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8 Local Warehouse Literature- A to Z

Imperfect Birds

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Imperfect Birds Cover

ISBN13: 9781594485046
ISBN10: 1594485046
Condition: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A powerful and redemptive novel of love and family, from the author of the bestselling Blue Shoe, Grace (Eventually), and Operating Instructions.

Rosie Ferguson is seventeen and ready to enjoy the summer before her senior year of high school. She's intelligent — she aced AP physics; athletic — a former state-ranked tennis doubles champion; and beautiful. She is, in short, everything her mother, Elizabeth, hoped she could be. The family's move to Landsdale, with stepfather James in tow, hadn't been as bumpy as Elizabeth feared.

But as the school year draws to a close, there are disturbing signs that the life Rosie claims to be leading is a sham, and that Elizabeth's hopes for her daughter to remain immune from the pull of the darker impulses of drugs and alcohol are dashed. Slowly and against their will, Elizabeth and James are forced to confront the fact that Rosie has been lying to them — and that her deceptions will have profound consequences.

This is Anne Lamott's most honest and heartrending novel yet, exploring our human quest for connection and salvation as it reveals the traps that can befall all of us.

Review:

"This is a hell of a book, tough and wonderful. A heartbreak and a heart- mender." Martin Cruz Smith, author of Gorky Park and The Golden Mile

Synopsis:

The bestselling author of Blue Shoe, Grace (Eventually), and Operating Instructions returns with her most honest and heartrending novel yet, in which she explores the human quest for connection and salvation, love and family.

Synopsis:

A powerful and redemptive novel of love and family-from the beloved bestselling author.

Seventeen-year-old Rosie Ferguson is smart, athletic, and beautiful- everything her mother, Elizabeth, and stepfather, James, hoped she would be. But as the school year draws to a close, there are disturbing signs that the well-adjusted teenage life that Rosie claims to be leading is a sham. Slowly and painfully, Elizabeth and James are forced to confront the fact that Rosie has been lying to them-and that her deceptions have profound consequences for them all. Imperfect Birds is Anne Lamott's most honest and heartrending novel, exploring our human quest for connection and salvation as it exposes the traps that life-and we-set for ourselves.

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About the Author

Anne Lamott is the author of seven novels including, Hard Laughter, Rosie, Joe Jones, Blue Shoe, All New People, and Crooked Little Heart (the sequel to Rosie), as well as five bestselling books of non-fiction, Operating Instructions, an account of life as a single mother during her son's first year and Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, a guide to writing and the challenges of a write's life, Traveling Mercies, a collection of autobiographical essays on faith, and Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith. Anne Lamott has been honored with a Guggenheim Fellowship, and has taught at UC Davis, as well as at writing conferences across the country. Lamott's biweekly Salon Magazine "online diary," Word by Word, was voted The Best of the Web by TIME magazine. Filmmaker Freida Mock (who won an Academy Award for her documentary on Maya Lin) has made a documentary on Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird with Annie (1999). Anne Lamott's last collection of essays is Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith. Her new novel, entitled Imperfect Birds, was published in Spring 2010. In the Fall of 2010 Anne Lamott was inducted into the California Hall of Fame.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
Margi Shindler, April 18, 2011 (view all comments by Margi Shindler)
This is the first book I've read which uniquely illuminates the difficult and messy juxtaposition of the generations, who are struggling with addictions, affluence and ungrounded spirituality each in their own age perspectives.
I know to trust that Anne Lamott will offer up an unvarnished look into human relationships. The fact that this book's title includes "bird" harkens me back to the first book of hers I read, her seminal book about writing, "Bird by Bird". The connections seems obvious, that each subject, each person has to be taken one at a time. The reader is walking step by step through narratives to arrive at a conclusion.
"Imperfect Birds" is written partly in the voice of an anxious middle aged mother and partly in the voice of the 17 year old, out-of-control daughter. Other voices include the girl's stepfather and other characters in the town.
The story is set in the attractive, educated, affluent region of Marin County. Remember the song school kids recorded, "Marin County, California, that's my home..."? I was a school kid when that song came out, and I was jealous. I wanted to be a California girl and live in a cute picture perfect place.
Fast forward 30 years, to spoiled, drug addicted kids, who think stealing jewelry and underwear is an innocuous pastime, and seeing a concert and taking ecstasy is about like tea and cookies. The overall effect is disconcerting at first. Lamott drives you deeper into the disconnects between the generations, and what brought them to their dysfunctions. I think anyone reading this book might see a little of themselves, their kids, their parents... and the dilemmas of our times.
Lamott is a spiritual person, and so always offers redemption in the long run. I highly recommend this for children and parents who are caught in the web of love, tough love, and the insidious malaise which affluence has made possible.
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Margi Shindler, April 18, 2011 (view all comments by Margi Shindler)
This is the first book I've read which uniquely illuminates the difficult and messy juxtaposition of the generations, who are struggling with addictions, affluence and ungrounded spirituality each in their own age perspectives.
I know to trust that Anne Lamott will offer up an unvarnished look into human relationships. The fact that this book's title includes "bird" harkens me back to the first book of hers I read, her seminal book about writing, "Bird by Bird". The connections seems obvious, that each subject, each person has to be taken one at a time. The reader is walking step by step through narratives to arrive at a conclusion.
"Imperfect Birds" is written partly in the voice of an anxious middle aged mother and partly in the voice of the 17 year old, out-of-control daughter. Other voices include the girl's stepfather and other characters in the town.
The story is set in the attractive, educated, affluent region of Marin County. Remember the song school kids recorded, "Marin County, California, that's my home..."? I was a school kid when that song came out, and I was jealous. I wanted to be a California girl and live in a cute picture perfect place.
Fast forward 30 years, to spoiled, drug addicted kids, who think stealing jewelry and underwear is an innocuous pastime, and seeing a concert and taking ecstasy is about like tea and cookies. The overall effect is disconcerting at first. Lamott drives you deeper into the disconnects between the generations, and what brought them to their dysfunctions. I think anyone reading this book might see a little of themselves, their kids, their parents... and the dilemmas of our times.
Lamott is a spiritual person, and so always offers redemption in the long run. I highly recommend this for children and parents who are caught in the web of love, tough love, and the insidious malaise which affluence has made possible.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9781594485046
Subtitle:
A Novel
Author:
Lamott, Anne
Publisher:
Riverhead Trade
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
2011
Edition Description:
Paperback / softback
Publication Date:
20110405
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
from 12
Language:
English
Pages:
336
Dimensions:
8.14 x 5.16 x 0.86 in 0.55 lb
Age Level:
17-17
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Related Subjects

Featured Titles » Literature
Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z
Fiction and Poetry » Literature » Coming of Age

Imperfect Birds Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$5.95 In Stock
Product details 336 pages Riverhead Books - English 9781594485046 Reviews:
"Review" by , "This is a hell of a book, tough and wonderful. A heartbreak and a heart- mender."
"Synopsis" by , The bestselling author of Blue Shoe, Grace (Eventually), and Operating Instructions returns with her most honest and heartrending novel yet, in which she explores the human quest for connection and salvation, love and family.
"Synopsis" by ,
A powerful and redemptive novel of love and family-from the beloved bestselling author.

Seventeen-year-old Rosie Ferguson is smart, athletic, and beautiful- everything her mother, Elizabeth, and stepfather, James, hoped she would be. But as the school year draws to a close, there are disturbing signs that the well-adjusted teenage life that Rosie claims to be leading is a sham. Slowly and painfully, Elizabeth and James are forced to confront the fact that Rosie has been lying to them-and that her deceptions have profound consequences for them all. Imperfect Birds is Anne Lamott's most honest and heartrending novel, exploring our human quest for connection and salvation as it exposes the traps that life-and we-set for ourselves.
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