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The Vanished Birds
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"The Vanished Birds" Discuss Everything *Spoilers*
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So I know "jaunt" was a thing from The Stars My Destination -- I was curious, is it referenced anywhere else in this way or is this novel a direct nod to that work?This book reminded me in some ways of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in that it featured life on a small spacecraft and the crew dynamics, but for some reason it worked better for me in the Becky Chambers. Here I felt like this meandered too much and often I felt almost like I was just wasting time reading various space blogs so it didn't work so much for me. The initial romance between Nia and Kaeda I liked as that was an interesting concept, to have time moving differently for one partner than the other. But then the romance between Fumiko and Dana felt much more like a conventional love story with some sci-fi in the background, but that story could easily be transposed onto a modern day setting where someone is set to travel somewhere for work and the two decide not to do a long distance relationship. I felt like that went on for too long and wasn't that compelling to me. I felt similarly about other episodes (like say when they have the dinner with the man from the musical planet). I guess this was just too slow moving without enough payoff for me.
It's possible I just have less patience for slow burn type reads right now.
Let's see if I can get my feelings about this book together. Disclaimer: it is the best SF book (aside from the master's "The Doors to Eden" - which just can't be beaten) I've read this year. Not because it is perfect, cause there are parts that certainly could have used improvement, but because it is ... well ... perfect ... on an imperfect level. It spoke so deeply to me and moved me so much that I will sound quite chaotic here, I'm sure of that.
I mean, this is a debut novel ... a damn debut novel! This prose, this command of language! How good is this author going to be with future works?
To keep me somehow in line I'm trying to go with Allison's questions
1. What did you think of the concept and how the author used it?
I loved the way Jimenez structured his narration. The start had such a "Snow Queen" vibe with an apparently non-spacefaring, agricultural society awaiting the recurrent appearance of the spacefaring 'masters', a feudal society on a global scale. There already was a deep melancholy imbedded in this short story that set the mood for the rest of the book. The flute as link was a lovely idea.
In the second part I feared that the boy would turn out to be the son of the star crossed lovers from the first chapter and I was very relieved that he wasn't (would have been too cheap). Here as well I admired the distanced tone the author used to describe the relationship.
With the third chapter I had the same feeling Christopher had. At first I was happy that the festivities on the station turned the narration wheels back to the beginnings (well ... who knows me knows what a sucker for narrative time jumps I am), but when the conventional love story began I felt let down (aside from my pet peeve, that women most of the time apparently can't be best buddies but always seem to have to get romantically involved). In hindsight it was okayish, it explained the emotional imbalance and unhealthy obsession of Nakajima later on.
The following space opera part was the weakest for me, but still entertaining and I loved the different voices of the crew, which added depth to story and characters. I especially was fond of Sartorus' POV, he brought a humorous self-deprecation to the story.
What totally worked here was that this part, that felt rather conventional, managed to lull me into a false security regarding the going ons, so that I was hit so hard when the brutality started. Literally my hand were shaking and I was on the edge of my seat for the rest of the book.
That said the structure I - mood setting; II - character development; III - tearing everything apart - was rather successful
2. What did you think of the separate but overlapping storylines?
I'm all for this kind of structure, as mentioned above. I love it when I get different sides of an object that otherwise would have been illuminated from one direction only.
But I admit that I'm not sure I got everything from Nakajima's storyline. I'm re-listening the middle part at the moment to make sure I didn't miss some vital parts.
3. What worked or didn't for you?
Well ... everything? ... I'd say in hindsight everything worked for me. The only point would be the brutal takeover of Nakajima's station, where I have to re-listen as mentioned above. It came out of the blue for me.
4. What do you think the message or overarching theme of this book was?
For me it is a kind of allegory for the common bond of souls with the flute as the visualisation. And I'm very happy that it didn't take place in form of your usual lovers, but via a mother-child like bond.
And on the other hand it is about resilience and resistance, as well in the Nakajima chapters as with Ahro's fate.
Okay ... enough jabbering from my side. I'm not used to spell out my feelings about a book - so bear with me ... but ... did I mention that I LOVE this prose?
Mod
I usually hate the overlapping story structure. It put me off of There There and Girl, Woman, Other. But I really thought it worked well here. Maybe because the stories returned frequently enough to a small set of characters, it still managed to feel like a real novel more than a story collection. I agree about the flute: such a brilliant link!
I'm not sure how much I can say about this one that Gabi hasn't, but this is the 5 star book I've been waiting to read for months - this struck me so very deeply from the very beginning and remained strong throughout. The structure felt well designed and for me worked very well. We see a succession of POVs, but they all work together in succession to form a consistent narrative. I felt they all had something important to say, even the old man alone on the moon with the dogs.
What worked for me was pretty much everything: The prose, the characters, the relationships, the way it left hints of what the endgame was without ever fully showing its hand.... If anything didn't work for me, it was Fumiko's flashback/introductory chapter; it's very expository compared to the rest of the book but it does work to set up the motivations for everything else that happens.
There were a few themes running through this but the one that resonated most strongly for me was music, the way it can connect people, the way it defined cultures, not just with Ahro and Nia, and the people of Umbai V, but the role it played with the quiet ship and the society on the abandoned moon. Those were the moments that stuck out for me.
Unfortunately my experience wasn't as positive. In fact, I've already forgotten too much about it. In lieu of comments, all that I can offer is my review:Hard to rate. Often beautifully written, lots of poignant bits, but a bit more ugliness than I think it needed to make the points, and a bit too much overall. Interesting world-building... with too much left to the imagination imo. Interesting characters... that I would have liked to actually get to know better.
But otoh, the clues are all there. Whenever I asked a question about the backstory or whatever, I do find the answer between the lines.
So, I dunno. I'm left unsatisfied, but maybe I don't know why.
And I can't recommend, but of course if you want to read it you should.
Maybe I feel 'vanished' or erased or .... I dunno.
I think what Tianna wrote about the overall message of the book is spot-on. Well-put and totally agree with all of that! This was definitely a novel about relationships between people, using a sci-fi plot as the vehicle to tell it. I think the author's writing style is fantastic- absolutely gorgeous prose. But if that weren't there, the book overall wouldn't get as high marks from myself.
So it seems that overall, most others who read this found Fumiko less compelling than the rest of the characters. And it seems no one was into the romance between Fumiko & Dana?
Did anyone else feel the opposite? Fumiko's intro/backstory chapter was actually my favorite in the whole novel and the romance between herself and Dana was what I enjoyed reading most out of everything. I am not usually someone who likes a heavy dose of romance in my novels, but I really loved reading about their story and its lasting consequences for Fumiko.
Tianna wrote: "Emmett wrote: "I think what Tianna wrote about the overall message of the book is spot-on. Well-put and totally agree with all of that! This was definitely a novel about relationships between peopl..."That is certainly a good point. I just felt that the relationship was really well-written, everything else aside. Obviously his writing was fantastic anyway... but I know someone said earlier that the romance felt like a conventional love story that just happened to be in a sci-fi setting, but I think that is actually what made it work so well for me. And maybe I am reading the wrong books, but I felt it was a particularly well-written queer romance in comparison to what I have read before.
Speaking on friendship though, I think the relationship I enjoyed the most outside of Dana-Fumiko was actually between Nia and Nurse. I was a little disappointed when she left the ship- I was really hoping the author would delve deeper into their friendship, as it seemed like there was quite a lot to explore there.
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But I do think it was nicely written and felt grounded in real human experiences up until the scifi element kicked in.
I did love all the friendships on the ship! I also loved seeing how the crew put together by Fumiko went from distrust to comfortable familiarity, too. I thought that was astoundingly realistic and well done.
Allison wrote: "I didn't mind the romance, I was just iffy that such a short time together would have built up to a galaxy shaping loss that persisted over a thousand years. If we'd had more time or if they'd done...""I was just iffy that such a short time together would have built up to a galaxy shaping loss that persisted over a thousand years." That made me laugh. Well when you put it that way...
Mod
It is very invigorating to see that the novel got a number of admirers and to read their points "what makes this book great". I initially was also entrapped by the story and prose, but soon after the first chapter the story went downward for me. Maybe I just read it in the wrong time, or as a non-native failed in savoring the prose, or just had different expectations. 1. What did you think of the concept and how the author used it?
I think the world needed a greater detail - we have lo-tech planets, agro-working for hi-tech stations centuries (millennia?) after initial dispersal. There is no clear reason why those planets remain lo-tech, why don't they develop own tech if barred from external? The same is with the story of limped pelican in the reserve - there are funds to keep the reserve but no to get his DNA for later replication? (they have tech to regrow limbs as see saw). Overall, it seemed to me that the author tried to make a statement and therefore haven't detailed the universe behind it.
2. What did you think of the separate but overlapping storylines?
I like that approach. this time some worked for me, some don't
3. What worked or didn't for you?
worked:
- jaunt
- 1st and 2nd ship crews, their dynamics
- 1st chapter
didn't work:
- detail on travel, like radiation sails, unfinished info on how pockets work... overall it is fantasy in space, not SF
- romance. I have to admit I am not into romance, so it's more my fault
- last moment saves
4. What do you think the message or overarching theme of this book was?
- as noted above, most likely the forming of families
Nurse was an amazing character, and I love the risk that Jimenez took by leaving her behind. That, for me, raised the stakes for the decisions Nia made after that point.
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Yeah, it was strange because it felt like Nia was now jumping without a safety net, but Nia was always the superior, and their friendship had obviously shifted several times because of their power dynamics and the baggage they brought with them in a way that felt natural that the friendship would be both strong and temporary.
Tianna wrote: "I wish romance wasn't always the go to for these things - I feel like deep and meaningful friendships aren't present enough in modern literature...."Yes, yes, yes and ... yes! That's exactly my complaint. I wasn't sure if I'm just imagining it, so I'm glad you feel the same. Last week I read the novel Road Out of Winter and the fact that the group of mcs had two women who were friendly to one another, worked together and didn't have to fall in love (even though one of them was lesbian) stood so out to me. A deep non-romantic friendship between female characters seems to be seen as a rarity.
So when Dana and Nakajima started I was like "oh no, not again!" They could have worked so well as best buddies. BUT, of course that wouldn't explain the obsession that came later. So in hindsight I made my peace with the relationship.
Realistically seen it is as Allison says: it was too short to believably create such an universe changing impetus in Nakajima. I put this down to a) the more allegorical character of the whole story (under which also falls the only hinted at worldbuilding - in this case I don't need a detailed world, because it works as a kind of 'fairy tale' for me) or/and b) to Nakajima's mental condition. Her upbringing made it clear that her mother gave her little chance to become a mentally healthy person, so her view on the things is much more intense and unusual. This thinking worked for me.
About romance vs friendship - I guess it is a modern swing toward both more younger readers (less jaded, interested in romance at this point of their lives) and desire to represent formerly missing/underrepresented in mainstream media relations (like M/M romance) to new works. As often is the case, a good desire but gone too far. As I noted in another thread, reading old stuff like The Glass Bead Game, where there are a lot of close friendly relations but not even a hint of romance seems out of place today
Mod
I don’t have a lot to contribute because I read this months ago and it feels like 10 years have passed since then. But I’m enjoying reading everyone else’s thoughts.
I agree, the romance with Dana shows more insight to Nakajima than anything. Maybe from Dana's perspective it would be different, but for Fumiko she had no intimate relationships (friendships or romances) and I can see this one intense relationship imprinting on her consciously and subconsciously in a way that someone who has had multiple relationships wouldn't. I enjoyed it and didn't really see it as instalove. I also think it is important to have queer characters and romances in all genres. I also agree that fleshed out complicated friendship stories are needed as well. As for the tech distinction I think Jimenez gives us a little insight through Oden (Ahro's lover) he explains that not only did Allies buy their planet, block access to the feed, they also stunt their growth; he says on page 277 (hardcover) " . . they lie when they say they want to protect our culture. That what they want is to hobble us. They've taken most of the schools. Soon all we'll know how to do is fish those shavevan eels so that you traders can ship your rare inks." Through the beautiful writing I began to put this future together instead of it being info dumped at the beginning and I liked it that way. Don't get me wrong; sometimes I'm all for info dumping but I also appreciate when an author drops you in the middle of unknown and the world develops naturally.
Nicol wrote: "Oden (Ahro's lover) he explains that not only did Allies buy their planet, block access to the feed, they also stunt their growth"Yes, I noted that piece which I saw chiefly as statement by the author. However, stunting the growth is not the same as destroying existing capital and human capital - it is not that the planet made hi-tech electronics but now only fishes. I was more why colonists from supposedly urban Earth ended up as peasants/fishers/hunters... there is definitely a critique of corporate greed, but made quite perfunctory for we see exploitation of unskilled labor but hardly a group that consumes all these products.
1. What did you think of the concept and how the author used it?I really, really enjoyed the concept and the set-up. In some ways, the plot reminded me of This Alien Shore (especially the parts concerning Ahro), but never in a way that felt derivative.
I also liked that the book kept me on my toes because the connections between the different characters - especially between Fumiko and everyone else - weren't obvious at first.
2. What did you think of the separate but overlapping storylines?
I really, really like novels that use overlapping storylines and give me several different perspectives on a world.
I think the first chapter was a stroke of genius. There was so much melancholia and longing worked into it already that then reverberated outwards in different ways. And introducing the flute this early on and then coming back to it again and again was really beautifully done.
Aside from that first chapter, I really enjoyed Nia's and Sartorus' chapters, but I also liked it when the book zoomed out to show us minor characters and how the larger developments our heroes are entangled in affect "normal" people - I'm thinking especially about the mother-daughter team with the shuttle service that and how their lives changed due to the new technology. That was such a good way to weave in the larger universe after focusing quite closely on the individual characters for a while.
I also liked how Fumiko and Nia's stories mirrored each other in some ways, especially the fact that both of them lost people important to them because they chose their work over those relationships when they were younger. That made the contrasts between their behavior down the line stand out even more strongly than they would have otherwise.
3. What worked or didn't for you?
I really love character-centered stories, so I didn't really mind that some of the technology wasn't fully explained, but I did have one or two moments where I wasn't quite sure how exactly to picture the Debbie or how it worked as a ship. That being said, it's also possible that that was due to my listening to this book rather than eye-reading it.
4. What do you think the message or overarching theme of this book was?
I think the book was both about human connection and found families, but also about the ways in which hyper-capitalism impacts those kinds of relationships.
I also think the book managed to expose how willing humans are to remain ignorant of the way new technology works/is produced if it improves their lives.
Mareike wrote: "I think the book was both about human connection and found families, but also about the ways in which hyper-capitalism impacts those kinds of relationships."
Yes! I love that description of what it's doing. Really resonates.
Just finished and still shell-shocked. Holy heck, what a book! (return to read the rest of the thread)
Silvana wrote: "Just finished and still shell-shocked. Holy heck, what a book! (return to read the rest of the thread)"
Yeah! (sorry, no profound comment, but I'm so happy when folks are moved by this book)
Gabi wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Just finished and still shell-shocked. Holy heck, what a book! (return to read the rest of the thread)"
Yeah! (sorry, no profound comment, but I'm so happy when folks are moved b..."
:)
I am still rather speechless. It takes a while to write what I felt and am still feeling!
Very understandable. It took me a while to type up a review, too.
Agreed, and I don't really think I did it justice, it just hit me on such a deep emotional level.
Christopher wrote: "So I know "jaunt" was a thing from The Stars My Destination -- I was curious, is it referenced anywhere else in this way or is this novel a direct nod to that work?"
I am still not sure I understand where the boy came from, whether there are others like him, who the people in The Quiet Ship were.
At 39% the word Jaunt was first used - the name the mysterious first man had given it. So he was similar to Ahro? Did we ever get to meet him again?
Also, I think I forgot how Fumiko found out Ahro existed and able to perceive what he's capable of. (See, told ya my memory sucks).
I don't have longer answer to Q1 and Q2 aside from ýes, I liked it alot.3. What worked or didn't for you?
worked the most: Characters - The POV ones are so unique, heartfelt, relatable. Sartoris for some reason got my sympathy the most, he's....different and not so tropey. And character relationship....I am a sucker for this Firefly/motley crew bonding stuff, so I am biased. Also, Ahro = River Tam, right? ;p
Prose, yes, beautiful without being too flowery or plain boring. Sad at times, but not depressing.
It was really packed without needing too many action or dramatic scenes to keep my attention. I was just pulled in, and even did not have time to guess what the next thing will happen once we changed POV, most of the time the story took me somewhere I did not expect.
What did not work? Maybe I need more info on Jaunt, the origin of the boy, the Kind One, etc.
Small things I enjoyed:
- Food! the description got me hungry all the time. This has invaded almost my every senses!
- The bird names. Beautiful! And I realllyyyy want to see the art work of the stations and the ships...such an interesting world.
4. What do you think the message or overarching theme of this book was?
What stood out probably Nia-Ahro relationship - or relatioonship parts of the book. All felt like they were earned? No easy pathway, or at least no straight line.
Also stood out was the colonialism theme. At first the impact of the incoming ships were not that visible to Umbai V but later parts you got to see that the Allied was just another colonial force. I could not help but thinking about the parts in my country having the same experience.
Silvana wrote: "I am still not sure I understand where the boy came from, whether there are others like him, who the people in The Quiet Ship were.."From planet Umbai-V, which we first see in Ch.1. Why he was stolen from his mother (who wrote a song, which become a folk song) for some unspecified reason
Silvana wrote: "At 39% the word Jaunt was first used - the name the mysterious first man had given it. So he was similar to Ahro? Did we ever get to meet him again?"
I guess he was similar to Ahro. I don't think we met him again
Oleksandr wrote: "Silvana wrote: "I am still not sure I understand where the boy came from, whether there are others like him, who the people in The Quiet Ship were.."From planet Umbai-V, which we first see in Ch...."
wait, if his mother wrote the folk song, so he was born a long time before Kaeda's time, right? was he abducted because the Quiet ship people found out about him first?
I think Ahro's "origin story" so to speak was left fairly vague, and I'm not sure how much we're supposed to pick up on from his background. I get the impression that his ability didn't come around by accident, that he/his surroundings were engineered to develop this ability. This would explain why Fumiko was aware of it, and why Umbai claimed him as "intellectual property."I also got the impression that Fumiko was the "Kind One" on the Quiet Ship, and this was strengthened by Ahro's dream state in part 3. It would make sense that she would have clearance to be on the ship but wouldn't want to make herself known, and it helps to bring her involvement in his life full circle.
@Amanda: Fumiko as the Kind One is a great idea. This never crossed my mind, but I love it. I have to look out for hints at my re-listening.
Silvana wrote: "wait, if his mother wrote the folk song, so he was born a long time before Kaeda's time, right? was he abducted because the Quiet ship people found out about him first?"Yes, he was born a long time before Kaeda's time. As in the text:
"It was a song many years old, from the time before the harvest. The song the mother sang to her newborn son in the quiet dark of morning. The song she imbued into his flesh and bone, its melody and its lyrics, before the people of the Quiet Ship came and took her son away, on a journey of suffering that would stretch past her lifetime. The song she would hum to herself in the long years after he was gone as she held her hand up to the sky and imagined him reaching down to take it."
If the Quiet ship people knew about his ability, why [1] they treated his so inhumanly (if he was one of them) and [2] why have not captured others 'jaunters' we have seen [3] the way to find such jaunters is unknown to Fumiko
Amanda wrote: "I also got the impression that Fumiko was the "Kind One" on the Quiet Ship, and this was strengthened by Ahro's dream state in part 3. "While I agree that Kind One in the dreams seems to be Fumiko, I am not sure that she ever was on the Quiet Ship (or I missed that?) and her deeply introverted character is not in line with the idea of stepping forward and caring, at least she hasn't cared for her love enough to stop her, and the boy was no one for her at the start
I had never thought about Fumiko maybe being "the Kind One", that's a super interesting thought, Amanda!I kind of assumed that the ship was a sort of "training ground" for children like Ahro? Since his musical ability seemed to be connected to his ability to travel somehow? So maybe the people who ran the ship stole children who had the potential for this ability and then hoped they would actually develop it?
But that was mostly what I was guessing while listening to the book - I'm not sure there's anything substantial in the text to really back me up.
@Mareike: that was my impression as well.
Those of you who remember it better than I do, would you be willing to share your thoughts about the title?... I'm going to have to reread it. I can't believe how much I forgot and how much trouble I have following this thread.
I assume the title both referred back to the extinct birds that had vanished from the nature reserve Fumiko went to as a child (and took Dana to, IIRC?) and also the stations who looked like birds and were damaged or displaced (I don't quite remember the particulars of this) when Ahro woke up again towards the end?So, they're a symbol of loss (on a personal, but also planetary scale, in case of the actual animals), but also ambition via the stations. And ambition leading to hubris and even more loss?
Mareike wrote: "I kind of assumed that the ship was a sort of "training ground" for children like Ahro? "See that corporation the Umbai Company used quite different approach, this begets question why? Also there is noted that jaunt in a next step of evolution (bringing in mind golden age SF with similar ideas), but neither of them used breeding program...
If the ship trained jaunters, how it controlled them later (we meet possibly to jaunters not under control)? Why abuse them?
Cheryl wrote: "Those of you who remember it better than I do, would you be willing to share your thoughts about the title?"I agree with Mareike's approach. Also all stations are both named and built after birds - Pelican, Macaw, Barbet, and Thrasher and possibly coming of jaunters mean end to the stations, so they will vanish as obsolete
Oleksandr wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "Those of you who remember it better than I do, would you be willing to share your thoughts about the title?"I agree with Mareike's approach. Also all stations are both named and built after birds - Pelican, Macaw, Barbet, and Thrasher and possibly coming of jaunters mean end to the stations, so they will vanish as obsolete. "
Since Pelican is the only bird name I recognize in English, this parallel completely passed over my head!
The details about where Ahro came from are also hazy for me. Something about a song, sure, but it's too vague for me to understand, I guess. I did not get any sense of the 1000 years this novel is supposedly spanning, I guess it was not literal enough in ways for me to actually grasp this.Dana's and Fumiko's romance was okay for me as far as representation goes, although I am also not into the instalove. What did they see in each other? What personality traits made them so attractive to each other? This is a major reason why I tend to ship strong friendship instead of the canon romantic couples I'm presented with because they just lack the emotional and personal depth that actual friendship does. The sense that this person represents traits that I lack and therefore I need them in my life, or I can see the good in this person that they can't see in themselves and I want to help draw that out. I did not get any of that with them. Which made me unable to really relate to the regret Fumiko apparently feels later.
Maybe I missed it, but I also did not get what happened between the pilot of Nia's ship (I forgot her name) and Fumiko for her to feel so obliged to her as to betray Nia and Ahro and her crewmates.
Regardless, I shrug those things off as things I probably just missed because I suck at multiple shifts between characters and time jumps ^^
The relationship that did work for me was between Nia and Ahro, and it is also an extremely painful one. I haven't seen anyone mention it, but what happens to Ahro when he is found, stripped of his name and treated as property, drugged and dissected, his organs pulled out an examined, I found absolutely sickening. I remember the line in the audiobook that his nails were pulled out as to.. and then my mind has blanked what it said next, because it was just too horrible. He had just figured out what he could do, he had just experienced pleasure, and then he is reduced to a mass of meat in a box and stowed away. I can't even write it down without feeling ill. It's very rare that I have a physical reaction to something, I'm not usually sensitive to body horror, but yep, it happened here, and I'd rather erase if from my mind sooner than later.
So while I loved the writing, and the melancholy feeling of the novel, and the found family theme, I have trouble actually enjoying it. I both love and hate it.
Oleksandr wrote: "Mareike wrote: "I kind of assumed that the ship was a sort of "training ground" for children like Ahro? "See that corporation the Umbai Company used quite different approach, this begets question..."
Well, technically, we don't even know if the music ship did or didn't belong to Umbai Company. It's possible that it did and they kept the children there waiting for them to show signs of their abilities - just like Fumiko did later after hiring Nia.
The abuse may have been to keep them compliant, make it easier to control them when they do show their abilities and do to them what they eventually did to Ahro.
But of course it's also possible that there are two competing companies trying to be first to get their hands on this new ability. Or that the musicians' ship was something else entirely.
I must say I don't really mind that this wasn't fully explained. Ahro clearly didn't know and none of the other characters (maybe with the exception of Fumiko) would have been able to find out. So it made sense to me that we never got a full info dump about it.
@Dawn: I agree, the descriptions of what happens to Ahro were extremely upsetting and chilling. I did not expect that level of detail.
Just finished, and as a few others mentioned I am still a little lost on both how Ahro got on the quiet ship, and why Vaila turned against Fumiko. That decision made no sense to me and was the big turning point of the book. I agree with Silvana about the Firefly vibe. Ahro definitely has a River Tam feel. (And Sonja definitely has a Zoe type persona. There are a few other parallels there as well, but I digress.)
To answer Cheryl a little more, the title ended up being one of my favorite things about the story. It definitely has to do with the extinction of the birds from the reserve that Fumiko loved so much in her childhood. There also ended up being much more to it. She loved the pelican because at first she saw it's defects, but then when it spread it's wings she saw it's beauty. Over the years she collected people like this. People who had fallen to the bottom of their careers and were written off, but that she saw something beautiful in. She found them and gave them a chance to spread their wings. And at the end, when she went looking through Umbai's records, she found that they had rooted out each one of her "birds" and extinguished them. So that all the broken and beautiful birds that she had collected over a millennia had vanished.
Thanks for the elaboration, I guess that was one of the subtleties I missed over the course of listening. It definitely makes the story even more melancholy.
Oh, I had forgotten the bit about Fumiko seeing some of the people she hired as "birds" as well! Thanks for bringing that up, Kristin.
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Fall of Hyperion (other topics)The Birthday of the World and Other Stories (other topics)
Scanners Live in Vain (other topics)
The Rediscovery of Man (other topics)
The Stars My Destination (other topics)
More...
Questions to get us started:
1. What did you think of the concept and how the author used it?
2. What did you think of the separate but overlapping storylines?
3. What worked or didn't for you?
4. What do you think the message or overarching theme of this book was?