sensibility.
The novel's language is lush and full of vivid imagery, particularly with regard to the natural world. The other characters are carefully and lovingly drawn. You can really feel the love embedded in the book. The story itself is so nuanced, and I think the author did a beautiful job of using her plot to explore several rich themes--motherlessness, romantic love, home, family, animal rights, the ongoing relevancy of American Indian traditions, and the struggle to connect to the earth in a time when it seems we are increasingly separated from it, which is a very timely theme. I think there is a lot more going on in this book than some readers might perceive at first glance. It's definitely not your run-of-the-mill coming of age story or even love story; I don't think it is meant to be exclusively either of those things.
In a sense, the book is divided into two worlds: the world of "Book One," which is set in Southern California, and the world of "Book Two," which is set on the Crow Indian reservation in Montana. I'd say that each of these two parts has its own tone, but the author did an incredibly graceful and thoughtful job of weaving together threads from both worlds to create a united whole---to answer the questions and resolve the problems raised in the first half of the novel in the second half. There are lots of symbols and motifs (totems?) in the book, one of which is an oyster shell, with its two distinct halves joined together. The book is like that, in a way. I think if you make the trip with Margie, the protagonist, from the world of book one to the world of book two, you won't be disappointed.
I have had a few friends who, like the book's main character, were animal rights activists, so the situations in which she finds herself did not strike me as far fetched at all. There was one pretty prominent animal rights activist a few years back named Rodney Coronado who actually did hide from law enforcement on an Indian reservation for quite a while; I wonder if the author took some inspiration from his story when she created this fictional one. But, really, the animal rights aspect of the book is not, in my opinion, the biggest or most significant aspect. It is a means to explore so much more.
Highly recommend!
I fell in love with the quirky, very endearing main character, Margie, and her slightly idiosyncratic voice, which is by turns playful and poignant. She has the voice of a very bookish, sensitive and, in some ways, precocious young woman who has a somewhat antique sensibility.
The novel's language is lush and full of vivid imagery, particularly with regard to the natural world. The other characters are carefully and lovingly drawn. You can really feel the love embedded in the book. The story itself is so nuanced, and I think the author did a beautiful job of using her plot to explore several rich themes--motherlessness, romantic love, home, family, animal rights, the ongoing relevancy of American Indian traditions, and the struggle to connect to the earth in a time when it seems we are increasingly separated from it, which is a very timely theme. I think there is a lot more going on in this book than some readers might perceive at first glance. It's definitely not your run-of-the-mill coming of age story or even love story; I don't think it is meant to be exclusively either of those things.
In a sense, the book is divided into two worlds: the world of "Book One," which is set in Southern California, and the world of "Book Two," which is set on the Crow Indian reservation in Montana. I'd say that each of these two parts has its own tone, but the author did an incredibly graceful and thoughtful job of weaving together threads from both worlds to create a united whole---to answer the questions and resolve the problems raised in the first half of the novel in the second half. There are lots of symbols and motifs (totems?) in the book, one of which is an oyster shell, with its two distinct halves joined together. The book is like that, in a way. I think if you make the trip with Margie, the protagonist, from the world of book one to the world of book two, you won't be disappointed.
I have had a few friends who, like the book's main character, were animal rights activists, so the situations in which she finds herself did not strike me as far fetched at all. There was one pretty prominent animal rights activist a few years back named Rodney Coronado who actually did hide from law enforcement on an Indian reservation for quite a while; I wonder if the author took some inspiration from his story when she created this fictional one. But, really, the animal rights aspect of the book is not, in my opinion, the biggest or most significant aspect. It is a means to explore so much more.
Highly recommend!
August 17, 2013
I was less than impressed with this book. I almost didn't finish it as the first third to half was tedious. But, I wanted to attempted enough of it to have given it a fair chance. Luckily, it picks up near the middle.
However... The characters do not draw you in. Even the main character is nothing more than a stereotype, producing a cast of characters flatter than those in Dickens. I could find no sympathy in the main character. The only emotion she invoked was the desire to take her by the shoulders and shake some common sense and perhaps a spine into her.
It is clear that this was Brown's first novel. The premise was strong but the author was not able to live up to it. The blatant attempts at symbolism managed to be overhearing and obtuse at the same time. This was especially apparent with Brown's use of the color red. She clearly meant it as a symbol but never made any attempt to denote what it was a symbol of. There was no careful suggestion of the color red; when it was used, it was also excessively clear the author had a large flashing neon arrow denoting "it's RED! Look, the character is wearing RED!". Few things are less enjoyable in a book than being beat over the head with something without explanation.
According to the bio on the book, Brown's background is in Native American Studies. The aspects of the books that related to the Crow tribe were the strongest. Brown should stick to what she knows and not try to incorporate other cultures if she doesn't have a knowledge base.
If you feel the need to read it, take my advice and skim (if not skip) the first 140 pages. The novel is much better if you cut out the first 'book'. Also, feel no need to pay attention to chapter 'titles'- it bears no discernible meaning.
But, if you want to read Native American literature my recommendation is to stick with Louise Erdrich. The Lovebird isn't even the poor man's version of Erdrich; it is more like the destitute man's leftovers version of Erdrich.
However... The characters do not draw you in. Even the main character is nothing more than a stereotype, producing a cast of characters flatter than those in Dickens. I could find no sympathy in the main character. The only emotion she invoked was the desire to take her by the shoulders and shake some common sense and perhaps a spine into her.
It is clear that this was Brown's first novel. The premise was strong but the author was not able to live up to it. The blatant attempts at symbolism managed to be overhearing and obtuse at the same time. This was especially apparent with Brown's use of the color red. She clearly meant it as a symbol but never made any attempt to denote what it was a symbol of. There was no careful suggestion of the color red; when it was used, it was also excessively clear the author had a large flashing neon arrow denoting "it's RED! Look, the character is wearing RED!". Few things are less enjoyable in a book than being beat over the head with something without explanation.
According to the bio on the book, Brown's background is in Native American Studies. The aspects of the books that related to the Crow tribe were the strongest. Brown should stick to what she knows and not try to incorporate other cultures if she doesn't have a knowledge base.
If you feel the need to read it, take my advice and skim (if not skip) the first 140 pages. The novel is much better if you cut out the first 'book'. Also, feel no need to pay attention to chapter 'titles'- it bears no discernible meaning.
But, if you want to read Native American literature my recommendation is to stick with Louise Erdrich. The Lovebird isn't even the poor man's version of Erdrich; it is more like the destitute man's leftovers version of Erdrich.
May 26, 2015
From time to time I can be a shallow reader and decide to read books because of the cover alone – which is exactly what I did in this case. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from this gorgeous cover, and so I picked up the book and began reading, knowing exactly nothing about what I’d find within the pages.
Imagine my happy surprise upon learning how wonderful The Lovebird is! Admittedly, the beginning is a bit slow and Margie makes a lot of incredibly stupid choices that have enormously bad repercussions – sleeping with her professor only the first in a long list. What bothered me the most about her relationship with her professor was not the relationship itself, but it was that he had a young daughter, a girl who’d already lost her mother, and this girl was now getting emotionally attached to Margie, only to see her father’s relationship with Margie eventually come to its inevitable end – it was just sad! Don’t bring kids into something like that, people!
Anyway, that’s really only a small part in a story about Margie’s growth as a person and as a woman in a scary and confusing time in her life. She literally has to run from the law, and hide from the authorities in a remote Native American reservation, living among complete strangers, some of whom really, really don’t want her there. She’s a shy and quiet person who has gone through life latching onto people and causes and matching her own personality to those around her – and now, in this isolated town, she must find a way to become herself, to figure out what kind of person she wants to be in the world and work toward becoming that person.
The Lovebird is kind of a love story, but it’s more a coming-of-age story, and within its pages are sordid relationships, violence, animal activism, deep sadness but true reawakening of people’s spirits. This is a quiet novel but don’t let that scare you – there’s real depth of emotion here, real people figuring out life, as messy as that can be. And it’s very beautifully written. I really enjoyed it.
Imagine my happy surprise upon learning how wonderful The Lovebird is! Admittedly, the beginning is a bit slow and Margie makes a lot of incredibly stupid choices that have enormously bad repercussions – sleeping with her professor only the first in a long list. What bothered me the most about her relationship with her professor was not the relationship itself, but it was that he had a young daughter, a girl who’d already lost her mother, and this girl was now getting emotionally attached to Margie, only to see her father’s relationship with Margie eventually come to its inevitable end – it was just sad! Don’t bring kids into something like that, people!
Anyway, that’s really only a small part in a story about Margie’s growth as a person and as a woman in a scary and confusing time in her life. She literally has to run from the law, and hide from the authorities in a remote Native American reservation, living among complete strangers, some of whom really, really don’t want her there. She’s a shy and quiet person who has gone through life latching onto people and causes and matching her own personality to those around her – and now, in this isolated town, she must find a way to become herself, to figure out what kind of person she wants to be in the world and work toward becoming that person.
The Lovebird is kind of a love story, but it’s more a coming-of-age story, and within its pages are sordid relationships, violence, animal activism, deep sadness but true reawakening of people’s spirits. This is a quiet novel but don’t let that scare you – there’s real depth of emotion here, real people figuring out life, as messy as that can be. And it’s very beautifully written. I really enjoyed it.
May 9, 2013
I received this book as a Good Reads' giveaway.
Margie Fitzgerald feels herself orphaned after her mother dies during her birth and her father deals with his depression by drinking. This sense of personal loss gives her a sensitivity to all things vulnerable and aching. That's what leads Margie to a spot on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list for domestic terrorism after the animal rights group she leads burns down a restaurant and is caught teaching potential recruits how to make an incendiary device.
Fleeing the charges, Margie ends up hiding out in a world completely different from the one she knew. Or could it be, upon closer inspection, the home she has been searching for all her life?
Brown's novel, The Lovebird, was a fun read. Just as Margie felt compelled to care for the animals and other "helpless" beings she encounters in life, I was compelled to care for each of the characters in this lovely novel. Having been raised on the prairie of the Midwest, I confess that the second half of the novel--set in Montanna--is the part of the book which resonated most with my soul. During my college years (which were spent within short drives of several different tribal reservations) I had the opportunity to take a course in Native American spirituality/religion. Brown's account of the Crow people and their ways/beliefs made my own left ovary twinge for the losses and attrocities suffered by this country's first nations/native peoples.
I really enjoyed the way the novel wraps up as well. At 47, I wanted the soon-to-be-20-year-old Margie to wake up to what Granma and I both knew must be the truth of her life. I'm so glad she did!
Margie Fitzgerald feels herself orphaned after her mother dies during her birth and her father deals with his depression by drinking. This sense of personal loss gives her a sensitivity to all things vulnerable and aching. That's what leads Margie to a spot on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list for domestic terrorism after the animal rights group she leads burns down a restaurant and is caught teaching potential recruits how to make an incendiary device.
Fleeing the charges, Margie ends up hiding out in a world completely different from the one she knew. Or could it be, upon closer inspection, the home she has been searching for all her life?
Brown's novel, The Lovebird, was a fun read. Just as Margie felt compelled to care for the animals and other "helpless" beings she encounters in life, I was compelled to care for each of the characters in this lovely novel. Having been raised on the prairie of the Midwest, I confess that the second half of the novel--set in Montanna--is the part of the book which resonated most with my soul. During my college years (which were spent within short drives of several different tribal reservations) I had the opportunity to take a course in Native American spirituality/religion. Brown's account of the Crow people and their ways/beliefs made my own left ovary twinge for the losses and attrocities suffered by this country's first nations/native peoples.
I really enjoyed the way the novel wraps up as well. At 47, I wanted the soon-to-be-20-year-old Margie to wake up to what Granma and I both knew must be the truth of her life. I'm so glad she did!
May 6, 2013
The Lovebird by Natalie Brown
Like how each chapter starts out with a Latin phrase with English translation under it. The reason why I selected this
book to read was the cover, it's so pretty and peaceful and that it's about a Latin professor. I remember my brother had
a book of Latin and I remember when I was able to read with my new glasses I would look through the book and found it fascinating.
Book starts out with Latin professor Simon Melinkoff at a university in San Diego and she, Margie Fitzgerald tries to get his attention by sitting in the front row of his class.
She's got a crush on him and tries to learn all about his life. We are told of her life, where her father raised her. Simon enriches her life on being green and not harming animals
or eating meats. She joins him and others in doing deeds and protests to help free the animals from harm.
He's in his 50's and has a young daughter, Annette. Margie is not sure if his wife died or just up and walked away from everything. He has his own secrets and she has hers.
When she's put in charge of the group she runs an info session to recruit more and things get out of hand. Things prior to that get the authorities onto her trail. She must leave the area...
The traditions of others that she is sent to are very informative and interesting. They sustain themselves on what they grow...
Descriptions of the fair are phenomenal! Love Indian time!
Love all the different relationships in this book and how they interact with one another.
I received this book from Edelweiss by Random House in exchange for my honest review.
Like how each chapter starts out with a Latin phrase with English translation under it. The reason why I selected this
book to read was the cover, it's so pretty and peaceful and that it's about a Latin professor. I remember my brother had
a book of Latin and I remember when I was able to read with my new glasses I would look through the book and found it fascinating.
Book starts out with Latin professor Simon Melinkoff at a university in San Diego and she, Margie Fitzgerald tries to get his attention by sitting in the front row of his class.
She's got a crush on him and tries to learn all about his life. We are told of her life, where her father raised her. Simon enriches her life on being green and not harming animals
or eating meats. She joins him and others in doing deeds and protests to help free the animals from harm.
He's in his 50's and has a young daughter, Annette. Margie is not sure if his wife died or just up and walked away from everything. He has his own secrets and she has hers.
When she's put in charge of the group she runs an info session to recruit more and things get out of hand. Things prior to that get the authorities onto her trail. She must leave the area...
The traditions of others that she is sent to are very informative and interesting. They sustain themselves on what they grow...
Descriptions of the fair are phenomenal! Love Indian time!
Love all the different relationships in this book and how they interact with one another.
I received this book from Edelweiss by Random House in exchange for my honest review.
June 5, 2013
In vibrant, colorful language that leaps off the page, Brown paints her winsome heroine’s coming-of-age with compassion and affection in this lush, compelling tale. –Booklist
The Lovebird is a compassionate and inviting novel about loneliness and heartbreak, finding a place to belong, and what we will do to protect the things we love. Brown evokes great emotion with her small and perfect details. The image of the lovebird—confused and lost—touched me to the core, and stayed with me long after I shut the book. —Jennifer Close, bestselling author of Girls in White Dresses
Natalie Brown has written a sly and quietly funny novel of a young woman’s coming of age. Her unusual heroine, Margie Fitzgerald, is a passionate innocent, a dreamer blessed with loopy confidence, charming directness, and a very American logic all her own. —Honor Moore, author of The Bishop’s Daughter
The Lovebird asks us what it means to love, to belong, to believe. It's a book about new vision, second chances, and one young woman's desire to find her place among her human--and animal--kin. —Kim Barnes, author of In the Kingdom of Men
The Lovebird is a compassionate and inviting novel about loneliness and heartbreak, finding a place to belong, and what we will do to protect the things we love. Brown evokes great emotion with her small and perfect details. The image of the lovebird—confused and lost—touched me to the core, and stayed with me long after I shut the book. —Jennifer Close, bestselling author of Girls in White Dresses
Natalie Brown has written a sly and quietly funny novel of a young woman’s coming of age. Her unusual heroine, Margie Fitzgerald, is a passionate innocent, a dreamer blessed with loopy confidence, charming directness, and a very American logic all her own. —Honor Moore, author of The Bishop’s Daughter
The Lovebird asks us what it means to love, to belong, to believe. It's a book about new vision, second chances, and one young woman's desire to find her place among her human--and animal--kin. —Kim Barnes, author of In the Kingdom of Men
May 15, 2014
When I first started the Lovebird, I will admit that I was bored. I read about 30 pages and then put it away for a while. In the beginning, the book seemed to be about another student/professor affair but this book was about much more than that.
Margie is a young college student in San Diego, who, it seems, has led a very lonely existence. After losing her mother during her own birth and having an alcoholic father, she arrives in San Diego as alone as ever and is taken in by her Latin professor, Simon. He sees her loneliness and her fragility and gives her a home, a purpose, and himself. The purpose he gives her is as an animal rights activist and when Margie loses Simon, she takes the activism a bit too far.
Some of the other reviews mention that they liked the first half of the book the most but I found the opposite to be true. In the second half of the book, Margie goes to Montana to escape the FBI. She is taken to the Crow reservation where she lives with an old woman, her son Jim, and Jim's daughter Cora. It is on the reservation that Margie learns who she is and finds what she's been looking for.
Margie is a young college student in San Diego, who, it seems, has led a very lonely existence. After losing her mother during her own birth and having an alcoholic father, she arrives in San Diego as alone as ever and is taken in by her Latin professor, Simon. He sees her loneliness and her fragility and gives her a home, a purpose, and himself. The purpose he gives her is as an animal rights activist and when Margie loses Simon, she takes the activism a bit too far.
Some of the other reviews mention that they liked the first half of the book the most but I found the opposite to be true. In the second half of the book, Margie goes to Montana to escape the FBI. She is taken to the Crow reservation where she lives with an old woman, her son Jim, and Jim's daughter Cora. It is on the reservation that Margie learns who she is and finds what she's been looking for.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews